American Curl Cat Names, Names For American Curl Kittens
★ View Top 25 American Curl Cat Names »
American Curl kittens are born with straight ears. The trademark backward curl begins within 48 hours of birth, tightens through the next several days into a "rosebud" shape, then gradually unfolds. By 16 weeks the ears reach their final adult set, and from that point they will not change further. The CFA breed standard specifies a minimum 90-degree arc and a maximum of 180 — anything outside that range is faulted.
The entire breed traces to a single black female stray who appeared at Joe and Grace Ruga's doorstep in Lakewood, California, in June 1981. They named her Shulamith, Hebrew for "the black and beautiful one," and her first litter showed the same curled ears. Geneticist Roy Robinson confirmed in subsequent breeding trials that the trait was an autosomal dominant gene with no associated health defects — every American Curl alive today descends from Shulamith. The Rugas began deliberate breeding in 1983; TICA granted longhair Championship in 1992, and CFA admitted the breed to Championship Class with both longhair and shorthair divisions in 1999. The CFA permitted outcrossing to non-pedigreed domestic cats until 2015, which kept the gene pool unusually broad and has so far prevented the inherited-disease patterns common in older closed-registry breeds.
The ears are firm cartilage and should be handled gently. The rest of the cat is small to medium — females 5–8 lb, males 7–10 — with a silky flat-lying coat in either shorthair or longhair, walnut-shaped eyes, and a temperament TICA describes as "the Peter Pan of the cat world": kitten-like playfulness retained well into adulthood. Voice is unusual — a quiet "cooing" sound rather than a meow.
Names worth considering: Shulamith, after the founder. Rosebud, after the kitten ear shape. Crescent or Arc, for the final 90–180 degrees. Coco or Marlow, for the cooing voice.
Most Popular American Curl Cat Names
A curated 30-pick shortlist of the most established and recognizable picks for AmericanCurl cats. Browse the full alphabetical list below for all 63 options.
| Name | Meaning | Gender | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anna | Arthur's sister | Female | Greek |
| Bella | Beautiful | Female | English |
| Boomer | A large full grown kangaroo. A baby boomer. | Unisex | |
| Butter | Yellow dairy spread | Unisex | |
| Callie | Lark | Female | Greek |
| Charlie | a man: variant of Carl. | Male | English |
| Cherokee | Native American Tribe | Unisex | English |
| Chloe | Fresh young blossom, Greek for blooming | Female | Greek |
| Cleo | From Cleopatra - Her father's glory | Female | Greek |
| Coco | A pet name. | Female | Spanish |
| Dakota | Friend: ally. Tribal name. | Female | Place-name |
| Dexter | dyer, right-handed | Male | Latin |
| Domino | Small, rectangular black and white blocks used in the game of dominos. | Male | Latin |
| Emma | One who heals the universe. Universal, all-embracing | Female | |
| Fala | Crow | Unisex | Native American |
| Felix | Lucky | Male | Latin |
| Flo | Arrow | Female | |
| Fluffy | Covered with fluff, Soft, light and airy. | Unisex | |
| Fred | From Frederick - Peaceful ruler. | Male | |
| George | Farmer. In medieval legend St. George: (the knight who became patron saint of... | Male | Greek |
| Iris | rainbow, a play of colours | Female | |
| Jack | English familiar form of John, traditionally interpreted as God is gracious. | Male | English |
| Jasper | Black stone | Male | Persian |
| Kachina | Sacred Dancer | Unisex | Native American |
| Kimi | righteous | Female | Japanese |
| Kohana | little flower | Unisex | |
| Koko | stork | Female | Japanese |
| Lily | Lily | Female | English |
| Lise | Abbreviation of Elisabeth. My God is bountiful:God of plenty: devoted to God. | Female | |
| Lucy | light: illumination. | Female | English |
| Lulu | Pet form of the names Louise or Louella. | Female | English |
| Luna | moon | Female | Latin |
| Maddie | Of Magdala | Female | English |
| Mai | brightness; coyote | Female | Japanese |
| Mausi | Plucked Flower | Unisex | Native American |
| Max | Large spring | Male | English |
| Mika | Abbreviation of Michaela:Micaela: Mikaela: Mikayla: Mychaela: Mikella. Femini... | Female | Japanese |
| Milo | Merciful. | Male | Latinized |
| Misu | Rippling Brook | Unisex | Native American Miwok |
| Moki | Deer (Hopi) | Unisex | Native American |
| Molly | Bitter | Female | English |
| Mona | Gathered of the seed of a jimson weed | Female | Irish |
| Nina | Girl | Female | Russian |
| Nodin | Ojibway-Cree for wind | Unisex | |
| Nova | A star that suddenly becomes much brighter. | Female | Latin |
| Nuna | Land | Unisex | Native American |
| Paco | Eagle | Male | Spanish |
| Petunia | trumpet-shaped flower | Female | English |
| Shada | pelican | Female | Native |
| Shadow | A rough, dark image cast by an object blocking the sun's rays | Female | English |
63 names found. Page 1 of 2.
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