Calico Cat Name Generator

A calico is not a breed but a coat pattern: distinct patches of white, orange and black (or their diluted versions, cream and blue-grey). That patchwork is the biggest source of calico names. Patches, Callie, Marble, Mosaic, Confetti, Harlequin and Puzzle all describe the coat directly, while colour-and-spice names like Ginger, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Autumn, Marmalade and Amber pick out the warm orange and rust tones. Dessert names with three flavours, such as Neapolitan, Spumoni and Rocky Road, are a running joke among calico owners because the cat is literally three colours.

Calicos are also steeped in luck lore. In Japan the calico is the mi-ke (three-fur) cat, the pattern most often shown on the maneki-neko beckoning-cat figurines that sit in shop windows to attract good fortune, so names like Maneki, Mi-ke, Tama, Momo, Sakura and Kohaku are popular and authentic. Sailors historically kept calicos aboard as lucky ship's cats, and the calico is the official state cat of Maryland because it matches the colours of the Baltimore oriole.

Because the orange and black genes both sit on the X chromosome, roughly 99.9 percent of calicos are female, which is why most classic calico names lean feminine and why 'calico attitude' names such as Sassy, Moxie and Spitfire are so common. The list includes a few masculine choices for the rare male calico too.