Cats are known to be some of the most efficient killers on the planet. From saber tooth tigers to tiny tabby cats, their hunting prowess knows no equal. So effective as a predator, the big killer cats subsequently evolved four times on prehistoric earth. If you want to pay homage to your new kitty’s deadly heritage, here are some badass cat names for stealthy cats from film, history, and mythology that embrace their basic, killer instinct.
Badass Cat Names Male From Film
Apollo Creed: Rocky’s first nemesis.
Conan: Conan the Barbarian.
Drax: Main heavy in Moonraker.
Dutch: Arnold Schwarzenegger character in Predator.
Hannibal Lecter: Cannibalistic shrink in The Silence of the Lambs.
Jaws: Gigantic bad guy with metal teeth in Bond’s Moonraker.
Juggernaut: The Unstoppable Juggernaut.
Jules: Jules Winnfield, hitman in Pulp Fiction.
Keyser Söze: All mysterious villain in The Usual Suspects.
Kobayashi: Right-hand man of Keyser Söze in The Usual Suspects.
Leon: Hitman in The Professional.
Maximus: The Gladiator.
Morpheus: Badass black cat name, from The Matrix.
Rambo: PTSD ridden Vietnam vet, chiefly known as a reckless lone-wolf.
Terminator: Man/machine from the future.
Tyler Durden: Inventor of Fight Club, which we can’t discuss.
Wick: Retired hitman and killer of puppy killers.
Badass Names for Cats From Film Femme Fatales
Aki: Female Bond girl, Ninja with the Japanese Secret Service in the film, You Only Live Twice.
Alice: Chiefly Resident Evil’s killer of the undead.
Baby Jane: Killer Betty Davis Role: She finally serves her sister a yummy dead rat on a silver platter; good kitty!
Bambi: Henchman of Ernst Stavro Blofeld in Diamonds are Forever.
Beatrix: The Bride in Kill Bill who methodically hunts down her would be murderers.
Bonita: Henchman of Mr. Ramirez in Goldfinger.
Catra: Enemy of She-ra: Princess of Power.
Charlie Baltimore: From the film Long Kiss Goodnight. Charlie, a former CIA assassin with amnesia, gets her memory back while chopping vegetables. Then she gets busy with the assassination business again.
Coffy: Title character of a campy Pam Greer film from the ’70s – A classic “blaxploitation” film for “those of you who like your coffee black and bitter”… naturally, Coffy packs a big gun and a sassy attitude. Coffy makes a great badass cat name for a brown kitty.
Croft: Laura Croft, rich girl, and renowned Tomb Raider.
Electra: Electra King, main villain in The World is Not Enough.
Fiona: Fiona Volpe, villainess of Thunderball.
Gogo – Asian “school girl” hit man in Kill Bill. Nimble as a cat, she swings a spiked ball on a chain to take out her enemies.
Gozer: “Gozer the Gozarian,” Destructor of the Universe, Ghostbusters. The ultimate badass cat name!
Hella: Norse goddess and sister of Thor.
Jade Fox: Female warrior and murderess of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Initially, posing as the Governor’s daughter’s governess for many years, Jade Fox teaches her charge, Jen, the art of Wudang swordsmanship. In due time, the pair make a formidable duo leaping from treetop to rooftop in a series of protracted battles.
Katniss – Hunger Games heroine.
Kiddo: Last name and nickname of “The Bride,” in Kill Bill I and II.
Kissy Suzuki: Japanese Ninja and Secret Service Agent of Tiger Tanaka.
La Femme Nikita: Crazy French Hitman chick. Convicted felon, Nikita, is given a choice between death and life as an assassin for the French Government. She chooses life as an assassin, and later, in a twist of fate, chooses life again. Name your kitty Nikita if you want her to be able to truly take advantage of her nine lives.
Leia: Star Wars’ Princess and badass rebel.
Leeloo: Fifth Element‘s most powerful weapon and savior of the universe. A red-headed fireball, and just like every house cat, she was designed as the perfect killing machine.
Mulan: Disney heroine who kicks ass against the Huns.
Magda: Henchwoman of the villainess, Octopussy, in the 007 film of the same name.
Mei-Lei: Henchwoman of Goldfinger.
Miho: Sin City – Mute female assassin who serves as enforcer and defender of “Old Town.” She is often referred to as “Deadly Little Miho.”
Nomi: Female MI6 agent who takes over the 007 designation with aplomb.
