100 Arabic Cat Names (male & female) With Meanings

Arabic has more than one word for cat: qitt, hirr, sinnawr, and the colloquial bissa. The Prophet’s companion Abd al-Rahman ibn Sakhr was nicknamed Abu Hurayra, father of the kitten. So I handpicked 100 below, rare ones first.

Arabic Names for Female Cats:

Ghusun

Branches, plural of ghusn and is pronounced as gho-SOON. Arab poets used it for the way a body moves when walking.

Rafraf

”The fluttering of wings.”

Sundus

Sundus means ”fine silk” and is used in Quran 18:31 ”… and they will wear green garments of Sundus and Istabraq.”

Wamda

“A flash,” from the root w-m-d.

Bissa

Bissa is the word for a female cat in Egypt and the Levant. I think it is the closest thing Arabic has to a default cat name.

Sumbula

”Spike of wheat.” Arab astronomers also used it for Virgo, al-Sunbula.

Kadi

In Arabic, Kadi is meaning ”magistrate” or ”judge” and comes from Qadi or Qāḍī.

Nahid

It is from the root n-h-d and means “getting up” or ”rising.” Persians used Nahid for the planet Venus.

Lama

“Dark lips like the color of a sunset”.

Kuhayla

It is from kuhl and means “woman with naturally defined eyes.” Kuhaylan is from the black skin of the Arabian horses.

Suwayda

”Dark beauty” or “little black one” and is pronounced as soo-WAY-da.

Shama

”Flame” or ”candle.” Save

Misk

It means musk that is a sweet-smelling aromatic substance traded in Central Asia by weight. Diminutives that I like are Miski and Miskoona.

Anqa

Anqa is a fabulous female bird in Arab myths and is a relative of the phoenix.

Fakhita

”Ring dove.”

Tasnim

A spring in paradise named in Quran 83:27 – ”It (that wine) will be mixed with Tasnim.”

Wahat

Wahat is the plural of waha, ”oasis.”

Warqa

”Pigeon” or ”dove.”

Yamama

Zarqa al-Yamama was a blue-eyed woman from the al-Yamama region renowned for her ability to predict events before they occurred. It means ”wild pigeon.”

Rim

”White antelope” or ”white gazelle.”

Lubna

Lubna is the storax tree that is burned for its resin.

Lamis

“Soft to the touch”.

Afnan

Afnan is the plural form of ”fanan” and means “spreading branches”. It is mentioned in Quran 55:48.

Rasha

A gazelle fawn, more exactly one already on its feet.

Wijdan

”Conscience” or ”emotion.”

Ibtisam

The act of smiling.

Rayhana

”Sweet basil” or any ”scented herb.” Rayhana bint Zayd was a wife of the Prophet.

Sidra

”The lote tree.” In Latin is means “Goddess of the stars.”

Qahwa

Coffee. It was initially the term for wine however around 1400 it shifted to the Yemeni drink.

Basbousa

Basbousa is an Egyptian semolina cake which is soaked in syrup. Syrians bake the same thing and call it namoura.

Nada

“Dew.”

Halawa

”Sweetness.” It also names the sugar and lemon paste used for hair removal.

Sahar

“Just before dawn.”  Suhoor is the pre-dawn meal in Ramadan and comes from the same root.

Ghazal

”Gazelle.”

Farah

”Joy.” Egyptian Arabic also uses farah for a wedding party.

Salma

Salma means ”peace” and has origins in ”salam.”

Wafa

”Faithfulness” or ”loyalty.”

Iman

Belief or faith.

Amal

“Hope” and is the singular form of aamal.

Rana

“To look at with fixed attention” and cats do it professionally.

Hanan

”Tenderness.”

Layla

The three darkest nights of the lunar month are the layali.

Yasmin

Jasmine in Arabic and has origins in the Persian yasaman.

Nour

”Light” and the title of Quran 24.

Aisha

Living, from ʿaysh, life. Aisha bint Abi Bakr was the youngest wife of Muhammad.

Safa

It means ”purity.” Mount Safa is the point from where pilgrims start the Sa’ee in the Mas’aa.

Warda

”Rose.” Damascus exported both the flower and the rose water.

Najma

”Star.”

Dunya

”Earth” or ”the world.”

