So you brought home a new kitty. Congratulations! Whether you have adopted a feline from a rescue or shelter or discovered an adorable kitten you wanted to bring home, mayhem is such an essential part of the experience. Once you name your cat, it’ll lay the foundation for the relationship you will share.
But how exactly do you name your cat? And if you are dead set and want to use an O as the first letter, what are your options? In this article, we’re going to explore over 100 name choices you could potentially choose that start with O. Plus, we gathered up a few with O as an ending as well! Let’s get to it.
How to Name Your Cat
Naming a pet can be really difficult sometimes. People choose names based on different factors. For example, some people might name all of their animals after their favorite food, band, or character.
Others might have to get to know the personality of the cat in question Before they make a decision.
Make an Online Poll
If you have a social media account, you could try creating a poll. You could give people a few options and let them vote for their favorite. You can easily choose which name wins—unless, of course, you change your mind!
Ask a Friend/Family
Get your friends and family in on the naming fun! And gather your children, parents, brothers, or sisters. Let some of them spout off some ideas. You never know what contribution might just fit the best.
Choose at Random
There are tons of websites where you can select the names you like and put them in a database, and it produces just one of the options you give it. Or, you can go the old-fashioned route and draw a name out of a hat!
Most Popular Male Cat Names Starting with O
The top 5 most popular names were taken from cats.com’s list of popular O names for cats. The names are voted on by readers, who leave a “love” reaction to their favorite names.
All names have the number of people who “loved” them at the time of this writing, but you can always vote for your favorite as well!
1. Oliver
According to cats.com, Oliver is the most popular O name for cats, with 203 “loves” at the time of this writing. The name is most likely inspired by the orange cat from the Disney movie Oliver & Company, which was loosely based on the novel Oliver Twist.
Oliver can also be used for female cats!
2. Orion
According to cats.com, Orion comes in second place with 197 “loves.” In Greek mythology, Orion is the name of a giant and mighty hunter. The name makes sense for cats, except maybe the giant part.
3. Orson
Orson comes in third place, according to cats.com, with 192 “loves”. Orson has its origins in Latin, meaning “bear cub” or “little bear”, which is the perfect name for a cute kitty!
4. Omeo
Omeo has 185 “loves”. This is a unique name for a cat. It is an Aboriginal name meaning “higher than the hills” or simply “mountain”. It may be suitable if your cat has a larger-than-life personality.
5. Owen
Rounding out the top 5 is Owen with 180 “loves”. Owen is a Welsh name, meaning “well-born” or “young warrior”. It’s definitely a cute name for a cat.
Most Popular Female Cat Names Starting with O
Using the same database from cats.com, we have also rounded up the top five female names based on the number of “loves”.
Oliver actually won in this category too, since it is a gender neutral name, so we went with the traditionally female name with the highest number of “loves” as the top choice.
1. Ophelie
With 195 “loves”, Ophelie is the most popular name for female cats. Ophelie is the French version of the name Ophelia, which means “help” or “advantage”, and Ophelia was the name of the heroine in Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet.
Interestingly, the name Ophelia only has 103 “loves”, so perhaps people like Ophelie because it is more unique.
2. Orva
Orva comes in a close second place, with 192 “loves”. Orva is a name of English and French origin. It means “brave friend” or “golden girl”, so it’s a cute sentiment of what our cats mean to us.
3. Oki
With 175 “loves,” Oki comes in third place. This primarily female name comes from Japan and means “ocean-centered.”
4. Ororo
Ororo comes in a close fourth place, with 170 “loves”. Ororo is of Kenyan origin and means “soft” or “sensitive” in Swahili. It’s the perfect name for a sweet and gentle kitty. It is also the civilian name of Storm, a heroine in the X-Men comic books.
5. Olga
In fifth place with 136 “loves” is Olga. Olga comes from Slavic and Russian and means “holy” or “blessed”. It is the equivalent of the Scandinavian name Helga.
Other Popular Male Cat Names Starting with O
Here are some other popular names for male cats, in alphabetical order:
- Obadiah
- Octavio
- Olaf
- Omar
- Oreo
- Orlando
- Orville
- Oscar
- Oslo
- Oswald
- Osirus
- Otis
- Otto
- Ozias
- Ozzy
Other Popular Female Cat Names Starting with O
Here are some other popular female names for cats that start with O, in alphabetical order.
- Oakley
- Octavia
- Odelia
- Odessa
- Oksana
- Olive
- Olympia
- Onyx
- Oona
- Opal
- Ora
- Orange
- Orchid
- Oriana
- Orla
Character Names for Cats
Do you have a favorite character in a book or movie? If so, you could put that name to good use. Check out this list to see if something noticeable strikes your fancy!
- Obi-Wan—Star Wars
- Odie—Garfield
- Oggy—Oggy and the Cockroaches
- Oh—Home
- Olaf—Frozen
- Olive Oyl—Popeye
- Olivia—Olivia the Pig
- O’Malley—The Artisocats
- Oogway—Kung Fu Panda
- Oogie Boogie—The Nightmare Before Christmas
- Oprah—Oprah Winfrey
- Optimus—The Transformers
- Ord—Dragon Tales
- Orville—The Rescuers
- Oscar—Shark Tale
- Osmosis Jones—Osmosis Jones
Random Names for Cats
If all else failed, check out this list of random O words and names we came up with. Hopefully, something really sticks out!
- Oak
- Oasis
- Oaten
- Oatmeal
- Oblea
- Oblong
- Oboe
- Obsidian
- Ocean
- Ochre
- October
- Octopus
- Oculus
- Odo
- Odyssey
- Ohana
- Okra
- Oleander
- Oliebol
- Olympic
- Ombra
- Ombre
- Omen
- Omni
- Omnibus
- Onion
- Ontario
- Oodle
- Oolie
- Oolong
- Orbit
- Orchard
- Oregon
- Oriole
- Ornery
- Orzo
- Othello
- Otho
- Ovie
- Ouija
- Owl
- Oxford
- Ozark
- Ozma
Bonus: Names Ending with O
If you couldn’t find an O name that seemed to fit, what if the name ended with an O instead? Here are several names for cats that fit that description. Since O is often masculine, you’ll see many of these options are often male names, but don’t let that stop you from taking a look.
- Aldo
- Anno
- Arvo
- Alonzo
- Cardoso
- Carmelo
- Cielo
- Coelho
- Columbo
- Divo
- Eliseo
- Frio
- Galileo
- Gallo
- Garbo
- Greco
- Haractio
- Harlo
- Ivo
- Ivalo
- Jago
- Juno
- Keiko
- Kitto
- Laszlo
- Leo
- Leto
- Lido
- Lucero
- Ludo
- Margo
- Marlo
- Massimo
- Meximo
- Milo
- Monteiro
- Nico
- Pinto
- Rio
- Rizzo
- Rocio
- Rosario
- Russo
- Sappho
- Shilo
- Tycho
- Ugo
- Valentino
- Yoko
Conclusion
Since O is a rather obscure letter, there aren’t many names that start with it. However, we think this makes it all the more unique and fun to work with. You could even make up your own O name if you put the right sounds together!
We hope our list is helpful. If you didn’t find an O name you liked, perhaps you liked a name ending in O the best. We wish you all the best on your name search, and we know you’ll choose the perfect one!
See Also:
Featured Image Credit: Linn Currie, Shutterstock