Norma Desmond: Sunset Boulevard – Silent film star from days gone by; she surprisingly kills her handsome but rude biographer, leaving him floating in the swimming pool. Some of Norma’s best quotes “I am big, it’s the pictures that got small.” and “We didn’t need dialogue. We had faces!” Name your Kitty Norma if she has a larger than life personality.
More Feline Femme Fatale Names
Paris: Paris Carver, henchman to Elliott Carver in Tomorrow Never Dies.
Poison Ivy: Batman botanist turned villainess.
Pola: Pola Ivanova, KGB agent in A View to a Kill.
Pussy Galore: Bond girl and Goldfinger’s henchwoman, ringleader of some tough cats. Initially trapeze artists, her group of performing catwomen, “Pussy Galore and her Abrocats,” is unsuccessful as a circus act, therefore the women train as cat burglars, ultimately bent on taking out Fort Knox.
Ripley – Alien huntress and totally badass cat name. She stalks aliens through four Aliens horror films.
Rosa: Rosa Kleb, partner in crime with Ernst Stavro Blofeld in From Russia with Love.
Scully – She stalks aliens through nine seasons of The X-Files.
Selene: Underworld – A black clad Death Dealer of the Vampire’s fighting elite, naturally she is committed to the extermination of the Lycans (werewolves). Call your kitty Selene if you want her to best the big dogs in the neighborhood.
Solitaire: Bond girl associated with Mr. Big in Live and Let Die. She has the ability to foretell the future as well as divine truth tellers from liars, whether she knows the language or not. While in Mr. Big’s captivity she is cold, superior, with a hint of cruelty, like any strange cat. Following her escape into Bond’s sphere, she generally becomes warm and open to an affair with James.
Storm: X-men heroine who rains terror, literally, on the bad guys.
Sukey Tawdry and Lotte Lenya: of Mack the Knife and Three Penny Opera. Notable streetwalkers and thieves; the line forms on the right, now that Mack is back.
Taro: Miss Taro, female henchman of Dr. No.
Thumper: Henchman of Ernst Stavro Blofeld in Diamonds are Forever.
Tiffany: Tiffany Case, villainess who changes sides and survives in Diamonds are Forever.
Trinity: The Matrix, clad in black, she jumps like a cat and always gets her man. The purrfect black cat name.
Vesper: Vesper Lynd, Henchman of Quantum, in Casino Royale.
Bonus Best Badass Cat-women – Eartha Kit (Batman the TV Series) and Natasha Kinski (Cat People).
Tough Male Cat Names from Myth and Legend
Achilles: Dipped in the River Styx by his mother as an infant, Achilles is indestructible, except at his heel, where his mother held him. Eventually he is killed in the Trojan War, by a poison arrow that nicks his heel.
Ajax: Ajax the Great, known primarily as the second greatest Greek warrior in the Trojan War, after Achilles.
Ares: Greek god of War.
Fianna: Celtic warriors who could run with great speed and could communicate with animals. They guarded Ireland and supported the high king.
Hector: Trojan prince and warrior. He is particularly favored among the Greek heroes for his courage and strength, as well as being a loving husband to his wife.
Loki: Norse half god, firstly a mischief maker.
Prometheus: Greek Titan god, primarily known as the giver of fire to man.
Odin: Norse king of the gods.
Zeus: Leader of the Olympic gods.
Badass Girl Cat Names From Myths and Legends
Atalanta
Fleet of foot, no man could beat her in a foot race. But more importantly, Atalanta was one of the slayers of the Calydonian boar. The boar had terrorized the countryside for years, finally a boar hunt ensued. Atalanta was the first to draw blood, as such she was awarded the head and hide of the boar, by its ultimate slayer Meleager. However, when his uncles removed the spoils from Atalanta, Meleager, who had fallen in love with her, slew his uncles. Naturally outraged, his mother avenged the deaths of her brothers, by killing her son, Meleager. Atalanta eventually married another, but this is a another myth for another article.
Circe
Greek bad girl and witch. Circe murdered her husband and was placed on an island by her father, where she waylaid Odysseus for a year. Renowned for her vast knowledge of drugs and herbs, Circe used magic to have her way with men. Through the use of magical potions she transformed her enemies, and those who offended her, into animals. In fact, Odysseus’ crew spent a short time on her desert island as swine.
