200 Best Black Cat Names – The Ultimate List
Last updated: by Jessi LarsonIf you’re looking for the best black cat names, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve gathered ideas from categories including spooky, food, space, famous characters, black animals, and more!
Top Female Black Cat Names
- Cinder
- Midnight
- Minerva
- Nightshade
- Nox
- Sabrina
- Sassy
- Spirit
- Spooky
- Winifred
Top Male Black Cat Names
- Bones
- Boots
- Cole
- Draco
- Hex
- Jett
- Jinx
- Loki
- Ninja
- Ozzy
- Pepper
- Poe
Black Cat Names Based on Nature
Nature is full of crazy cool, naturally dark elements that make great black cat names.
- Ash
- Coal
- Ebony
- Ember
- Shady
- Smoky
- Stormy
- Thunder
- Carbon
- Graphite
- Night
- Onyx
- Opal
- Tarmac
- Dusty
Spooky, Magic & More
What’s a list of black cat names without scary, Halloween-inspired ideas?
- Elvira
- Goth
- Mystery
- Magic
- Merlin
- Phantom
- Rorschach
- Hocus Pocus
- Raven
- Wizard
- Lucifer
- Damien
- Frankenstein
- Dracula
- Twilight
- Shadow
- Warlock
- Banshee
- Coven
- Voodoo
- Omen
- Wednesday – (from “The Addams Family”)
- Beelzebub
- Morticia
- Phantom
- Maleficent
For more ideas like this, check out these witchy cat names!
Names for Black Cats Inspired by Food
Switching gears, another creative way to find cute black cat names is to look at foods with similar colorings. Also, check out our full list of food cat names.
- Bean
- Blackberry
- Caviar
- Chai
- Coco
- Coffee
- Cola
- Cookie
- Espresso
- Fudge
- Godiva
- Guinness
- Hershey
- Java
- Jellybean
- Kona
- Licorice
- Olive
- Oreo
- Pepsi
- Porter
- Raisin
- Stout
Black Cat Names From Space
Who knew that outer space could provide such cool black cat names?
- Cosmo
- Galaxy
- Eclipse
- Moon
- Vortex
- Nebula
- Nova
- Astro
Famous Characters
Throughout history, many superheroes, action stars, and villains seem to have a penchant for wearing black, thus making these characters super fun names for black cats. Or you could go for a famous character from pop culture or the black & white movie era.
- Bandit
- Batman
- Bellatrix – Harry Potter
- Black Adam
- Black Panther
- Black Widow
- Bogart – “Bogey” Humphrey Bogart
- Brando – Marlon Brando
- Bullet
- Chaplin – Charlie Chaplin
- Elvis
- Gomez – The Addams Family
- Hitchcock – Alfred Hitchcock
- John Wick
- Knight
- Marilyn – Marilyn Monroe
- Miles Morales – Spiderman
- Moe – The Three Stooges
- Neo – The Matrix
- Orson – Orson Welles
- Selene – Underworld
- Selina – aka Catwoman
- Shadowfax – The name of Gandalf’s horse in Lord of the Rings
- Sirius Black – Harry Potter
- Snape – Harry Potter
- Snowball – The Simpsons’ black kitten
- Terminator
- Tiana – The Princess and the Frog
- Trinity – The Matrix
- Ursula – The Little Mermaid
- Vader – Darth Vader from Star Wars
- Venom
- Voldemort – Harry Potter
- Zorro
Other Black Animals
Black seems to be a popular color in the animal kingdom. These other creatures have the same coloring as your cat and make fun black kitten names.
- Bear
- Penguin
- Jaguar
- Stallion
- Leopard
- Panda
- Panther
- Falcon
- Puma
- Raven
- Spider
- Jackal
Black in Other Languages
If you want to be creative, try using other languages. Translate “black” into another language, and voila! A unique, customized name.
- Nero (Italian)
- Preto (Portuguese)
- Noir (French)
- Schwarz (German)
- Zwart (Dutch)
- Kuro (Japanese)
- Beltz (Basque)
- Siyah (Turkish)
- Kala (Sanskrit)
- Sev (Russian)
- Mavro (Greek)
Popular Black Cat Names from Movies and TV
You can take inspiration from the many iconic black cats in TV, movies, and even the White House.
- Felix – a funny cartoon originating in the silent film era.
- Salem – from “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.”
- Socks – family cat of U.S. President Bill Clinton
- Sylvester – always chasing Tweety Bird in “Looney Toons.”
- Figaro – the adorable black cat in “Pinocchio.”
- Bagheera – the black panther in “The Jungle Book.”
- Binx – the immortal black cat in “Hocus Pocus.”
