Oreo – Pain In The Bud

Another year, another list of the most popular names for our furry overlords.

This one is based on data from a pet insurance company commissioned by US News & World Report, and while there are others based on things like chip registrations and veterinary records, they agree on pretty much all the most popular names.

So what are the top names we bestow on our little pals?

Unsurprisingly, Bella and Luna retained their top spots for female cats, while Leo ane Milo were the most popular names for male cats.

There’s not even a mention of the name Buddy, which is either a heresy which shall not go unpunished, or pretty cool because it’s kind of unique, and there are probably only like 25,000 Buddies in the US. Buddy hasn’t made up his mind yet, although I think he’s too lazy to go around punishing alleged heretics.

Interestingly, Luna and Bella are also the top names for female dogs. Leo enjoys enduring popularity due to its association with lions (panthera leo) while Milo owes its popularity at least in part to the film The Adventures of Milo and Otis.

Rounding out the list are Simba (Disney’s The Lion King), Nala from the same film, and traditional cat names like Kitty, Oreo, Shadow and Smokey, with the latter three referencing coat patterns and colors.

U.S. News and World Report compiled a list of the top cat names in America by looking at pet insurance registrations, and a bunch of familiar names topped the list.

Luna is the current most popular name for female cats, followed by Bella, while Milo edged out Oliver for the most popular male cat names. The data is current for the year 2024, the report said.

While other lists use different ways of calculating the top names, including registrations on pet-related sites and listings on PetFinder, the U.S. News list closely mirrors the others.

The name “Buddy” was named “most badass” for the 27th year in a row, since pet insurance companies began keeping statistics. (Okay, we made that up, but it’s probably true.)

Here’s the full list:

1. Luna
2. Milo
3. Oliver
4. Bella
5. Lucy
6. Simba
7. Charlie
8. Loki
9. Kitty
10. Leo
11. Lily
12. Max
13. Coco
14. Buddy
15. Oreo
16. Nala
17. Pepper & Smokey (tie)
18. Willow
19. Tiger
20. Mochi
21. Jack & Shadow (tie)
22. Cleo
23. Toby
24. Momo & Ollie (tie)
25. Daisy & Mia (tie)