Medea
A sorceress of ancient Greek mythology, Medea helped Jason secure the Golden Fleece through her many potions and powers of foresight. Medea agreed to help Jason on the condition that he marry her once he had earned the Golden Fleece. Initially, Jason made good on his promise; they married and had three children. However, Jason later abandoned Medea for the king of Corinth’s daughter, Glauce. Incensed, Medea promptly poisoned Glauce and the king, and in the ultimate act of revenge, killed two of her children by Jason, Tisander and Alcimenes. In true nine lives tradition, Medea went on to have several other lovers and children, as Jason chased her across the Mediterranean, seeking his revenge.
Skadi
Norse goddess and huntress, frequently depicted with bow and arrow and sometimes skis.
Sphynx
Half woman and half lion, she killed anyone that could not solve her riddles. The Sphynx now resides in Giza, gaurding the great pyramids. If you need a guard cat with a puzzling sense of humor, name her Sphynx, and she will also keep your secrets.
Grendel
Beowolf’s nemesis. She tears men limb from limb as if they were mice. Which was well deserved, since they had killed her children. Name your new cat Grendel if she is a protective mother cat.
Badass Cat Names Male from History
Attila the Hun: King of the Huns of Central Europe, he was markedly known for his bloodlust.
Caligula: A Roman emperor, chiefly known for his madness and cruelty. Caligula means “little boot.”
Caesar: Julius Caesar, preeminent General and ruler of Rome.
Capone: Al Capone, surely the most famous gangster of all time.
Dillinger: Bank robber of the 1930s Depression.
Flamma: Chiefly known as one of the greatest Roman gladiators.
Genghis Khan: First khan of the Mogul Empire known primarily for his brutality.
Miyamoto Musashi: Japan’s greatest Samurai. Markedly, Miyamoto was undefeated in over 60 battles.
Rasputin: The Mad Monk, he markedly steered Russia towards chaos. Like a cat with nine lives, Rasputin famously refused to die. Russian aristocrats sought to remove him from court via potassium cyanide poisoning, yet Rasputin survived. Next they shot him several times, even in the heart, yet according to Yusupov, “There was something appalling and monstrous in his diabolical refusal to die.” Finally, they tossed him into a frozen river, where he eventually succumbed to the various attempts on his life.
Saladin: First Sultan of Syria and Egypt, he returned Jerusalem to Muslim control.
Spartacus: A Thracian gladiator who eventually led a slave uprising against the Roman Republic.
Sun Tzu: Ancient Chinese military strategist primarily known as the author of The Art of War.
Vlad: Vlad the Impaler also known as Vlad Dracula, born in Transylvania, is evidently a national hero of Romania.
Wallace: William Wallace was a Scottish knight and one of the main leaders of the First Scottish War for Independence.
Badass Female Cat Names from History
Aileen: Aileen Wuornos, essentially American’s first female serial killer, immortalized in the film, Monster.
Belle: Belle Star, ruthless American Western villain.
Boudica: Celtic Queen who eventually led an uprising against the Roman. Her name means “victorious woman,” naturally she symbolizes the struggle for freedom and justice.
Cleopatra: Queen of Egypt, admired for being an intelligent and charming beauty, Cleo was also known as the “Serpent of the Nile.”
Livia: Livia Drusilla, Caesar Augustus’ wife and infamous poisoner of her enemies, including her husband.
Mary: Mary the First of England, also known as Bloody Mary for her ruthless killing of Protestants, while attempting to restore Catholicism.
Livia: Livia Drusilla, Caesar Augustus’ wife and infamous poisoner of her enemies, including her husband.
Medici: Catherine De Medici, France’s Queen Regent, eventually known as the Black Queen.
Badass Cat Names for Male and Female Cats
Consort: To habituate with the enemy.
Finagler: One who coerces or inveigles others into their nefarious schemes.
Hunter: One who stalks prey.
Hatch: To invent a scheme or to plot.
Ming: Evil emperor in the Flash Gordon series.
Pepper: Spicy spice.
Predator: Hunter.
Quisling: A traitor or conspirator.
Schemer: One who plots evil.
Seven: Deadly 007 with a license to kill.
Sriracha: Hot sauce.
Slayer: Killer.
Slyboots: A conspirator.
Sniper: One who hides and kills remotely.
Tabasco: Super hot sauce.
Final Thoughts
Cat Naming Tips: Clearly badass cat names can come from many sources including history, myth and film. Do you know a real life badass dude or chick? If so consider honoring them by naming your new kitty after their signature toughness. Go ahead and give your kitty a totally over-the-top cat name. After all, he is not likely to come when you call anyway.
Still thinking about cat names? Check out thousands more cat monikers here!
