180+ Tabby Cat Names

Tabby cats, with their distinctive patterns, hold a special place in the hearts of cat lovers around the world. Their beautiful markings, combined with their playful personalities, can inspire some great tabby cat names that reflect their individual character and charm.

Tabby Cat Names

These names are inspired by the distinctive patterns of tabby cats, as well as some characteristics and colors that are associated with them.

Amber
Autumn
Bandit
Blaze
Bubbles
Caramel
Charcoal
Chip (as in Chocolate Chip or Tortilla Chip)
Cinnamon
Coco
Cookie
Dapple
Dots
Ember
Freckles
Ginger
Haze
Honey
Java
Jasper
Marmalade
Marbles
Mocha
Muffin
Nutmeg
Olive
Oreo
Paws
Peanut
Pebbles
Pepper
Puma
Ripple
Rusty
Sable
Safari
Sage
S’mores
Snickers
Speckles
Spice
Spot
Sprinkle
Stripe
Swirl
Tawny
Tiger
Whiskers
Willow
Zigzag

Names of Famous Real and Fictional Tabby Cats

Bob — Fans of felines fell in love with the true tale of a street musician and the stray cat to whom he forms a bond when A Street Cat Named Bob: And How He Saved My Life was published in 2012, and when an inspirational film about (and starring!) the feline was released in 2016.

Over the years Bob and his human buddy raised both awareness and funds for a multitude of organizations which help both homeless people and pets. Although Bob crossed Rainbow Bridge in 2020, the memory of the lovable orange moggy lives on thanks to a memorial statue which was unveiled in North London.

Buttercup — Although a tuxedo cat was chosen to portray Primrose’s purring pal in The Hunger Games, by the second installment of the franchise author Suzanne Collins original vision of a ginger cat was restored.

Cat — Classic film fans may choose to keep their feline friend’s moniker simple, just like Holly Golightly did in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Church — If you are a fan of fright flicks, you might want to name your new feline friend after the cat from Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Church (aka Winston Churchill) was portrayed on the big screen by a Maine Coon named Leo.

Cousin Ribby — The cousin of Tabitha Twitchit in tales told by Beatrix Potter.

Danny — An orange tabby in the 1997 animated musical Cats Don’t Dance.

Garfield — This orange tabby cat’s capers have tickled the funny bones of comic strip readers for decades. (And if you’re a fan of Garfield, don’t miss the Garfield Trail in Indiana!)

Goose — A rescue cat named Reggie starred as a Flerken in the 2019 hit Captain Marvel.

Heathcliff — Since 1973 creator George Gately’s comic strip cat has made fans of felines smile.

Jock — The memory of Winston Churchill’s love of cats lives on at the family home of the late British Prime Minister, Chartwell. In a tribute to a marmalade-colored tabby cat called Jock, who brought happiness to Churchill’s life in his final years, there is always an orange and white tabby named Jock presiding at the residence! Chartwell’s latest Jock is Jock VII, a rescue cat who took on the role in 2020.

Jonesy — Also known as Jones, this stout-hearted orange tabby was Rigby’s purring pal in the sci-fi flick Alien.

Keanu — A name associated with silver screen star Keanu Reeves, the Hawaiian word for “cool breeze” was also the moniker of the kitty from the 2016 Michael Key/Jordan Peele comedy, Keanu. The funny flick featured the acting chops of seven talented tabby kittens, who all portrayed the film’s title role. Every pint-sized purrformer was a rescue kitten, and each found a forever home following filming!

Keyboard Cat — AKA Bento, was a musically-minded rescue cat who gained fame for his purr-formances on the keyboard.

Lil BUB — This intergalactic Internet sensation made it her mission to help cats in need.

Marmalade — A name for fans of Internet famous felines, Marmalade was the orange tabby half of Cole and Marmalade.

Milo –This cute orange tabby kitten became pals with a precocious Pug in the movie The Adventures of Milo and Otis.

Maru — One of the Internet’s most famous felines.

Miss Moppet — A tale told by Beatrix Potter of a tiny tabby who is mocked by a mouse.

Morris — Perhaps the first celebrity feline, “the world’s most finicky cat”– who would only nom on his favorite brand of cat food– has been portrayed over the years by three rescue cats. Each one helped to shine a spotlight on pet adoption!

Mrs. Norris — Harry Potter fans will recognize the name of Hogwarts caretaker Mr. Filch’s feline friend. The kitty character was portrayed by a Maine Coon called Pebbles.

Munkustrap — The feline narrator of CATS.

Old Deuteronomy –The leader of the Jellicle cats in T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical adaptation, CATS.

Orangey — This orange tabby has won the hearts of generations of film fans thanks to his portrayal of Cat alongside Audrey Hepburn in the classic dramedy Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Orion — An orange tabby and white cat stepped into the role of feline friend to an alien known as Gentle Rosenberg in Men in Black.

Puss in Boots — This swashbuckling feline from the 17th century fairy tale by Giovanni Francesco Straparola and Charles Perrault was brought to life on the silver screen in the DreamWorks Animation adventures Shrek 2 as well as the film that bears the cat’s name.

Skidmark— The courageous kitty in Fear The Walking Dead.

