Calico Selkirk Rex Cat Names
The Selkirk Rex's founding cat was tortoiseshell-and-white. Miss DePesto of NoFace, a curly-coated kitten born in 1987 to a feral blue tortie at a Montana shelter, was adopted by Persian breeder Jeri Newman — so the calico-adjacent pattern is literally in the breed's origin. The Selkirk's rex gene is dominant, unlike the recessive rex of the Cornish and Devon: Newman bred Miss DePesto to a black Persian, and the litter born 4 July 1988 contained three curly kittens out of six, confirming dominant inheritance. Calico Selkirks combine that curl-dominance with the X-inactivation mosaic of any calico — patches of white, black, and orange placed by random X-silencing during embryonic development. Male calicos occur at roughly 1 in 10,000 births and almost always have XXY (Klinefelter) chromosomes, usually rendering them sterile. On a Selkirk's wool-textured curls — TICA describes the longhair as 'a tousled look similar to a woolly sheep' — the calico patches read with softer edges than on a smooth-coated breed. Worked names: Miss DePesto, Pesto, Wooly, Mi-ke, Patches, Tama, Lamb.
| Name | Meaning | Gender | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forrest | From the woods | Male | English |
| Patch | A pad or shield worn over one eye. | Male | |
| Dakota | Friend: ally. Tribal name. | Female | Place-name |
| Grant | Bestow or great: tall. The American General and president Ulysses S. Grant. S... | Male | Scottish |
| Sophia | Wisdom. | Female | Greek |
| Ruby | Jewel | Female | Latin |
| Regina | Queen | Female | Latin |
| Golden | Blond | Male | English |
| Sunset | Daily disappearance of the sun below the horizon. Usually red, yellow or oran... | Unisex | |
| Ross | from the TV sitcom Friends | Male | Scottish |
| Johnston | From John's farm | Male | |
| Leah | cow, weary one; glad tidings; mistress, ruler | Female | |
| Holmes | From the river island | Male | English |
| Wyatt | English name meaning brave in war | Male | English |
| Kingston | From the king's village or estate King's field. King is one of several titles... | Male | English |
| Oliver | The olive tree. The biblical olive tree symbolizes fruitfulness and beauty an... | Male | Latin |
| Kendall | ruler of the valley | Female | English |
| Luther | Renowned warrior. | Male | |
| Ferris | Rock | Male | Irish |
| Emma | One who heals the universe. Universal, all-embracing | Female | |
| Isabella | pledged to God | Female | Spanish |
| Red | A primary colour resembling the colour of blood | Male | Color |
| Hogan | Youth Surname. | Male | Irish |
| Sterling | British money or coin. A type of silver. Of good character. genuine, valued | Male | English |
| Calypso | Greek for concealor. A type of music originating in the West Indies. Also a... | Male | Greek |
| Montague | steep mountain | Male | |
| Garnet | Dark red gemstone | Female | |
| Mariah | the Lord is my teacher | Female | Latin |
| Hannah | From Anne - Full of grace of God | Female | |
| Autumn | Season between summer and winter. | Female |
Showing 30 of 78 matching names.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can male Selkirk Rex calicos exist?
Yes, but rarely — the same way they do in any breed. Calico requires both an orange-coding allele and a non-orange-coding allele on the X chromosome, plus white spotting. Female cats (XX) can carry one of each via heterozygosity; male cats (XY) typically can't. Wikipedia gives the male-calico frequency as approximately one in ten thousand. Most rare male calicos have XXY (Klinefelter) chromosomes and are usually sterile. The Selkirk Rex's dominant rex gene is inherited independently of colour, so a male calico Selkirk would still carry the curly-coat trait normally.
What makes the Selkirk Rex's curls genetically different from other rex cats?
Dominance. The Cornish Rex and Devon Rex both carry recessive rex genes — both parents must contribute the gene for curly offspring. The Selkirk Rex carries a dominant gene affecting all three coat layers (guard, down, and awn hair), so only one parent needs to carry it. This is why Newman's 1988 cross of Miss DePesto with a black Persian produced three curly kittens out of six. The Selkirk is also the only rex breed with all three coat layers in curly form — the Cornish has no guard hairs at all.
What names suit a calico Selkirk Rex?
The breed's founding-cat register is rich. Miss DePesto, DePesto, Pesto (a wink that works as a short name). For the curl texture: Wooly, Lamb, Sheep, Curly, Marcel (the wave style), Plush. Calico-specific picks: Tama (the Japanese stationmaster cat, 1999–2015), Mi-ke (Japanese for 'three-fur'), Patches, Mosaic, Penny. The breed name itself comes from Newman's Scottish Borders stepfather's family name, so Borders, Tweed (the river through the Scottish Borders), or Walter (Sir Walter Scott was Selkirk-area) work as more obscure heritage picks.
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All Breed × Color Combinations
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