Being a cat lover is certainly on trend, but that doesn’t mean the name you choose for your feline friend has to be! If you’re looking for names that are cat-friendly, yet not overly popular, we’ve got just the list for you. These cute cat names are the least trendy of the year!
(Of course, if you’re looking for cat names that are highly popular or very trendy, we’ve got those, too.)
Wondering how we determine which male and female cat names are the least trendy of them all? We worked with Nationwide Pet Insurance, who gave us a look at their list of the 45 most popular kitten names from a decade ago. We then compared those names to our list of the most popular kitten names in 2015. Those that fell the most in the last 10 years (either to a lower ranking on the popular names list or off the 2015 list entirely) made our least trendy list. This way, we get a longer view of which names are seeing the steadiest (or steepest) decline in popularity.
Coco, Zoe, Missy and Angel
The names with the largest decline between their places on the 2005 and 2015 popular names lists are Coco (No. 3 in 2005, No. 39 in 2015), Zoe (No. 16 in 2005, now No. 49), Missy (No. 8 in 2005, No. 36 in 2015) and Angel (No. 9 in 2005, No. 37 currently).
Sam and Rocky
Sam and Rocky also saw a sharp fall. Sam, the No. 8 name in 2005, currently ranks as No. 31 on the popular male cat names list, and Rocky went from No. 5 in 2005 to No. 25.
Pumpkin, Jasmine, Maggie and Misty
Other not-so-trendy female names found on both the 2005 and 2015 popular cat names lists are Pumpkin (fell 25 spots in the last decade), Jasmine (22 spots down), Maggie (18 place drop) and Misty (down 14).
Midnight, Mittens and Oreo
Male kitten names also had some significant falls, with both Midnight and Mittens dropping 15 spots since 2005, and Oreo, which was the No. 2 kitten name in 2005, falling 13 places between then and now.
Bailey, Sammy and Samantha
Many of the names that saw a drop in popularity actually fell so far that they weren't even in the top 45 most popular female names in 2015, despite being rather popular in 2005. A few notable examples from the 2005 top 15 are Bailey (No. 2 in 2005), Sammy (No. 5 in 2005) and Samantha (No. 11 in 2005).
Murphy, Boo, Rascal and Joey
This was the case with the male kitten names, as well, as evidenced by names that were in the top 30 in 2005, but didn't make the 2015 list, such as Murphy (No. 19 in 2005), Boo (No. 22 in 2005), Rascal (No. 26 in 2005) and Joey (No. 28 in 2005).
Emma, Sasha and Katie
A few more female cat names are worthy of mention in our least trendy list. Falling off the 2015 list were Emma (No. 21 in 2005), Sasha (No. 24 in 2005) and Katie (No. 26 in 2005).
Patches, Sylvester and Cosmo
Last among our least trendy cat names are a few more male cat names that didn't make the 2015 cut: Patches (No. 31 in 2005), Sylvester (No. 32 in 2005) and Cosmo (No. 35 in 2005).
The Least Trendy Trends
Naturally, after sorting through all this data, we wondered whether the names had anything in common. As we saw with our list of least trendy puppy names, this is a bit trickier than picking up on the upward trends.
However, we did notice similar themes among the least trendy kitten and puppy names (and, in fact, saw a number of the same names gracing both lists): Gender neutrality and traditional human names seem to be on the descent for both cats and dogs. Bailey, Sammy, Pumpkin, Midnight, Mittens, Oreo and Patches could all easily refer to kitties of either gender, while we could see Zoe, Missy, Emma, Sasha, Katie, Maggie, Sam, Samantha and Joey showing up on the roster for a human classroom.
Did you spy any trends that we missed? And, did any of the names on this list surprise you?
