Where DID You Get That Name?

August 5, 2025

compiled by Krista Schmitt and Kate Preston

Names are powerful and our associations with them are as individual as taste in music, as personal as religion, sex or politics. How many times have you heard a name and thought, “Wow, that’s beautiful!” or “Why in the world would parents name their baby THAT?” Name sources are a myriad, from obvious to puzzling: “Count Chocula” – cereal, and we KNOW what’s in that; “Widow-Maker” – famous bronc; “Suki Valentine”- ???  Have we piqued your interest?

Cat owners (and their cats) run the gauntlet … and the proof is in the following anecdotes.

Out of Heiding

I adopted a 1½- year-old spayed shorthair tabby female. She was very shy and spent the first week hiding in places I could never imagine. Every time I looked for her, she was gone! Her name when she came to me was “Croissant,” but by the end of the first few days, I decided to rename her “Heidi.” Now she comes when she’s called.

Owner – Carol Goldstone

An Asian Valentine

The name “Suki” sounded a bit Asian to me, and since my home decor is just that, I thought the name was right. The Valentine part was because I was going to get my beautiful baby on Valentine’s Day, but she had an ear infection and the breeder wanted her to be perfect when I took her home. I picked her up on February 19, and from that day on I have fallen in love with her over and over again. Therefore, the name Suki Valentine – My delicious fur child!

Owner – Mona Blumenreich

 

Stage or Stars?

The Selkirk Rex cat breed is characterized by very curly fur, but in this case, the striking feature of “Prince Chekhov of Briceland” was not so much his fur, but a distinct check mark in white on his back. The only question was whether to spell his name like Chekov of Star Trek or Chekhov, the playwright. But whichever, “the check was in on the mail male.”

Owner – Alicia Briceland

 

Your kitty has a special name, and Cat Talk would like to know how YOU chose his or her name, or if your kitty chose his or her OWN name (we understand how independent cats are). It may be an unusual name for a brave feral survivor, or an old reliable name that fits a shelter kitty you could not resist. Or something altogether different! Drop us a quick line and let us know how their name came to be.

Please email CatTalk@cfa.org and stay tuned while we gather your inputs and share later this year.