- The Cat – the cat from Coraline who does not need a name
- Scat Cat – from the Aristocats
- Isis – Catwoman’s cat
- Snowball – The Simpsons
- Lucifer – Cinderella
- Luna – Sailor Moon
- Jiji – Kiki’s Delivery Service
- Winkie – Escape to Witch Mountain
- Pluto – from Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Black Cat”.
- Scratchy – “Itchy & Scratchy” from “The Simpsons.”
- October – The pet cat of Lydia from the animated TV series “Beetlejuice.“
- Sooty – from the British children’s television series of the same name.
- Berlioz – The black kitten from Disney’s “The Aristocats.”
Funny Black Cat Names
Or, you could have fun choosing an ironic name for your black cat with these examples from our complete funny cat names list.
- Fluffy
- Frosty
- Ghost
- Ice
- Snowball/Snowy
- Whitey
- Casper
- Lucifurr
- Catsanova
- Notorious C.A.T
- Batcat
- Cat Vader
Other Ideas
Here are some more fun ideas, or try our list of gothic cat names.
- Black Jack
- Black Beauty
- Domino
- Inky
- Spade
- Suede
- Velvet
- Jet
- Diesel
- Johnny Cash
- Rogue
- Smudge
- Sneaky
- Black Adder
- Black Betty
- Obsidian
- Outlaw
More Cat Name Ideas
Didn’t find the cat name for you? Don’t fret. We’ve got plenty of other ideas.
And by plenty, we mean thousands. Try our online name generator and sort by your favorite styles and themes.
Popular cat name themes
- Movie cat names
- Halloween cat names
- Mythology cat names
- Black and white cat names – These are great if your cat also has a hint of white
- Spiritual cat names
Finding a name that fits your cat’s personality and appearance and gels with your taste isn’t easy, but when you find the right one, you’ll feel it in your gut.
The Crazy History of the Black Cat
Have you ever wondered why Halloween and spooky stories are about black cats, not white cats or calico cats? And why are they so frightening?
The folklore behind a black cat varies from culture to culture. While generally seen as bad luck, black cats are considered good luck in Japan. They say a woman with one will have many suitors.
In Egypt, legend has it that the goddess Bast saw black cats as favorable, so households there thought they could gain her favor by having one.
However, in Western history, black cats are looked upon as a bad omen and as a symbol of evil and are often correlated with witches. Europeans believed that if they crossed your path, it was an omen of death and misfortune. But their evil work wasn’t always in the form of a cat. European folklore also said these cats could transform into human shapes and act as spies or couriers for demons and witches. In some areas of the continent, people would burn them to be safe.
These beliefs traveled to the United States with the Pilgrims. They were profoundly suspicious and viewed the black cat as an accomplice of the devil. Anyone caught with one would be severely punished or killed.
Luckily, times have changed, and people no longer hold these beliefs. However, a black cat continues to be associated with Halloween and superstitions.
Some reports say that shelters have more difficulty finding homes for black cats, which is all the more reason to get one.
77 Comments
We have 7 indoor cats—
(all black) Gypsy,Cissy(f),Mouchie….
(black w/white) Ziggy….
(white w/black) Frodo…
(Siamese) Simon…
Last night Another black w/white cat a (f)
OY! Searching for a name since she will be the 2nd female in the home..
A couple broke up & took his 4 cats but HE was going to leave “HER” cat tied up in front yard! I had no choice but to take the cat..Right?
Buckwheat for an all black cat
I have the most beautiful black cat her name is Akasha from the movie Queen of the Damned, but name means beautiful Open Sky
Thank you this has helped me name my new cat…Raven!!
This has helped a lot. My new cats name is going to be called … Oreo. 😊😊
My cat’s a beautiful black russian blue mix, her name is Kiki from the studio ghibli movie ‘Kiki’s Delivery Service’. This list was still helpful for finding out what to name my next kitty!
My cat’s name is Tober
My cat is Bobby
Thunder and Anubis
My cat was named Toothless after the little character on how to train a dragon. I wasn’t too keen on the name, so I changed it to Ravyn. I think she loves it.
I have a black kitten and a white kitten called mickey and minnie.. we have recently found out that they are expecting a litter of 3!!🤗🤗🤗
my cat is simply named “Little Black” because he was just a little black kitten when we got him
Just homed a rescue today…black male. He was given the handle of Clayton for the street he was found on last month. Am considering naming him Frog or Froggy cause he can really leap high.
i have a black kitten named nacht, which is night in german
I now have 6 beautiful black cats. Briquette, Casey, Jessica, Lucky, Cody, and thanks to these suggestion the latest family member is Figaro because he is so sweet like Figaro in Pinocchio. Thank you.