Latifa

Al-Latif is one of the 99 divine names. Latifa is meaning ”delicate” or ”pleasant.”

Maryam

Maryam is the Arabic version of Mary, the only woman the Quran names outright as well as it has an entire chapter named after her.

Nadira

”Rare.”

Sahara

Sahara means ”desert” and is from ashar, tawny.

Amani

Wishes, plural of umniya.

Arabic Names for Male Cats

Ithmid

Antimony, a naturally occurring mineral stone that is used as kohl (eyeliner).

Sanawbar

”Fir” or ”pine tree.”

Duldul

In Arabic, Duldul means porcupine and one of the beloved mules of the Prophet Muhammad. It was the hybrid offspring of a donkey and a mare.

Bashiq

”Sparrowhawk,” a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae.

Karawan

”Traveler” or ”caravan.”

Zarzur

Starling, a gregarious and noisy vocalist bird.

Yafur

Yaʽfūr was a donkey used as a mount by Muhammad. It means ”gazelle” or ”deer.”

Hafif

”Subtle” or ”light.”

Simak

“Exalted.” Spica is the brightest object in the constellation of Virgo and is also known as Al-Simak Al-A’zal.

Karkadeh

Karkadeh (”hibiscus tea”) is a traditional beverage made in Sudan and Egypt.

Nayyir

“Luminous” or ”radiant.”

Dabaran

Aldebaran means ”the follower” and is a star that follows the Pleiades star cluster.

Zulal

”Fresh water.”

Anbar

Anbar comes from the word ambar and means ambergris, which is highly valued by perfume makers.

Zafaran

”Saffron” and is word za’faran.

Lahab

“Blazing flame.” According to the Quran 111 ”May the hands of Abu Lahab perish, and he ˹himself˺ perish!”

Duri

“Brilliant like a star.”

Ghubar

”Fine particles” or ”dust.”

”Dust letters” or ashkāl al‐ghubār were called the numerals by medieval mathematicians.

Hazar

”Vigilant” or ”nightingale.”

Shahin

Shahin is the peregrine falcon, a bird of open spaces that can dive close to 200 miles per hour.

Raad

”Roaring thunder”.

Shibl

”Lion cub”. I think that this works for a boy who follows his father’s line.

Adham

“Intensity in the blackness” and is derived from the root word “A-D-H-M.”

Zaytun

”Olive” or ”olive tree.”

Mishmish

”Apricot.” Egyptians say fi al mishmish (“when the apricots bloom”) for a thing that will never happen. I would put it on an orange cat.

Laban

Milk in Egypt and yogurt in the Levant.

Sukkar

”Sugar.” Sanskrit sharkara initially entered Arabic as Al-Shakker.

Haydar

Haydar means lion and is an epithet of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shia Imam. Variations that I like are Heydar and Hajdar.

Nabil

”Noble” and the feminine version is Nabila.

Buraq

”Shining” and was a supernatural equine-like creature that served as the mount of “The Most Praised”.

Ghayth

”Downpour” or ”rainfall.” Ghaith Abdul-Ahad is an Iraqi journalist who worked with LA Times and The Washington.

Zahir

”Evident” or ”manifest”. Az-Zahir is a Divine Name of Allah.

Sultan

”Authority” or ”ruler.” The term is distinct from king and the adjectival form is “sultanic”.

Sinan

”Spearhead.” Mimar Sinan was the chief Ottoman architect.

Habibi

”My beloved” or ”my love.” It cannot be said about a domestic feline without being said to the cat.

Jafar

It means ”small river.” Jafar ibn Abi Talib was a companion and cousin of the Unique One.

Khalil

”Close companion” or ”friend.”

Malik

”Ruler” or ”king.” Malik ibn Anas founded one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence.

Rashid

”Having the true faith.

Nasir

“One who grants victory” and comes from the root n-ṣ-r.

Sami

Sami is meaning ”sublime” or ”elevated.” In Finnish, it comes from Samuel (“name of God”).

Jamal

“Handsomeness”. Jamal al-Din Muhammad was the son of the emir of Damascus.

Marwan

“Hard, white stone”.

Rami

One who shoots or marksman. Al-Rami is the Arabic name for Sagittarius.

Yasir

“One who makes things easy.” Ammar ibn Yasir was a commander in Muslim conquests.

Qasim

”Divider.”