# Help me name my new kitten **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 5, 2010, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232 "2010-08-05T04:36:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThreadPirateRoberts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@ThreadPirateRoberts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThreadPirateRoberts)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232/1 "2010-08-05T04:36:42Z")
I adopted a new kitten yesterday and am having trouble naming him/her. We think it’s a girl but it is only 8 weeks old and we don’t know if the testes would have dropped yet were it a boy. I would post pics but alas my camera isn’t working right now, might be able to get pics soon though. He/She is a long haired black cat with bright blue eyes and a _very_ playful personality. Any name ideas? I would love to know meanings of the suggested names as well if possible. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232/2 "2010-08-05T04:42:42Z")
To try and figure out if it’s a boy or girl look at the ano-genital area. I’d there is a teardrop shaped opening just below the anus, it’s a girl. Boys have a smaller, circular opening a little further down. No name suggestions yet, I have enough trouble naming all the little foster kittens we get. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/41988e/32.png) [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232/3 "2010-08-05T04:58:50Z")
I always thought if the two holes on the back end are close together (like very close together on a small/baby cat), it’s girl. If they are not very close together, it’s a boy. (Yes, this method is easir to use when you have kittens of both genders in front of you) I wanted to name my current cat back when she was a baby, Zelda. However she informed her that was not her name so it is still free. (Hai says “hai!” btw) ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232/4 "2010-08-05T05:02:52Z")
Most cats and kittens come already equipped with names. It’s YOUR job to figure it out. If you guess wrong, then you will experience Epic Feline Scorn, which is very painful, but usually not fatal. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232/5 "2010-08-05T05:23:11Z")
You have a kitten? That’s funny, I don’t SEE a kitten… ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232/6 "2010-08-05T05:23:36Z")
Mephistopheles. Meph for short. Hmmm…maybe not. If the cat escaped, then you’d have to go around looking for Meph, and that could lead to sit-com style misunderstandings. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232/7 "2010-08-05T05:25:18Z")
I always liked Rex for a black cat. Very dignified. Better if it’s a boy though. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232/8 "2010-08-05T05:32:53Z")
C’mon…you know the rules here… You don’t get a name until we get a picture. ---
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232/9 "2010-08-05T05:42:44Z")
I have always wanted to name a kitten Zingiberene (Zingi for short), which is the chemical name for the aromatic compound in the oil of ginger. Better for an orange cat I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232/10 "2010-08-05T06:09:15Z")
Waffles ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232/11 "2010-08-05T08:34:22Z")
Kingsford. Works better for a boy. (charcoal in reference to his/her color) ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232/12 "2010-08-05T11:43:57Z")
I think all cat owners should consider naming their cat Schrodinger. My cat is not, however, named Schrodinger because my ten year old daughter did the naming. She is black and white and named Penguin. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232/13 "2010-08-05T12:14:29Z")
Just don’t name it John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. That’s my name. ---
**Author:** ![RalfCoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@RalfCoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RalfCoder)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232/14 "2010-08-05T12:26:43Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > I always liked Rex for a black cat. Very dignified. Better if it’s a boy though. Roxie would be good for a girl. We had a tiny little orange tabby kitten that I originally “Widget”, but when she got bigger, that was a little too cutesie for something of her size, so we switched it to “Peanut”, short for “Peanut Butter”. Now that she’s getting a little round, she gets called “Chunky” now and then. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232/15 "2010-08-05T12:43:39Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Just don’t name it John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. > > That’s my name. John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt? Your name is _my_ name, too! As for the kitty, I like “Doug” for a boy, and “Phyllis” for a girl. And yes, my advice re: sexing tiny kittens is that if the anus and genitals look like a semicolon ( ; ) it’s a girl, and if they look like a colon ( : ), it’s a boy. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232/16 "2010-08-05T12:44:56Z")
Given the OP’s username, I’m going to suggest Buttercup. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232/17 "2010-08-05T12:51:19Z")
A lot of friends name their pets for famous people in history. While I think thats sweet, I say you should go the complete other way. Name him/her Shredder…! ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232/18 "2010-08-05T12:54:52Z")
I came in to suggest Buttercup too 🙂 We finally figured out our little black (girl) kitten’s name. Her name is mokona, from xxxholic. If she had been white, her name would probably be mokona, from tsubasa. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232/19 "2010-08-05T13:03:49Z")
Tibs (Tiberius) for a boy. Tia (Athena) for a girl. Other cool cat names are Oliver (Ollie), William (Willie) and Elliot (Ellie). I also always thought Ike was a cool name for a black cat. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232/20 "2010-08-05T13:14:19Z")
Audrey Batfink. Doesn’t matter if it’s male or female. It’s a cat. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-name-my-new-kitten/549232.md?page=2)