Jinxi
I don’t know what to name my cat still cuz my mom doesn’t like any of the names… I do though she wants to name the new cat Suki -o-
I really liked the name Quinn.
My black male was called Samuel L. Jackson. My black female’s name is Loki after the Norse god of pranks.
Just adopted a black cat from the animal shelter today and I think I’m going to name him “Binx” from the movie “Hocus Pocus”.
I have a beautiful black cat that i adopted from “Animal Friends” in Pgh. Her original owner named her the GREATEST name ever, “Skidaddle.” I was having a run of bad luck, everything changed for me after my Skataddle came into my life. LIFE is wonderful !!! She is my Lucky Charm & everyday just gets better & better. :-) * Adopt a black cat ! *
I named mine Jinx.
7 cats, Loki, Jornjo, Katrina, Ash, Thor, Camelot, and Jedi
I named my black and brown York Chocolate, “Smudge” like in make-up ooophs. or the smoke from a bundle of while ash used to purify a sacred space.
We have a 1yr old Princess kitty. Her name tag reads Princess KB, Hint the “B” is a common name for a pregnant female dog. She has some attitude, but we love her. She’s my spoiled little familiar but a little lonely on the cat side. So we are taking her with us to the shelter to pick out a friend or two. Gotta make sure she approves, the B isn’t there for no reason. We will only get black cats because with all the stereotypes, they almost always seem to get left behind.
My hubs and I adopted a 3 legged medium-haired black cat, after losing our beloved M’Yow. Our new baby’s name is Tenebris which is Latin for darkness, though she’s the light of our lives ironically.
if have two kitten new born POPPymunker and Oscar
My long haired black female cat is named Jezebel
My black cat is Denzel Washington.
We went to an animal shelter last week. I looked at about 16 cats and I lost my cat son three months ago Moe. I got sad and had to leave but on the way out there was this 5 yr old black cat that apparently had been living there for three months. The owners surrendered him along with his brother but a family came in and adopted the brother leaving him behind. That tore me up all weekend. He was only $36 to adopt too. Some kittens were $200. My cat at home was lonely his name is gulliver. Well I went back and decided to take home the cat and as soon as I picked him
Up the name PANTHER came to mind. He has a chiseled face like a big cat and fangs lol. Was he my choice no but panther had come from a nice home with other cats and he deserves a new chance at life so he is mine now! Thank you for this article and glad his new name was on here so I didn’t think I was crazy picking Panther lol.
Have 2 black cats and 3 black kittens. Adults are Smokey and Snuggle Butt.. 3 kittens are Midnight, Onyx and Raven
I have 3 black cats named Indigo (her eyes are purple) amber (her eyes are amber of course) and fern (her eyes are green)
My black cat is named Mojo.
We have a black female cat. We named her Salem.
I have a male black leopard bengal his name is BlackJack
Our black female adult cat name is Cucka, she has a small male all black named Fitti
I just got a beautiful solid black male kitten I named bagheera.
My beautiful black cats are long haired and sisters. I got them as kittens. They were named Fiona and October when I got them. I changed October’s name to Luna. I love my Luna and Fiona!
For those who don’t know, the name Luna means “earth’s moon”. Of course, the “moon” always reminds me of black cats. I really loved reading about all of you wonderful people who shared your stories about your cats
Midnight is a beautiful name for a female cat. Just perfect!
To TRACY: What a wonderful share! Gulliver and his new brother Panther are so blessed to have you! I’m sorry to hear about your precious Moe. If you haven’t heard of the story of Rainbow Bridge, please look it up. You are a fantastic cat mom!
I just adopted my jet black, shirt hair girl yesterday. Actually stopped the lady in the parking lot before she did the owner surrender. She was named BEYONCÉ. I can’t stop laughing. Her owner was an 80 year old white woman that was going to a nursing home.. She doesn’t respond to Beyoncé and I really can’t call her that and keep a straight face.. some names have gone through my head but she has a very unique personality so I guess I’ll wait a bit longer. I wanted to be silly and just call her Madea.. but I still can’t stop laughing. I am leaning towards Theodora and Theo for short 🤷🏻♀️
To Rafael Serrano: Akasha also represents the element of spirit in some pagan religions. As in, Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Akasha. It also sounds very feline to me. The syllables remind me of the German word for cat: Kotse (pronounced KGHAT-suh, with the first sound being that Germanic-kgh- glottal-garbage-disposal sound) graceful, but almost like hissing.
My cats names are King and Friday
I named mine Bishop (after the chess piece).
