Pet names
41 Black Cat Names, With Meanings
Names for a black cat — Salem, Binx, Shadow, Onyx, Raven and more, with real meanings where they exist.
Black cats have the richest naming tradition of any coat, and this list leans right into it. The film cats come first — Salem from Sabrina, Binx from Hocus Pocus, Bagheera the panther — followed by the dark-and-literal set: Shadow, Onyx, Raven, Midnight, Jet and Coal. There's a gothic streak too, for the cat who earns it: Nyx, Vesper, Morticia and Poe.
Several carry a real meaning, and we give it straight: Nero is Italian for black, Noir is French for black, Nyx is Greek for night, Ebony is the deep black wood. The pure word-names — Inky, Licorice, Sooty, Boo — stay as they are rather than dressed up with an invented origin. It runs A to Z below; a black kitten usually names itself within a day or two.
All 41 black cat names, A–Z
Word name
Word name
Word name
Word name
Word name
English · ashes
Word name
Word name
Spanish · devil
Word name
English · deep black wood
Word name
Word name
Greek myth
Word name
Word name
Word name
Arabic · night
Word name
Word name
Word name
Word name
Italian · black
French · black
Greek myth · night
Latin · black volcanic glass
English · black gemstone
Greek · the panther
Word name
Word name
Word name
English · the raven bird
French · black
Word name
Word name
Word name
Word name
Latin · shadow
English · the fabric
Latin · evening
Slavic · ruler
Every name here is one people genuinely use for a pet, and each is drawn from the same hand-checked list behind our full names finder. Where a name has a real, settled meaning we give it; word-names like Biscuit or Shadow are marked as word-names rather than dressed up with an invented origin. The count in the title is the real number on the page, and we add to it over time.
Menu