Skimbleshanks— The railway Cat in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical CATS.

Socks— If you grew up reading stories spun by author Beverly Cleary, you might want to name your new kitty companion after the purring protagonist from the children’s book Socks.

Stubbs— If you are a politically-minded person with a new purring pal you might want to name your cat after the tailless yellow tabby who acted as the honorary mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska.

Tabby— Those not in the know may think that you’ve named your new feline family member after the pattern of her coat, but if you happen to be an admirer of Abraham Lincoln you might choose the name in honor of one of the 16th President’s cats! If you are a lover of classic literature you might want to name your cat after Tabitha “Tabby” Akroyd, a cook and housekeeper in the Bronte Parsonage. A friend to the Bronte sisters, it is believed that she inspired the character of Nelly Dean in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights and Martha in Charlotte Bronte’s Shirley.

Tabitha Twitchit — A character created by Beatrix Potter, this fictional feline was the mother of both Miss Moppet and Tom Kitten. The name Tabitha means “gazelle.”

Tara — if you have welcomed a courageous kitty into your heart and home, you might want to name her after Tara The Hero Cat, a tabby who gained Internet fame by rescuing her human family’s child from a dog. The name Tara means “hill” or “star.”

Thomasina — Disney brought author Paul Gallico’s kitty character to life in the 1964 classic the Three Lives of Thomasina.

Tom Kitten — A kitty creation of famed children’s author/illustrator Beatrix Potter.

Tiger— Dom DeLuise provided the voice of this kindly street cat in the animated movie An American Tail.

Tonto — In the 1974 road trip flick Harry & Tonto two orange tabbies tackled the role of Art Carney’s traveling companion.

Ulysses— Three talented rescue tabbies named Tigger, Daryl and Jerry portrayed hep cat Ulysses in the Coen brothers movie Inside Llewyn Davis.

Willow — This silver tabby’s paws began promenading through the halls of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in 2022 when the President and First Lady welcomed her into the Biden family.

Silver or Grey Tabby Names

Tabby coats come in many colors, and if your new feline friend’s fur is silver or grey you might want to check out our list of more than 65 grey cat names!

“Silver” in Various Languages

Irish– Airgead
French– Argent
Latin– Argenti
Italian— Argento
Corsican– Argentu
Swahili– Fedha
Maltese– Fidda
Finnish– Hopea
Uzbek– Kumush
Somali- Qalin
Indonesian and Malay– Perak
Catalan and Spanish— Plata
Portuguese– Prata
German– Silber
Bosnian, Polish and Slovenian– Srebro
Basque– Zilarra
Dutch– Zilver
Kurdish– Ziv

Brown Tabby Names

Names Associated with the Color Brown

Amber
Bark
Biscuit
Bronze
Butterscotch
Caramel
Chestnut
Chocolate
Cinnamon
Cocoa
Coffee
Copper
Fawn
Hazel
Henna
Honey
Khaki
Mahogany
Nutmeg
Russet
Rust
Sepia
Sienna
Toast
Toffee
Topaz
Umber
Walnut

“Brown” in Various Languages

Barna– Hungarian.
Braon– Bosnian.
Braun– German.
Brong– Luxembourgish.
Bruin– Afrikaans and Dutch.
Brun– Danish, Norwegian and Swedish
Bruna– Esperanto.
Brunneis– Latin
Bunni– Somalian.
Castanho– Portuguese.
Cokelat– Indonesian.
Coklat–Javanese and Sudanese
Donn– Irish and Scots Gaelic
Jigarrang–Uzbek
Kafe– Albanian
Kahawia– Swahili
Kahverengi– Turkish
Kannella– Maltese
Kayumanggi– Tagalog
Maro– Romanian
Marron– French and Spanish
Marrone– Corsican and Italian
Mawon– Haitian Creole
Palaunu– Hawaiian
Parauri– Maori
Pruun– Estonian
Rudas–Lithuanian
Ruskea– Finnish
Smeda– Croatian

Orange Tabby Names

You will be tickled pink over our list of over 180 names for orange tabbies!

Names for Striped Tabbies

If you are considering striped cat names, here are the names of a few other striped stars of the animal kingdom:

Aardwolf
Badger
Bongo
Bumblebee
Cheetah
Chipmunk
Clownfish
Dascyllus
Eland
Ferret
Hyena
Kudu
Lemur
Mongoose
Numbat
Okapi
Quagga
Raccoon
Skunk
Tapir
Tiger
Zebra

Artists Associated with Tabby Cats

Edward Gorey— Along with being a pet parent to six cats, including tabbies, the late artist/author’s comically macabre illustrations often featured our feline friends. Although Edward Gorey passed away in 2000, his legacy of love for all creatures lives on through The Edward Gorey Charitable Trust, which distributes the royalties from the artist’s work to the many animal welfare organizations which were close to his heart.

Louis Wain— Famous for his anthropomorphic cat drawings, Wain (who was immortalized through actor Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayed in The Electrical Life of Louis Wain) was a supporter of several animal charities, including The Society for the Protection of Cats & the Anti-Vivisection Society.

Violet Roberts— This Edwardian era illustrator rendered tabbies in attire on postcards that are now sought out collector’s items.