Getting a black male cat , thinking of naming him Lucipurr 🤔
My black kittens name is jinx 💙
I’ve had black cats all my life. First one was Milton, then Bradley, Leon, and now I’ll be getting a new one and I think I’m going to call home Poe. Like Edgar Allen Poe. 😊🖤
i have a black cat named smoky
I had a cat named mud because his fur was a very dark brown that looked black but light mud stripes
I have a solid black cat named Axel. He is the typical looking Halloween black cat. It’s kinda weird sometimes to walk in a dark room and only see 2 yellow eyes looking at you!
I have one grey-black tabby named Harley. Found him during a Bike event. He needs a friend. The shelter told me no one adopts black cats, they have so many!!! I plan to get one soon; looking for a name on here and found the perfect name for Harley’s new friend- Diesel
I have a black cat named fluffy found in a river
We have a Black cat named Saffy (Sapphire) we have have a Beige Tabby named Duke and a Siamese cross Named Lulu.
In honor of the Egyptian Goddess BAST…who ADORED black cats…my cat with his mysterious yellow ROUND eyes is Bastian.
After a martial artist gets their Black Belt, they are respectfully addressed as “Sensei.” And that’s what we named our black cat.
I’m writing a story about a female black familiar (a witches’ pet). Struggling with the perfect name. I’m going between
-Persephone (but that’s a little long)
-Raven (after my black kitten)
-Luna (but that’s a little overused)
-Hecate (after the Greek goddess of witchcraft. probably gonna be her magickal name)
-Cora
any other names?
My first cat was called Pebbles then it was Jasper and now we have a cat called Nelson and we’re getting a new cat but aren’t sure what to call it.
I named my male black cat Bagheera.
I have a little black male I named him Salem
I have always wanted a black cat. I have my very first black female cat named Twilight, I found her roaming outside and took it in for my own. If I had a bigger house and more money, I would start my own cat Farm
I was looking for a black cat. Had the name Sebastian in mind. Lo and behold, a cat named Sebastian was up for adoption. You know how this ended. Very happy with my baby. He is a little goofy and very sweet.
My first black cat was named Ebony. My current was named Twizzler after the black licorice (which is my favorite non chocolate candy) when I got him from the humane society. I liked the name so much I kept it!
I’m looking for a black male kitten as a companion to my 9-year old black & white female, Gracie. My 15-year old grey & white tuxedo male, Thomas, passed last Friday, and we’re both missing him terribly. I’ve had SO many cats over the years: Possum, Si, Dusty, Kitty, Sparky, Lucky. The youngest to pass was @ 7 years, and the oldest was 19 years old. I have a list of possible names for my next cat: Spade, Sam, Moses, Prince, Rhett, Jinx – whichever fits him! Wish me luck in finding him. ♥
Thank you this helped so much voodoo loves his new name
My black cat is named Ollie. I also like the name Shadow alot
My favorite name for a black male cat is Ebenezer (Ebonyzer). This was the name we have to a Black, community cat when I was in grad school.
For a long hair black cat: HAGRID! (A beloved character from Harry Potter).
I’m getting a new black kitten next week, trying to decide between Cinder, Kookie, Magic and Jinxi for names. Does anyone have any suggestions?
you should name your cat black widow do you like it?
So Voldemort and Belatrix get listed but not Sirius. If any Harry Potter character should be a black cats name surely it would be Sirius Black.
oh ive got one! maikai! because mei in japanese means beutifull and kia in japanese means ocean!
Bastet Egyptian goddess of protection and cats. She was the warrior daughter and defender of Ra
I have adopted a black 10 month old boy called patch by the cats protection home due to him having a white patch under his chin and wanted to call him something different and have chosen Toulouse Figaro after the black cats 🐈 😻 🐈⬛️ in the Disney film Aristocats and I cannot wait until he’s here
My Cat’s name is Shadow but I made up two of my own cat characters for a series one of them is called Nightmare which is a grey/black cat that is vicious and lives in the wild while the other I don’t have a name for yet that is why I was looking at a bunch of names. The cat I haven’t named is based off of a black cat with purple eyes that lives on the end island with the enderman and ender dragon in Minecraft it also has wings so I was looking for a name for it.
I’ve been blessed with 2 beautiful “Voids” in my lifetime. My female was rescued with her 2 sisters (slightly different greys) when they were 5 days old…. I looked at them cuddled up together and thought “they remind me of the sky” and that’s how the girls were named Dusk, Dawn, and Midnight. Now, I have a new boy (whom they thought was a girl at first) that’s 4 weeks old ended up being Anakin. Anakin, is clingy, sweet, and rambunctious… Now. At first he was so shy and sleepy and as he became more healthy and comfortable it was like a SWITCH…. Rather than “Vader” (which is STILL a perfectly good nickname that is going to be used with MANY others) I chose Anakin. And I think it works for us! ❤️
My three black cats are named Cinder, Maybe and Noble.