Jellicle Cat Name Generator

T.S. Eliot set the rules for Jellicle names in The Naming of Cats: every cat needs a sensible everyday name (Peter, Augustus, Alonzo, James), a second name that is "peculiar, and more dignified" and never belongs to more than one cat (Munkustrap, Quaxo, Coricopat, Bombalurina, Jellylorum), and a third name only the cat knows. Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats gave us the rest of the canon: Macavity, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, Rum Tum Tugger, Old Deuteronomy, Grizabella, Jennyanydots, Skimbleshanks, Bustopher Jones, Mr. Mistoffelees, Gus the Theatre Cat, Growltiger and Griddlebone, and the ensemble Jellicles added for the stage such as Victoria, Demeter, Electra, Pouncival, Tumblebrutus, Etcetera and Exotica.

The peculiar names follow a few recipes. Some are portmanteaus of what the cat does (Skimbleshanks, Jennyanydots, Rumpleteazer); some sound like cod-Latin or Greek (Mistoffelees, Munkustrap, Coricopat); some are proper classical names (Demeter, Cassandra, Plato, Admetus); and a few are ordinary words promoted to names (Asparagus, Victoria, Etcetera). All of them are fun to say with a rolling, theatrical delivery.

The generator mixes the canon names with originals built the same way, from Pouncetta and Scramblepaws to Quibblesworth, Tintinnabula and Old Gumbie Gertrude. Use them for a real cat, a Cats fan character, a drama-club production or any pet that deserves an ineffable name.