Enigmatic Feline Names
Winston Churchill famously described Russia as “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” This description might just as well have been made about the most enigmatic of species, the domestic cat. Stealthy cats, with their inscrutable gaze, inspire admiration of their physical prowess in some, and fear of their slinky slyness in others. With that in mind, choose from mysterious cat names for your new companion which exalt his or her secret powers of the hunt, dispatched with alacrity, in the dark of the night.
Cat Names That Mean Tricky, Secret, Mysterious and Mystic
Amon: Egyptian, above all the God of Gods “the Hidden One.”
Bastet: Egyptian, Goddess usually depicted with the head of a cat; Bastet protects the home from evil spirits.
Canny: Sly or cunning.
Charade: Absurd parody or farce.
Chiller: Frightening or scary.
Dagrun: Norse, “secret lore.”
Darnall: Gaelic, “secret well kept.”
Dodge: Trick.
Dread: A sense of foreboding.
Dybbuk: Jewish folklore, disembodied human spirit seeking a human to possess, frequently imprisoned in a dybbuk box.
Elam: Hebrew, “hidden.”
Epic: Heroic or grand journey.
Fix: A secret plan or plot.
Gizem: Turkish, meaning “enigma, mystery, secret.”
Hulda: Norse, meaning “secret.”
Kami: Chinese: “spirit, spiritual essence.”
Kahuna: Hawaiian, “wise man or shaman.”
Koan: Zen Buddhist riddle or paradox, used to provoke enlightenment.
Liraz: Hebrew, “my secret.”
Lurk: To lie in wait.
Mazy: Maze like design, meant to confound travelers and trap them in an inescapable puzzle.
Miào: Chinese, “clever, Mystic, mysterious.
Mystique: French, “air of mystery.”
Nazo: Chinese: “puzzle or riddle.”
Puzzle: Riddle.
Raziel: Hebrew, “keeper of secrets.”
Rebus: Word and image puzzle.
Riddler: Batman villain who taunted in riddles.
Runar: Scandinavian, “he who attacks in secret.”
Ruse: Trick.
Savvy: Intuitive or cunning.
Scandal: Exposed closely kept secret.
Schemer: One who plots secret affairs.
Shén: Chinese, Shin: Japanese “mysterious divine essence, energy and genius.”
Shpikles: Yiddish, on pins and needles.
Skein: A web or tangle.
Skinny: Inside information.
Sphinx: Part cat Greek monster that riddled travelers; those who failed to answer the riddle were consumed by the Sphinx.
Spirit: To convey secretly.
Sybil: Greek, meaning “oracle or prophetess.”
Trick: A clever or unexpected way of doing something.
Twister: Riddle or puzzle.
Wakan Tanka: Lakota, Native American, “Great Secret or Great Mystery.”
Whisper: “Soft voice.”
Yugen: Japanese, “Deep meaning, deep mystery, subtle grace and hidden beauty.”
Mystery-Inspired Names for Cats
Mysteries, whodunits, and thrillers from film and literature mesmerize us. And every good cat loves a good red herring! These bemusing names and words, inspired by mysteries, are synonymous with thrillers, bamboozlement, and riddles, making cute names for confounding cats and playful kittens.
Here we have mysterious cat names from those who have inexplicably survived the elements, urban dwelling or an incredible journey. Also, check out these survivor names for cats.
| Action | Faze | Snooker |
| Alibi | Finagle | Snow |
| Baffle | Fix | Sphynx |
| Bamboozle | Hoax | Spoof |
| Boggle | Hood | Suspect |
| Chance | Hunch | Thriller |
| Charade | Joker | Trixie |
| Clue | Labrynth | Trope |
| Covert | Plotter | Twist |
| Crafty | Quiz | Vex |
| Cynic | Reason | Weirdo |
| Cryptic | Riddle | Whodunnit |
| Cypher | Rook | Why |
| Dodger | Rune | Witch Hunt |
| Drama | Scheme | Witchery |
| Enigma | Shocker | Wizardry |
| Farce | Sleuth | Wonder |
Famous Mystics That Make Good Cat Names
Aleister: Aleister Crowley, known as “the Wickedest Man in the World,” started many occult religions and practiced the dark arts.
Basil: St. Basil the Great was known as the revealer of heavenly mysteries.
Buddha: Enlightened master who taught the “middle way” between asceticism and indulgence.
Confucius: His teachings emphasized morality, sincerity, and the need for justice.
Dogen: Enlighten in China by the Zen Masters, Dogen brought the concept of self-realization to Japan.
Hadewijch: Thirteenth-century Dutch mystic and poet, Hadewijch was very well educated in literature as well as foreign languages, suggesting she was a wellborn woman, as well as a religious mystic, who lived a wandering life.
Merton: Thomas Merton was a Trappist monk who wrote poetry and novels, as well as exploring interfaith projects with the prominent Hindus and Taoists of his day.
Pythagoras: Mathematician and mystic. He taught that the soul would continue to renew on Earth until it had been perfected, then would continue its journey to the next world.
Siddhartha: The Buddha’s birth name and title character of Hermann Hesse’s novel about his spiritual rebirth.
Veronica: Veronica Giuliani was an Italian nun and mystic, canonized by Pope Gregory XVI in 1839. Veronica experienced the stigmata, first by the marks of the crown on her forehead, then by five wounds on her body. To her humiliation, she was rigorously tested and observed until her bishop became convinced that her phenomenon was authentic.
