Top 200+ Black Cat Names (With Their Meanings)

Munchiecat | Portrait of a black cat with gold eyes

Superstition has taught us that black cats are signs of misfortune and death. In the Middle Ages, black cats were believed to be witches in disguise and witches’ familiars. They were also linked with the Black Death — a 14th-century pandemic that killed at least 25 million people. Folded into modern Halloween symbols, black cats have a wicked reputation. But in reality, these “miniature panthers” are as sweet (and salty) as any other cat. 

In some parts of the world, black cats attract good luck. For instance, if a black cat appears on your doorstep in Scotland, you will become wealthy and successful. Hearing a black cat sneeze in Italy is taken as a sign that great things are to come. The French call black cats ‘matagots’ or ‘magician cats’ and believe that something magical will happen if you treat them well. In Northern Europe, adopting a black cat guarantees fair winds and following seas.

Black cats stay in shelters 2 to 6 days longer than cats with other coat colors. But they have still pawed their way into celebrities’ hearts. John Lennon and Yoko Ono owned a black cat named Salt. And Frank Zappa had a dark-colored feline called Marshmoff. Mark Twain named his black cat Bambino, while Jane Fonda called her black cat Snickers. 

Have you fallen in love with a panther-esque cat? From classic to magical, here are 200+ names that will match your black cat’s slick dark fur. 

Male Black Cat Names

Male black cat with green eyes.

These male black cat names are inspired by nature, magic, and mayhem. 

A

Aadhar — Darkness

Alaric — Universal ruler 

Ankoku — Blackness 

Asher — Happy, blessed

Astrophel — Star lover 

Astaroth —  The Great Duke of Hell and part of the evil trinity with Beelzebub and Lucifer

Athan — Immortal 

Azrael — The angel of destruction and renewal

B

Bazil — King; also a Mediterranean herb used in love magic and divination 

Badru — Born during the full moon 

Betelgeuse (pronounced Beetlejuice) — The 10th brightest star in the night sky (the right shoulder of the constellation Orion) 

Betzalel  — In the shadow of God 

Binx — The black cat from Disney’s 1993 American fantasy comedy horror film Hocus Pocus 

Bran — Raven; the Celtic god of death

C

Ciaran — Dark

Cole — Swarthy, coal-black

Colton — From the coal, dark town 

Corbin — Crow 

D

Dade — Dark one, exploited

Daku — Dark  

Damien — Untamed

Dante — Enduring, everlasting 

Dinsmore — Dark moor 

Dorian — Gift; a young man who sells his soul to the Devil for eternal youth and beauty from Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray

Douglas — Black river 

Draven — Child of the shadows

Draco — Huge dragon; also the 8th largest constellation in the night sky  

Duncan — Dark warrior 

Dyrk — One who admires nighttime 

E

Elatha — Art, knowledge; the god of the Moon in Irish mythology 

G

Golgotha — Skull

Grimshaw — Dark woods 

H

Hades — Greek God of the Underworld 

Hari — Dark, tawny 

Hiei — Flying shadow 

Houdini — To appear, vanish; also Harry Houdini, a Hungarian-born American magician famous for his death-defying escapes

Howl — To cry out loud; also the self-indulgent and insecure young wizard in the  fantasy novel Howl's Moving Castle by British author Diana Wynne Jones

I

Ingram — Raven of peace 

J

Jack — God is gracious 

Jet — A velvety black gemstone

K

Kage — Shadow 

Keir —  Dark, black 

L

Lennon — Blackbird 

Lucifer — Bearer of light

M

Maverick — An unorthodox or independent-minded person

Morris — Dark-skinned 

N

Nigel — Dark, black-haired 

Noir  — Black 

O

Orpheus — The darkness of the night 

Osiris — The Egyptian god of the underworld 

Orion — Hunter in Greek mythology;  also a famous constellation located on the celestial equator 

Q

Quillon — Crossing swords, strong

R

Ransley — Raven meadow 

Reito  — Beautiful, dark moon 

Renwick — Raven settlement 

Rigel — The 7th brightest star in the night sky (the left leg of the constellation Orion)

S

Sirius — Friend of God; also the brightest star in the night sky

Shiva — The Hindu god of destruction; also part of the Hindu trinity that includes Brahma, the creator, and Vishnu, the preserver

Smoky — Smoke-filled

Severus — Stern, harsh; also the Potions Master, Defense Against The Dark Arts, and Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

T

Thanatos — The personification of death in Greek mythology 

Tsuki — Moon

Tsukikage — Moonbeams 

V

Vader — Father; also the main villain of the popular science fiction franchise Star Wars

Volkan — Volcano 

Y

Yama — The Hindu god of death 

Yami — Dark 

Z

Zalaam — Darkness

Zalaph — Shadow 

Zero — Void

Zorro — Fox; the masked Mexican hero created by pulp fiction author Johnston McCulley in 1919

Female Black Cat Names

Female black cat sitting beside flower pots.

