Top Cat Names of 2020 [Infographic]

by Kyle Larson

The results are in, and it’s been quite the year for names from The Lion King! Nala is the number one pick for female cat names, and Simba ranked at the top for male cat names.

The results are determined by the 2.8 million new cat owners who used our site so far this year.

At this time every year, we like to reflect on the most popular cat names here at Find Cat Names and identify any key trends from the past 12 months. It’s always interesting to see which names are moving up the charts and why that may be.

Curious to see what other names topped the charts? Check out the lists below.

And if you’re more of a visual person, our top cat names infographic is a fun way to take in the name trends.

Top Female Cat Names

1. Nala
2. Luna
3. Abby
4. Daisy
5. Bella
6. Willow
7. Coco
8. Addison
9. Kiwi
10. Cookie
11. Cleo
12. Pixie
13. Bambi
14. Biscuit
15. Angel
16. Mocha
17. Buttercup
18. Olive
19. Oreo
20. Dixie
21. Roxy
22. Honey
23. Bell (Belle)
24. Ava
25. Maple
26. Muffin
27. Hazel
28. Rose (Rosie)
29. Millie
30. Alice
31. Autumn
32. Addie
33. Jinx
34. Bean
35. Kiki
36. Violet
37. Agatha
38. Cora
39. Kit Kat
40. Cherry
41. Lola
42. Opal
43. Pepper
44. Amber
45. Gracie
46. Cinnamon
47. Piper
48. Fifi
49. Moon
50. Trixie

Top Male Cat Names

1. Simba
2. Milo
3. Biscuit
4. Alfie
5. Archie
6. Binx
7. Arlo
8. Loki
9. Apollo
10. Finn
11. Oreo
12. Cosmo
13. Bear
14. Axel
15. Felix
16. Yoshi
17. A.J.
18. Blue (Blu)
19. Atlas
20. Jasper
21. Charlie
22. Coco (Cocoa)
23. Bandit
24. Tiger
25. Caesar (Ceasar)
26. Angus
27. Nugget
28. Orion
29. Chewie
30. Bacon
31. Meeko
32. Figaro
33. Blaze
34. Bailey
35. Nyx
36. Gizmo
37. Atticus
38. Bowie
39. Waffles
40. Monet
41. Tigger
42. Kenji
43. Angel
44. Archer
45. Barney
46. Echo
47. Leo
48. Brownie
49. Banjo
50. Ziggy

2020 Top Cat Names

Top Female Cat Names

Once again, Nala is at the top of the chart. The name has ranked number the past few years, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down, especially with the release of the new version of The Lion King last year.

Bella was once the most popular cat name – as well as a very popular dog name – but has moved down to the number five position.

The biggest surprise in 2020: The name Kiwi made the top 10 list for the first time ever.

Top Male Cat Names

Simba reigned supreme for male names in 2020. This is the fifth year in a row that the name topped the chart.

Although the top name was uneventful, there were quite a few surprises in the top 10.

For the first time in years, Tiger has dropped out of the top names. The same goes for the name Oreo. This made room for a number of newcomers.

Most notably, Archie stayed at the number five position, up from the 12th spot the previous year. This corresponds with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle of the British royal family selecting the name for their son born in May.

Finn also cracked the top 10 for the second time and is becoming a popular name for dogs and babies as well.

The name Binx also shows no sign of stopping. As you may recall, the film Hocus Pocus featured an immortal black cat named Thackery Binx, or Binx for short. The classic movie surged in popularity two years ago thanks to a 25th anniversary blitz, and Binx has become a go-to cat name as a result.

Popular Cat Names by Category

What sets Find Cat Names apart from other cat naming websites is that it sorts names by categories that are relevant to you and your cat. We feel like this is a great way to find names without having to sort through endless A-Z lists.

Year after year, our most popular category is “Cute.” After all, cute cats deserve cute names!

“Tough” is also a popular category, especially for boy cats. Many new kitten parents are drawn to strong-sounding names that reflect their kitten’s tenacious personality.

Here are the top names in those categories in 2019.

Top Cute Cat Names

1. Autumn
2. Opal
3. Amber
4. Bailey
5. Boo
6. Cleo
7. Pizie
8. Angel
9. Ava
10. Hazel

Top Tough Cat Names

1. Raven
2. Bandit
3. Shadow
4. Roxy
5. Midnight
6. Jinx
7. Axel
8. Freya
9. Ebony
10. Lucifer

The top sports cat names come from great athletes (Tiger from golf, Ali from boxing, Babe and Dotty from baseball) as well as general sports-related terms like Archer.

Once again, it looks like cat owners love the idea of naming their furry pals after foods. Food names like Bacon, Buttercup, Biscuit, Kiwi, Waffles and Skittles composed much of the top names list.

Top Sports Cat Names

1. Moon
2. Bear
3. Piper
4. Ali
5. Tiger
6. Bandit
7. Athena
8. Fuzzy
9. Dottie
10. Blaze

Top Food Cat Names

1. Oreo
2. Cookie
3. Biscuit
4. Pumpkin
5. Pepper
6. Buttercup
7. Ginger
8. Mocha
9. Olive
10. Honey

Movies and TV shows always provide great inspiration for cat names, and Disney is usually top of mind, hence the reason why Simba and Nala are the most popular names once again.

Those names aside, here are more top cat names inspired by TV shows and movies. As you’ll see below, the list included popular cartoon names like Bambi, Casper, Tigger and Barney.

Our geeky cat names are taken from technology and from media that is considered ‘geeky’. Geeks are awesome and so are these names!

Top TV/Movie Cat Names

1. Nala
2. Ash
3. Blue
4. Bambi
5. Figaro
6. Milo
7. Dixie
8. Belle
9. Alice
10. Jinx

Top Geeky Cat Names

1. Finn
2. Gizmo
3. Buffy
4. Princess
5. Nebula
6. Buffy
7. Xena
8. Java
9. Gizmo
10. Chewie

Additional Cat Name Categories

And last but name least, here are a few bonus categories.

For international cat names, we gathered ideas typically not found in the United States. This includes popular foreign names as well as names of people with international fame.

Another great category is books and literature. These books names are taken from some of our favorite books and include both classic literature and modern tales.

Top International Cat Names

1. Babushka
2. Zuzu
3. Amelie
4. Chi Chi
5. Carmen
6. Anika
7. Suki
8. Caesar
9. Yuki
10. Thea

Top Books Cat Names

1. Alice
2. Harper
3. Charlotte
4. Gigi
5. Emma
6. Boots
7. Primrose (Prim)
8. Annie
9. Winnie
10. Scout

To find even more great cat names try running a cat name search!

How are the results determined? 
Our site allows users to save their favorite names as they search, so to determine the most popular names of the year, we pulled this data and compiled the results.

Can I share this infographic?
If you would like to share our Top Cat Names infographic on your website or social sites, go for it! We just ask that you credit it to Find Cat Names with a link to our site.

About Find Cat Names
Founded in March 2014, Find Cat Names provides a fun, interactive experience for new cat owners looking for just the right pet name. The site allows users to sort names by preferred style and interests. More than 2 million people use Find Cat Names each year when picking a name for their cat.

Kyle Larson

Kyle is a professional web designer and author who keeps our cat name search tools running. He's also a writer & researcher helping provide great feline content.