Mysterious Cat Names From Films and TV Series
Agatha: Agatha Christie, chemist and mystery writer.
Arrow: Billionaire playboy turned crime fighter, based on the DC Comics Green Arrow.
Banshee: In the small Amish town of Banshee Pennsylvania, an ex-con, Hood, assumes the identity of a murdered sheriff. Imposing his own brand of justice, Hood deals with the unfinished business brought to him by those he betrayed many years prior.
Barnaby: TV Detective Barnaby Jones.
Blake: Dr. Lucien Blake returns to Australia after 30 years to take over his father’s practice. Here he employs modern forensics, before their time, to solve murders in the town of Ballarat.
Bones: TV Detective series.
Cadfael: Twelfth-century Benedictine monk, Cadfael, assists law enforcement in solving murders.
Cannon: TV Detective and big guy, Cannon.
Castle: Successful American mystery writer turned real life sleuth.
Christie: Agatha’s sir name.
Columbo: Sloppy TV detective.
Cracker: British crime drama, the case “cracker” is Psychologist Edward Fitzgerald, “Fitz,” who assists the Manchester police in solving murders.
Dexter: Mysterious, avenging murderer.
Doctor Who: Interstellar and time travelling detective.
Five-O: Hawaii police detective unit.
Gotham Kitty: Play on Gotham City.
Grantchester: Detective priests.
Hannibal: Hannibal Lecter teams up with a young FBI criminologist, Will Graham, as Graham becomes patient to the nationally renowned psychiatrist and surreptitious murderer.
Holmes: Sherlock’s last name, and London home boy.
House: Solver of medical mysteries.
Ichabod: Legend of Sleepy Hollow detective.
Kane: Citizen Kane mystery of “Rosebud.”
Kojak: Bald, lollipop sucking detective.
Longmire: Wyoming sheriff, Walt Longmire, is a dedicated and charismatic criminologist in this mystery series.
Lost: Island mystery.
Magnum: Private Detective.
Maltese Falcon: Legendary Film Noir.
Mannix: TV detective that rolls out of moving cars.
Mason: Perry Mason or Purry Mason…
Matlock: Criminal defense attorney, Ben Matlock rescues his clients by solving the crimes of which they have been falsely accused.
McCloud: Cowboy hat-wearing TV detective.
Midsomer: British TV murder series.
Monk: Neurotic detective.
Morse: British Inspector.
Mulder: X-Files researcher.
Murdoch: Set in Toronto in 1885, Murdoch uses modern forensics, aka fingerprints, to solve crimes.
Peter Gunn: Private eye with a super cool theme song.
Poirot: Belgian Agatha Christie detective.
Psycho: Hitchcock murder mystery.
Quincy: Medical examiner and murder case solver.
Remington Steele: TV detective.
Scully: X-file investigator.
Sherlock: Holmes’ first name.
Simon: Simon and Simon TV detectives.
Stalker: LA crime drama about victims of stalking and the police who solve these crimes.
Rockford: Rockford files, broke private eye.
Whitechapel: London district that experiences copycat killings based on Victorian murders.
Mysterious Names for Cats From the Horror, Mystery and Detective Genres
Christie: Agatha Christie, queen of the detective novel.
Conan: Arthur Conan Doyle is the creator of the beloved heroin-addicted detective, Sherlock Holmes.
Daphne: Daphne Du Maurier authored the great literary romance and mystery, Rebecca.
Dashiell: Dashiell Hammett created many detective characters whose lives were immortalized in film noir classics, such as Sam Spade and Nick and Nora Charles.
Dostoevsky: Fyodor Dostoevsky, author of Crime and Punishment.
Grisham: John Grisham, best selling author of legal thrillers.
Orson: Orson Welles was considered a genius for his works that intertwined mystery and social commentary. His great works include Citizen Kane, The Third Man, and A Touch of Evil. Orson makes a good name for a fat wine-drinking cat, for those who recall his hawking of Paul Masson wines.
Poe: Edgar Allen Poe invented the genre with classics such as The Raven, The House of Seven Gables, and The Pit and The Pendulum.
Spillane: Mickey Spillane was a crime novelist whose signature character was Mike Hammer. Hammer makes a cute kitty name for a tough tomcat.
Stoker: Bram Stoker authored the horror classic Dracula. A cute name for a kitty with long fangs.
Truman: Truman Capote, author of In Cold Blood as well as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which features a cat named “Cat.”
Mysterious Names for Black Cats Male
Bond
Dexter
Dracula
Kingsman
Kraken
Mack the Knife
Orpheus
Phantom
Psycho
Rook
Shade
Spook
Usher
Tamerlane
Tell Tale Heart
Wendigo
Mysterious Names for Black Cats Female
Annabel Lee
Banshee
Chimera
Dark Mirage
Echo
Eclipse Du Luna
Elvira
Fancy
Maleficent
Merry Widow
Morticia
Ophelia
Ouija
Raven
Rune
Suspicion
Final Cat Name Tips
Mysterious cat names can come from your own experiences as well! Do you have a friend or acquaintance who is mysterious to you? Do you have a famous mystery writer, TV series or character? Consider cosmic cat names from the wonders of the universe or survivor cat names for ideas from those who inexplicably survived against all odds.
