The popularity of cat names differs by nation, even in nations with the same language. The ranking of the most popular cat names can be assessed, in particular, from pet insurance registrations, microchip registrations, and breed registries.
In the English language
Adrian Franklin, senior lecturer of the School of Sociology and Social Work at the University of Tasmania and author of Animals and Modern Cultures, told the Sunday Tasmanian in 2001: "In the 1950s and '60s dogs and cats were given 'dog' and 'cat' names. [...] Cats had names like 'Blackie' and 'Spotty', names that illustrated their physical appearance. The 1980s marked a turning point, with the 10 most popular dog names all being compatible as human names, but in the '90s this progressed even further. People are now giving animals the same names as contemporary names given to babies." He believed that as people have fewer children or no children at all, pets become more important in their lives.
In Australia, the United Kingdom and in the United States, news accounts have noted that the same popular baby names were also being given to pets. The new names for dogs more closely echoed human baby names, said Lindsey Basserabie, a company official, but the trend occurred for both pet species. "In fact, this year's list of top 10 dog and cat names could nearly be straight from the birth pages." In the United States, according to an article in The Tampa Tribune, some of the most popular cat names also appeared on the Social Security Administration's list of most common baby names: "Isabella (Bella) is No. 4 for girls, and Sophia ranks ninth on both the Social Security and pet lists."
Australia
According to "Bow Wow Meow", an Australian company that provides pet tags to pet stores and veterinarians, the 10 most popular cat names its Australian customers chose, as of 2010, are:
In 2006, a survey of 270,000 Nestle Purina PetCare customers in Australia came up with these most popular cat names:
Tiger
Puss
Smokey
Misty
Tigger
Kitty
Oscar
Missy
Max
Ginger
United Kingdom
Historically, the cat-specific names "Tibbles" or "Tibby" were common, and are still occasionally used. These were derived from the character of Tybalt or Tibert in the Reynard the Fox folk tale cycle, and ultimately from the Germanic name Theobald, derived from theod- "people" and bald "bold". The name was applied to cats as they were popularly thought to be daring and curious. The old cat name "Gib", a contraction of the name "Gilbert", was also thought to have arisen through the latter being used as a 'translation' of the French "Tibert". However the similar-sounding name "Tiddles", given in England to both male and female cats, was instead derived from a dialect verb tiddle, "to pet or stroke".
"Tabby", another traditional cat name, was originally used for any striped cat but later led to the widespread use of the etymologically unrelated name "Tabitha" for female cats. The cat name "Thomas" or "Tom", as well as the generic term "tomcat", appears to have been originated and popularized by an anonymous work (sometimes attributed to Fielding, although most likely by William Guthrie) first printed in 1760, The Life and Adventures of a Cat, whose hero is called "Tom the Cat"; before this time male cats were generally called "ram-cats" or "gib-cats" rather than "tomcats".
Scottish cat names included "Baudrons" or "Baudrans", an affectionate term equivalent to "puss". The word appears to be related to the dialect term bawd used for the European hare, much as the dialect names "puss", "furze cat" and "mawkin" were also recorded for the hare. In Wales, "titw" was used as a similar affectionate term for cats.
By the mid-1980s, surveys indicated that the most popular names in the UK were largely genderless and based on colour, with few personal names, although "Tabitha" remained popular and "Sam" was the most popular name for male cats.
In 2006, Direct Line, a pet insurance company, compiled a list of the most popular cat names chosen by its customers. The company's list of popular cat names "overlaps heavily with the same year's 100 most popular children's names in England and Wales", according to Melissa Lafsky, writing in the "Freakonomics" blog at the New York Times website: Molly Charlie Tigger Poppy Oscar Smudge Millie Daisy Max Jasper
Another survey conducted in 2006 came up with different results. In that poll, conducted for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 2,000 people in the United Kingdom were asked about their pets' names. The most popular names were: