Chocolate Havana Brown Cat Names
Havana Brown and chocolate name the same cat. The breed exists because of the color — a group of British fanciers calling themselves the Havana Group set out in the early 1950s to fix the b/b chocolate self-color in a foreign-type cat, working from Siamese × black domestic shorthair crosses with chocolate-pointed Siamese and Russian Blues used in early refinements. The b allele at the B locus codes for a partial-function TYRP1 enzyme, which is what produces a deep solid brown instead of full black; Schmidt-Küntzel and colleagues sequenced the cat TYRP1 mutations in 2005. CFA registered the Havana Brown in 1959 and granted Championship in 1964.
Two registry quirks fall out of the breed-color overlap. CFA standard requires brown whiskers — the only cat breed where whisker color is specified — to confirm the chocolate is genotypic, not just surface tint. And TICA dropped the 'Brown' from the breed name (registering it simply as Havana) because TICA also accepts lavender/lilac examples (the dilute b/b genotype, dd-bb), which CFA does not. The 2019 outcrossing program with Oriental Shorthair and Siamese was opened to expand a small registered gene pool.
Worked names for this overlap: Cohiba, Montecristo, Cocoa, Ganache, Sable.
| Name | Meaning | Gender | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cinnamon | A spice | Female | |
| Chip | Fried slice of potato. Small piece of candy e.g. chocolate chip. | Male | |
| Forest | out of the woods | Male | |
| Toby | God is Good | Male | English |
| Smudge | A blotch or smear | Male | |
| Coco | A pet name. | Female | Spanish |
| Smokey | A grayish blue colour. Slang for highway patrol officer | Male | |
| Tootsie | A girl or young woman. | Unisex | |
| Jager | Carter | Unisex | English |
| Kahlua | Coffee liqueur | Unisex | Spanish |
| Woody | English, row of houses by a wood | Male | English |
| Cappuccino | Italian espresso drink with foam | Unisex | |
| Java | Brewed coffee | Female | Anglicization |
| Starbuck | Chain of US coffee houses. | Unisex | |
| Bounty | Generous gift or reward | Unisex | |
| Copper | A reddish brown metal - as in copper penny coins. Also slang for a police off... | Female | Word |
| Latte | Expresso coffee mixed with steamed milk - a caf latte. | Male | |
| Laura | bay laurel | Female | Latin |
| Bruno | Brown | Male | |
| Hopper | hop grower or seller | Male | English |
| Honey | Term of endearment. Sweet syrup produced by bees | Female | Word |
| Heath | Wasteland | Male | English |
| Toffee | A hard brown, chewy candy | Male | |
| Snickers | A brand of candy bar. | Unisex | |
| Cola | Carbonated soft drink made in part from extract of the cola nut. | Unisex | |
| Brownie | Moist chocolate cake with nuts | Unisex | |
| Mac | Son of | Male | Scottish |
| Joy | From Joyce - Gay and joyful | Female | Word |
| Truffle | Truffle mushroom | Unisex | English |
| Sheridan | The Wild Man | Male | Irish |
Showing 30 of 130 matching names.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is every Havana Brown chocolate-colored?
Under CFA, yes — the breed standard requires the b/b chocolate self-color, with no shading, tabby ghost markings, or other variation. The brown whiskers are part of the standard, distinguishing genuine genotypic chocolate from a black cat that happens to look brown in certain light. Under TICA, the breed is registered as Havana (not Havana Brown), and lilac-colored examples — the dd-bb dilute chocolate — are accepted. CFA does not recognize the lilac variant.
Why was the breed named after Havana, Cuba, if it was developed in England?
It wasn't — at least not directly. Two explanations sit in the registry literature. The popular one (referenced on CFA's page) ties the coat color to a Havana cigar's tobacco-leaf brown. The more documentary one, in UK breed records of the period, ties it to the Havana rabbit breed — a chocolate-brown rabbit named in the same era. The breed was developed in 1950s England by the Havana Group (later the Chestnut Brown Group). It is English in origin, not Cuban.
Does this cross page differ from the Havana Brown breed page?
Mostly in framing. Because the breed was created specifically to fix b/b chocolate self-color, the breed page and the chocolate-color page describe overlapping cats. This cross page leans on the genetics: TYRP1 enzyme partial function, the brown-whisker show requirement, the 2019 outcross program for gene-pool expansion. The Havana Brown breed page covers personality and the paw-touching communication trait. The Chocolate color page leans on the Burmese sable and Wong Mau lineage as well.
Explore the Parent Templates
Other Havana Brown Coat Crosses
Other Breeds with Chocolate Coats
All Breed × Color Combinations
Browse the full breed × color cross hub — 86 curated combinations across 23 breeds and 14 coat colors.