disney cat names: every disney cat, ranked and rated

Disney has put a great many cats on screen, and having watched them all under duress, I have opinions about every one. So this is not merely a list of names. It is a judgement. Below are the famous Disney cats, the names worth borrowing, and my honest assessment of the animals that wore them first, delivered with the impartiality of a cat who was not consulted for any of the films and remains bitter about it.

the greats (names worth stealing)

The cats who did the colour proud. Give your animal one of these and it inherits a decent reputation.

• Lucifer (Cinderella's cat, a magnificent villain, my respect)
• Bagheera
• Figaro
• Rajah
• Cheshire
• Oliver
• Thomas O'Malley
• Sergeant Tibbs
• Dinah
• Berlioz

A note on the two I rate most. Lucifer, the fat black cat from Cinderella, is a proper villain who commits fully to making everyone's life worse, and I will not hear a word against him. Cheshire, on the other hand, is a smug fog with teeth, and I say that with admiration. Any cat that can vanish mid-conversation and leave only its opinion behind is doing something right.

the aristocats (nepo kittens, all of them)

Duchess and her children live in a mansion, inherit a fortune and sing about it. They are nepo kittens, every one, and I resent them the way any working cat resents the idle rich. The names, however, are excellent, which only makes it worse.

• Duchess
• Marie
• Toulouse
• Berlioz
• O'Malley
• Scat Cat
• Frou-Frou
• Roquefort
• Napoleon
• Georges

the lion king roster (technically cats, and they know it)

Lions are cats that skipped leg day on humility. The names are grand and they suit a house cat that believes it rules a savannah rather than a two-bedroom flat.

• Simba (see also: every fourth ginger cat)
• Nala
• Mufasa
• Scar
• Sarabi
• Kiara
• Kovu
• Zira
• Sarafina
• Rafiki

the deep cuts

For the owner who wants a Disney cat name nobody will recognise, which is its own small pleasure. Si and Am from Lady and the Tramp are the worst-behaved cats Disney ever drew, and I mean that as the highest praise.

• Si
• Am
• Lucifer
• Tigger
• Gideon
• Pom-Pom
• Mittens
• Rufus
• Kitty Softpaws
• Felicia

how to choose

A Disney name comes with a character attached, so choose the character you would actually want in your home. Lucifer is glorious on screen and a warning in real life; name a cat that and do not be surprised by what you get. Cheshire suits a cat that appears and disappears at will, which is most of them. Simba suits a confident ginger, and there are, as established, a great many of those already. Pick the on-screen cat whose personality your animal shares, not just the name you liked, and say it aloud to be sure it still charms you on the fortieth time. Then live with your nepo kitten in peace.

Related reading from my desk: the cat names hub for every list I have compiled, orange cat names for the inevitable Simba, and funny cat names for when you abandon the theme entirely.