These female black cat names pay homage to ancient underworld goddesses, twisted fairy tales, and the dark side of mother nature. 

A

Achlys — The Greek goddess of everlasting night and the mist of death

Adreanna — Darkness

Aloka — Shadow 

Amaris — Child of the moon 

Amaya — Night rain

Aradia — The Italian goddess of the moon and queen of the witches 

Aruna — Moon love 

Aspen Quaking tree

B

Bastet — The lower Egyptian goddess of the home, domesticity, women's secrets, cats, fertility, and childbirth

Belladonna — Beautiful woman; Deadly nightshade

Bellatrix — Female warrior 

Bonnie — Pretty, attractive; also a very powerful witch and one of the main female characters on the CW's The Vampire Diaries

Blair — Battlefield 

Branwen — Beautiful raven

C

Cassandra — Unheeded prophetess; also the daughter of King Priam and Trojan prophetess that foresaw the fall of Troy in Homer's 'The Iliad'

Ciara — Little dark one 

Circe — The Greek goddess of sorcery

Celeste — Heavenly 

Chhaya — The Hindu goddess of shadows

Clio — Glory

D

Dahlia — Valley flower; also the national flower of Mexico named after Swedish botanist Anders Dahl

Danika —  Morning star

Drusilla — Prophecy 

E

Ebony — Deep black wood 

Eris — The Greek goddess of strife and discord 

Eleena — Shining in the darkness 

Elvira — Truth 

Esmeray — Dark moon  

G

Glinda — The good witch of the North in the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz

H

Hecate — The Greek goddess of magic and  witchcraft 

Hel — The Norwegian goddess of death 

Hermione — Messenger, earthly; also the main female witch in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series 

Hesperia — Evening star

I

Izanami — The Japanese goddess of death and queen of the underworld 

J

Jocasta — Shining moon 

Jemisha — Queen of the night  

K

Kali— The Hindu goddess of death and destruction (Sanskrit: “She Who Is Black” or “She Who Is Death”) 

Kalma — The Finnish god of death and decay (Finnish: “The stench of corpses”)

Kanika — Black cloth 

Keket — The Egyptian goddess of darkness

Kiera — Little dark one 

Kindle — Set fire, to glow

L

Lamia — An evil witch-queen in the 2007 fantasy movie Stardust; also a Greek monster with the head and breast of a woman and the body of a serpent

Laylah — Night 

Leanira (pronounced ley-ah-NEE-ra)— Black butterfly 

Lilith  — Ghost, night monster

Lisha — Darkness before midnight

Livana — Lunar 

Lorelei — Enchantress 

Lucinda — Light; also Samantha’s black cat familiar in the 1964 TV show Bewitched 

Luna — Moon

M

Magena — Moon 

Maleficent — Doing evil or harm; also the evil fairy godmother in Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault

Medora — Ruler 

Mei — Dark

Melantha — Dark flower

Melaina — Dusky 

Melanie — Someone who is covered by shadows

Miyako — Beautiful night child 

Morrigan —  Irish goddess of death, destiny, and war (Irish for “Phantom Queen”)

Moriah — The hill country; also a large black cat in the 1974 World Fantasy Award-winning novel The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip

N

Naenia – The Roman goddess of funerals

Nisha —  Darkness of the night 

O

Orenda — Magical powers

P

Pandora — All-giving 

Persephone— The goddess queen of the underworld and wife of Hades in Greek mythology 

R

Rosemary — Dew of the sea; also a Mediterranean herb that's used to ward off evil spirits and witches 

S

Sabrina — Welsh Goddess of the River Severn 

Sage — Wise; also a Mediterranean herb used to purify and cleanse a religious space 

Samara — Guardian, protected by God

Sauda — Dark Beauty 

Sombra — Shade 

Stella — Celestial Star

Sukie — Lily; also a mild-mannered and tender-hearted witch from John Updike's 1984 fantasy novel The Witches of Eastwick

Sybil — Oracle

T

Turaya  — Star

Tia — The goddess of peaceful deaths in Haida mythology

U

Umbra — Shadow 

Ursula — Bear; also the evil sea witch in Disney's 1989 feature film The Little Mermaid

V

Valonia —  Shadow Valley 

Vespera — Of the evening 

W

Willow — Willow tree; also an extremely powerful teenage witch on Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Winnifred — Holy, blessed; also the head of the Sanderson witches in Disney's 1993 cult classic Hocus Pocus 

Winter — Time of water 

X

Xena — Guest, stranger

Z

Zelda — Gray battle 

Zila — Shadow 

Gender Neutral Cat Names

Black cat with golden eyes.

