Egyptian Cat Names: Ancient Gods and Queens
Egyptian cat names come in two very different flavours, and mixing them is the usual mistake. The ancient names are deities and royalty: Bastet, Isis, Ra, Anubis, Nefertiti. The names Egyptians actually give their children today are Arabic: Layla, Amira, Omar. Both can work on a cat, but they belong to different languages separated by thousands of years. This page keeps them apart and tells you how each one sounds. If you want to browse the whole origin set, the Name Generator filters it for you.
Quick Picks: Ancient Egyptian Cat Names
Bastet — cat goddess; two syllables, BAS-tet, the one name here that is genuinely about a cat Isis — goddess of magic; two syllables, EYE-sis Ra — sun god; one syllable, RAH, the shortest shout on the page Anubis — god of the dead; three syllables, ah-NOO-bis Nefertiti — the beautiful one has come; four syllables, nef-er-TEE-tee Sekhmet — powerful one, lioness goddess; two syllables, SEK-met Osiris — god of the afterlife; three syllables, oh-SY-ris Nefertari — beautiful companion; four syllables, nef-er-TAR-ee
Ancient Egyptian Goddess Names
The goddess names tend to be the softer half of the pantheon, and Bastet is the natural anchor because she was shown as a cat.
Bastet — cat goddess; BAS-tet, a protective figure and the most on-the-nose choice for a cat Isis — goddess of magic; EYE-sis, not EE-sis, with a crisp first syllable Sekhmet — powerful one, lioness goddess; SEK-met, a fight name rather than a gentle one Hathor — goddess of love, music, and joy; HAH-thor Nephthys — goddess of mourning and the night; NEF-this Nut — the sky goddess; NOOT Maat — the goddess of truth and cosmic order; mah-AHT Nekhbet — vulture goddess and protector of Upper Egypt; NEK-bet Wadjet — cobra goddess and protector of Lower Egypt; WAD-jet Taweret — hippopotamus goddess of childbirth and protection; taw-ER-et Seshat — goddess of writing, knowledge, and measurement; SEH-shat Mut — a mother goddess; MOOT Tefnut — goddess of moisture and rain; TEF-noot
Ancient Egyptian God Names
The god names are shorter on the whole, which is why several of them make easy cat names.
Ra — sun god; RAH, one syllable, not ray Anubis — god of the dead; ah-NOO-bis, a jackal-headed figure Osiris — god of the afterlife; oh-SY-ris, the resurrection counterpart to Anubis Horus — sky god, shown as a falcon; HOR-us Thoth — god of writing, wisdom, and the moon; THOHTH Amun — a creator god whose name means the hidden one; AH-moon Set — god of chaos, storms, and the desert; SET Atum — a creator god of Heliopolis; AH-toom Khepri — scarab god of the rising sun; KHEP-ree Khonsu — moon god; KHON-soo Sobek — crocodile god; SOH-bek Montu — falcon-headed war god; MON-too
Ancient Egyptian Royal Names
Royal names are longer than the deity names, and two of the queens sound so alike that they are easy to confuse.
Nefertiti — the beautiful one has come; nef-er-TEE-tee, the famous Amarna queen Nefertari — beautiful companion; nef-er-TAR-ee, the wife of Ramses the Great Khufu — the pyramid builder the Greeks called Cheops; KOO-foo Hatshepsut — a female pharaoh; hat-SHEP-soot Ramses — a line of pharaohs, from the Egyptian for born of Ra; RAM-seez
Egyptian Words That Are Not Names
A few Egyptian words turn up on name lists even though they are not personal names. Ankh is the hieroglyph for life and a symbol rather than something you would call a cat. Pharaoh is a title, Sphinx names a statue or a mythical creature, and the Nile is a river. The words ka and ba describe parts of the soul in ancient Egyptian belief, ren was the word for a person’s own name, and neter simply means god. That last one is worth separating from the cat-name Ren, which is Japanese and means lotus. None of these words is wrong on a tag if you like the sound, but know what you are choosing.
Modern Arabic Names Used in Egypt
Modern Egyptians are Arabic speakers, and the names below are the ones you would meet in Cairo or Alexandria today. They are not ancient Egyptian, and they should not be sold as such, but they are genuine Egyptian cat names in the everyday sense.
Layla — night; LAY-lah, soft and familiar in English Amira — princess; ah-MEE-rah Omar — long-lived; OH-mar Ali — high or exalted; AH-lee Nour — light; NOOR Yasmin — jasmine; yas-MEEN Salma — safe or peaceful; SAL-mah Mustafa — chosen; moos-TAH-fah
How to Choose the Right Egyptian Cat Name
Pronunciation decides more of this list than meaning does. Ra is RAH, one clean syllable, not ray. Isis is EYE-sis, not EE-sis. Anubis is ah-NOO-bis. Get those wrong and the name stops sounding Egyptian and starts sounding like a misprint, so say each one out loud before you commit.
Beat count is the other filter. The queens, Nefertiti and Nefertari, are four syllables, and they tend to shorten to Nefi within a week. That is not a failure, but if you know you will shorten it, start with something shorter. Bastet, Sekhmet, Ra, and Isis all live comfortably in one or two beats, and they are the safest calls for a cat who ignores anything long.
Gender matters less here than it does on some lists. Most of these figures have a clear gender in the mythology, but a cat will not mind being named after a god of either sex. The names you will hesitate over are the long queens, because length is a real daily cost. Everything else is fair game for any cat.
Finally, decide which Egypt you want. The ancient names carry thousands of years of religion and history, and you may find that a heavy thing to shout at a cat. The Arabic names are lighter and more ordinary, and they still say Egypt. Both are honest Egyptian cat names; pick the one whose associations you want to live with.
If the cat is actually a spotted Egyptian Mau, the Egyptian Mau cat names page is more specific. Mythology cat names covers the gods of other traditions, and Arabic cat names goes deeper on the modern names.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good Egyptian name for a cat?
Bastet is the cat goddess and the obvious starting point. Isis, Ra, and Anubis are short and carry real meaning, while Nefertiti and Nefertari are the royal names. Match the beat count to how you actually call the cat; Bastet and Ra are the easiest to shout.
Is Cleopatra an Egyptian cat name?
Cleopatra was Egyptian, but her name is Greek and means glory of the father. The short form, Cleo, means glory. If you want an ancient Egyptian rather than a Greek one, Nefertiti and Nefertari are the queen names to use instead.
What Egyptian name suits a black or orange cat?
None of the ancient names is a colour word. Ra is the sun god, which pairs naturally with an orange or ginger coat, and Anubis, the god of the dead, suits a black cat on association. Treat both as flavour, not a rule, and pick the name you like saying.
Should I pick Nefertiti or Nefertari?
They are related but not the same. Nefertiti means the beautiful one has come, and Nefertari means beautiful companion. Both are four syllables and both tend to shorten to Nefi. Pick one, not both, unless you want to confuse two cats and yourself.
Should I use this page or Egyptian Mau names?
This page is about names from Egyptian history and language. The Egyptian Mau cat names page is for the spotted breed. If your cat is a Mau, start there; if you want a name tied to ancient Egypt, this is the list.
For a darker coat, the black cat names page has more options, and orange cat names covers the ginger side.