Chocolate Cat Names, Names for Chocolate Kittens
Chocolate is a genotype before it is a color. At the B locus — the gene TYRP1, which codes for an enzyme in eumelanin synthesis — three alleles produce three coats: B/B or B/b is black, b/b is chocolate, bl/bl is cinnamon. The b allele yields a partial-function enzyme, which is why a chocolate cat reads as a deep solid brown instead of full black. Schmidt-Küntzel and colleagues sequenced the TYRP1 mutations in cats in 2005.
Two breeds carry the chocolate canon. The Havana Brown was created in 1950s England specifically to fix b/b in a foreign-type cat — foundation crosses of Siamese with black domestic shorthairs, refined with chocolate-pointed Siamese and Russian Blues. CFA registered the breed in 1959 and granted Championship in 1964. The Burmese sable traces to a single founder, Wong Mau, brought from the Burma-Thailand border to Dr. Joseph G. Thompson in San Francisco in 1930. Bred to a seal-point Siamese in 1932, she produced the solid dark chocolate-brown offspring that bred true.
Cinnamon — the rarer bl/bl variant — was first deliberately bred into a non-Abyssinian breed in 1960, when Siamese breeder Pam Evely crossed her Seal Point Annelida Fair Maid with a sorrel Abyssinian stud, Tranby Red Tutankhamen, producing Southview Pavane. Early cinnamon Orientals were called 'Pavanes' for years afterward. In sunlight, cinnamon shows a warm orange undertone that distinguishes it from chocolate's cooler register.
The two breed canons cross-link directly: our Havana Brown cat names list inherits the cigar-and-rabbit naming tradition the breed's founders built in 1950s England, and our Burmese cat names list traces back to Wong Mau and the original 1930 founding stock. Both are b/b breeds with naming canons tied to their founding stories.
For a reviewed shortlist by breed and coat, see Chocolate Australian Mist names, Chocolate Point Balinese names, Chocolate Selkirk Rex names, Chocolate Point Siamese names.
Meanings, origins and pronunciations appear only for records with checked sources. Blank fields have not been verified. Gender and collection labels are browsing choices.
| Name | Meaning | Gender | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alfie | Male | ||
| Artemis | Male | ||
| Ash | The ash tree, fire residue, or a short form of Ashley | Male | English |
| Ashes | Female | ||
| Aurora | Dawn | Female | Latin |
| Autumn | Female | ||
| Baby | A very young child or animal | Unisex | English word name |
| Baby Ruth | Unisex | ||
| Baci | Unisex | ||
| Bailey | A surname originally referring to a bailiff | Female | English occupational surname |
| Banshee | Unisex | ||
| Barney | Male | ||
| Bart | Male | ||
| Bear | The bear animal | Male | English word name |
| Bella | Associated with Italian bella, meaning beautiful | Female | English usage; Italian word association |
| Belle | A short name form; also associated with French belle | Female | English name usage; French word association |
| Ben | Male | ||
| Betty | Female | ||
| Biscuit | A small quick bread in US usage or a cookie in British usage | Unisex | English word name |
| Bistro | Unisex | ||
| Black | Male | ||
| Black Bart | Male | ||
| Black Magic | Unisex | ||
| Blackie | Unisex | ||
| Blackjack | Unisex | ||
| Bo | Male | ||
| Bob | Male | ||
| Bobbie | Female | ||
| Bonbon | Unisex | ||
| Bonzo | Male | ||
| Boots | Footwear covering the foot and part of the leg | Male | English word name |
| Bosco | Male | ||
| Bounty | Unisex | ||
| Brandy | Female | ||
| Bret | Unisex | ||
| Brew | Unisex | ||
| Brewster | Male | ||
| Briquette | Unisex | ||
| Brodie | Male | ||
| Brownie | Unisex | ||
| Bruno | Male | ||
| Brutus | Male | ||
| Bud | Male | ||
| Buddy | A friend or companion | Male | English word name |
| Budweiser | Unisex | ||
| Buffy | Female | ||
| Bunny | Female | ||
| Burgundy | Male | ||
| Buster | Male | ||
| Buster Brown | Unisex |
299 names found. Page 1 of 6.
Frequently Asked Questions
What gene makes a cat chocolate-colored?
The B locus — gene TYRP1 — controls eumelanin pigment production. Two copies of the recessive b allele (b/b genotype) produce chocolate. The b allele codes for a partial-function enzyme that yields a deep solid brown instead of full black. The mutations were sequenced by Schmidt-Küntzel and colleagues in 2005. A cat with one b and one B allele is a black cat carrying chocolate, capable of producing chocolate kittens with the right mate.
What's the difference between chocolate and cinnamon?
Both are recessive variants at the B locus, but at different alleles. Chocolate (b/b) is a deep cool-toned brown. Cinnamon (bl/bl) is a warm reddish-brown — lighter, with an orange undertone visible in direct sunlight. Cinnamon is the rarer color, present in Abyssinians since the early 20th century and first deliberately introduced into Oriental/Siamese lines in 1960 by UK breeder Pam Evely.
Which breeds are recognized as chocolate?
Havana Brown is the breed defined by chocolate self-color (CFA registered 1959, Championship 1964). The Burmese sable is genetically the same color, fixed in the breed since Wong Mau in 1930. Oriental Shorthair, Persian/Himalayan chocolate-point, Devon Rex chocolate, and several others recognize the b/b coat as a registered division. Cinnamon (bl/bl) appears in Oriental Shorthair, Abyssinian, Somali, and Singapura.
Why is Havana Brown the only breed with 'Brown' in its name?
The breed was created in 1950s England by a group of fanciers — first 'The Havana Group,' later 'The Chestnut Brown Group' — specifically to fix the b/b chocolate self-color in a foreign-type cat. The name's origin has two reported explanations: the coat matches a Havana cigar (popular among owners, referenced by CFA) or matches the Havana rabbit breed (better-supported in UK breed records of the period). Both stories appear in the registry literature.
Where does the Burmese sable color come from?
From a single cat. Wong Mau, a walnut-brown female brought from the Orient to San Francisco in 1930 by a sailor and given to Dr. Joseph G. Thompson, was likely a Siamese-Burmese hybrid carrying both color dilution and chocolate genes. Bred to a seal-point Siamese named Tai Mau in 1932, she produced kittens in three patterns — including the solid dark chocolate-brown offspring that bred true and became the breed foundation. Sable remains the original Burmese color.
What names suit a chocolate cat?
Cocoa-register names match the coat directly — Cocoa, Mocha, Truffle, Espresso, Ganache, Godiva. For a Havana Brown specifically, the cigar register honors the breed history — Cohiba, Montecristo, Havana, Romeo. For a Burmese sable, names that nod to the Wong Mau lineage — Wong, Mau, Sealcoat — carry real provenance. For a cinnamon (bl/bl), warmer spice names work better — Saffron, Paprika, Cayenne, Sienna.