112 Great German Cat Names and Their Meanings

Cats are very popular pets, no matter where you live. They are popular in every country, and each country has its own country-specific names with which they name their beloved cats. Germany has a history with felines and is responsible for the breeding of the German Rex and Nebelung, the German Longhaired cats. In this article, we will go over our favorite great German cat names and their meanings. You might see one that just needs a cat to go with it. They are waiting at your local animal shelter and desperately need names.

Germany and Cats

Germany’s relationship with cats began centuries ago. The relationship has been rocky at times like in 2022 when a ban against outdoor cats was enacted to help save the bird population. The ban would go into effect every summer for three months, beginning in May, in order to help the endangered crested larks increase their numbers in a specific area in Germany called Walldorf.

In 16th-century Germany, cats were used as weapons in war. Within a war manual, there is a drawing of a cat with what looks to be a jet pack strapped to its back. Soldiers were to use the cats and sometimes doves to set fire to castles and villages that the soldiers themselves could not get to. We can only assume that this did not end well for the cats. Luckily, this method appears to have never been used in the way artillery master Franz Helm described 500 years ago! The cats would have likely burned down the soldiers’ camp first, anyway.

In German superstition, a black cat crossing your path could be bad or good luck depending on which way they were headed.“Schwarze Katze von rechts nach links, Glück bringt’s,”  which means a black cat crossing from right to left brings luck.“Schwarze Katze von links nach rechts, was Schlecht’s,” which means a black cat crossing from left to right brings bad luck.

German Cat Names

Below is a list of German cat names, along with their meanings. They have been broken down by name, type, or theme. This is in no way a complete list of all the awesome German cat names.

10 Most Popular

1. Luna – moon
2. Felix – happy and prosperous
3. Minka – strong
4. Moritz – dark-skinned
5. Charly – free man
6. Tiger – literally a tiger
7. Max – greatest; derived from Maximus
8. Susi – sweet maker
9. Lisa – god’s promise
10. Blacky – dark haired
11. Muschi – pussy; this can be slang!
12. Mieze or Miezekatze – pussy or pussycat

Literature

1. Kafka – author; house
2. Goethe – author; joy, happiness
3. Freud (or Siggi/Sigmund) – a person with a joyful disposition
4. Nietzsche – German philosopher; Greek goddess Nike, the goddess of battle
5. Siegfried – victorious
6. Kriemhild – thunder
7. Faust – fortunate, lucky, to fight for what you believe
8. Mephistopheles – a demon in German folklore; not loving light
9. Effi – book and woman in a Theodor Fontane book
10. Schiller – playwright

Food

1. Schnitzel – the name of a German meat dish
2. Sauerkraut – this German dish of fermented cabbage
3. Spätzle – a soft egg noodle; this would be a hilarious name for a cat!
4. Rouladen – pickles and bacon wrapped in thin slices of beef
5. Brezel – German pretzel
6. Frühstück – breakfast in Germany
7. Zweites – second breakfast in Germany; perfect names for cats that always want a second breakfast!
8. Löffel – spoon in German; most cats love to be the little spoon!
9. Honig – honey in German
10. Schinken – the ham; aren’t all cats hams?

Music

1. Amadeus – love of god
2. Mozart – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the famous Austrian composer
3. Wolfgang – wolf way; also derived from the Austrian composer
4. Beethoven – famous composer; beet farmer in Dutch
5. Nena – little girl
6. Bach – lives by the stream
7. Rammy – short for Rammstein
8. Scooter – German band
9. Rosenstolz – German pop band
10. Henning May – singer for AnnenMayKantereit

Movies

1. Nala – lion from Lion King
2. Simba – lion from Lion King
3. Baloo – bear in Jungle Book
4. Mimi – a state of irritation
5. Rocky – rugged
6. Bruno – brown one;
7. Fidus – faithful, loyal
8. Konrad – director
9. Udo – actor; Udo Kier
10. Dieter – actor; Dieter Bohlen

Adjectives

1. Adalhard – noble and strong
2. Baldur – bold
3. Blitz – lightning, fast
4. Gerfried – spear/peace
5. Gerhard – strong spear
6. Hugo – smart
7. Heidi – based on feminine names containing heid or heide
8. Adelheid – noble one
9. Traude/Traute – dear, trusted
10. Reinhard – decisive/strong

Female

1. Eve – life
2. Emma – whole or universal
3. Gretel – pearl
4. Anka – grace
5. Frieda – peace, joy
6. Gretchen – a pearl
7. Greta – also a pearl
8. Heidi – of noble kin
9. Brunhilde – dark or noble
10. Hilda – battle
11. Mischa – who is god
12. Marta – lady
13. Zelda – woman warrior
14. Sofie – wisdom
15. Lola – sorrows
16. Ursula – female bear
17. Trudi – spear strength
18. Dina – to believe
19. Adele – noble
20. Ingrid – loved, beautiful

Male

1. Hansel – god is gracious
2. Claus – ruler of the people
3. Max – the greatest
4. Kaiser – leader
5. Otto – wealth
6. Franz – free
7. Fritz – peaceful ruler
8. Dirk – famous ruler
9. Arnold – eagle power
10. Rolf – famous wolf
11. Janko – gift from god
12. Axel – my father is peace
13. Murr – nickname for a morose person, to grumble
14. Henry – house ruler; this would be purrfect for a cat!
15. Hermann – soldier, warrior, army man
16. Lucas – man from Lucanus
17. Dux – leader or captain
18. Golo – praise be to god
19. Finn – bright like the sun
20. Björn – Bear

Terms of Endearment

1. Liebling – darling
2. Schnucki – a cute term Germans call the people they love
3. Schatz – treasure – term of endearment
4. Bärchen – meaning little bear – term of endearment
5. Mausebär – term of endearment that translates to the combination of mouse and bear.
6. Kätzchen – kitten
7. Maus – mouse
8. Schnecke – snail
9. Sonnenschein – sunshine
10. Engel – angel