These unisex Black cat names draw inspiration from astronomy, pop culture, Gothic short stories, and ancient death gods.

A

Ash — Ash tree, happy 

Altair — The brightest star in the constellation Aquila the Eagle and the 12th brightest star in the night sky 

B

Bambino — The black cat of American author and humorist Mark Twain 

Blackwell — Dark stream

Blackberry — Fruit of the bramble 

Blackie — One that is black 

Blake — Fair-haired, dark

Blakeney — From the black island 

C

Church —The black cat from Stephen King’s Pet Sematary

Chocolate — A food made from cacao beans

Cinder — Hot ashes

Coffee — A brewed drink made from roasted coffee beans

Comet — A head with long hair

D

Dade —  Dark one 

Darcy — Dark one, from Arcy, from the fortress

Delaney — Dark challenger

Donaver — Brown black 

Draven — Child of the shadows 

Dublin — Black Pool 

Dusk — Sunset 

E

Echo — Reflected sound 

Eclipse — The hiding of any heavenly body by another

Elphaba (pronounced El-pha-ba) — The name of the wicked witch of the West in the 2003 Broadway musical Wicked

F

Fabre — Blacksmith 

Fate — One of great destiny, faith 

Friday —Day of Frigga, the Norwegian goddess of marriage, love, and destiny and wife of Odin

G

Ghost Breath, good or bad spirit 

Gypsy Wanderer

H

Hastie — Speedy; from the novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

I

Inali — Black fox 

J

Jiji — The black cat from Hayao Miyazaki's 1989 animated film Kiki’s Delivery Service

Jinx — Wicked spell

Jupiter — The supreme god 

K

Keir — Black 

Kyran — Black

L

Lethe — River of forgetfulness in Greek mythology 

Licorice — A black-colored sweet made from the extract of the roots of the licorice plant Glycyrrhiza glabra

M

Mage — Learned magician 

Mahogany — Dark wood 

Midnight — The middle of the night 

Moonshine — The light of the moon

Mugwort — A Eurasian perennial herb that's used for healing, divination, and dreaming

N

Nebula — Mist 

Nightshade — Shade of night

Nightmare — Terrifying dream 

Nimbus — Dark cloud

Ninja — Oneskilled in stealth

Nirvana — Bliss 

Nova — New; also the exploding surface of a white dwarf star

Nox — Night 

O

Obsidian — Black volcanic glass

Olive — Olive tree; also the longtime love interest of Popeye the Sailor Man

Omen — Faithful; also a sign or warning of something good or bad that will happen in the future

Onyx — Deep black gemstone 

Ouija — Spirit board 

P

Patchouli (pronounced puh-choo-lee) — A bushy, tropical herb that's associated with love, wealth, and sexual power 

Pennyroyal — A toxic herb that's carried to ward off the "evil eye" in American folk magic and Hoodoo 

Pepper — Hot spice 

Panther — Puma concolor, the largest of the small wildcats 

Phoenix — From the ashes 

Pluto — The black cat from Edgar Allen Poe’s short story The Black Cat

R

Raven — Blackbird 

S

Sable — Black 

Salem — Complete, peaceful; also Sabrina Spellman’s black cat familiar in Netflix’sChilling Adventures of Sabrina

Samhain — Halloween

Shadow — Shade from the sun

Stardust — Dust made of stars 

Storm — Tempest

Styx — One of the rivers of the Greek underworld 

Sullivan — Black-eyed one 

T

Tamala — Dark tree 

Twilight — The time between dawn and sunrise, or between sunset and dusk

V

Vega — Dweller in the meadow; also the 5th brightest star in the night sky 

W

Wednesday — Day of Woden, the Norwegian god of death and war; alsothe only daughter in the dark comedy The Addams Family by American cartoonist Charles Addams

Y

Yarrow — A plant used in courage, healing, or love spells

Yin — In the shade

Z

Zil — Shadow 

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