Cyprus Cat Names, Cypriot Cat Names
The oldest evidence of a cat living alongside humans was found on Cyprus. At Shillourokambos, a Neolithic site near modern Limassol, archaeologist Jean Guilaine excavated a roughly eight-month-old wildcat carefully buried in a human grave dated to about 9,500 years ago. The find, published in Science in 2004, predates Egyptian cat evidence by some four thousand years, and matters for a second reason: Cyprus has no native wildcat species, so the cat had to have arrived by boat with the people who buried it.
Modern Cyprus cats descend from the long-running landrace of the island's mountainous interior. They developed bushy coats and substantial bodies to handle cool, wet weather and prey heavier than the average domestic cat hunts: rats, large lizards, and snakes. The breed is recognized by the World Cat Federation under the name Aphrodite's Giant (full recognition 1 July 2012) and by TICA under the name Aphrodite (Preliminary New Breed, September 2017). CFA and GCCF do not currently recognize the breed.
Naming a Cyprus cat naturally pulls from the island's geography and its cult of Aphrodite, who in Cypriot tradition is born from sea foam at Petra tou Romiou on the southern coast. Aphrodite, Adonis, Pygmalion, and Helen (after the empress whose 4th-century cats reputedly defended monasteries from snakes) all root the name in real island history rather than generic mythology. Geographic names work the same way: Paphos, Kyrenia, Troodos, Larnaca.
Cyprus cats share a Mediterranean island lineage with the Aegean and the Turkish Van. Both are landrace breeds with similar coats and similar histories of independent island development.
Name Ideas from This Breed Collection
An introductory selection from this editorial collection, ordered by catalog ID. This is not a popularity ranking. Browse the alphabetical list below for all 490 options.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abby | Female | ||
| Abigail | Female | ||
| Addie | Female | ||
| Addison | Female | ||
| Adelaide | Female | ||
| Agatha | Female | ||
| Aida | Female | ||
| Aja | Male | ||
| Alexandra | Female | ||
| Ali | Male | ||
| Alice | A form descended from Aalis and Adelais | Female | Old French form of a Germanic name |
| Allie | Female | ||
| Alma | Female | ||
| Alyssa | Female | ||
| Amanda | Female | ||
| Amber | Female | ||
| Amelia | A variant of Amalia | Female | European form of a Germanic-derived name |
| Amelie | Female | ||
| Amy | Female | ||
| Anastasia | Female | ||
| Andreas | Male | ||
| Angel | Male | ||
| Angie | Female | ||
| Anika | Female | ||
| Anna | Female | ||
| Annabelle | Female | ||
| Annie | Female | ||
| Annika | Swedish diminutive of Anna | Female | Swedish |
| Anthea | Female | ||
| Anya | Female | ||
| Aphrodite | Female | ||
| Applejack | Unisex | ||
| Apricot | Unisex | ||
| April | The month April | Female | English month name |
| Aria | Female | ||
| Ariana | Female | ||
| Arianna | Female | ||
| Ariel | Female | ||
| Ashes | Female | ||
| Athena | Female | Greek mythology | |
| Audrey | Female | ||
| Auggie | Unisex | ||
| Autumn | Female | ||
| Ava | Female | English, Persian and Germanic name histories | |
| Avery | Female | ||
| Babe | Female | ||
| Babette | Female | ||
| Babushka | Unisex | ||
| Baby | A very young child or animal | Unisex | English word name |
| Bacon | Unisex |
490 names found. Page 1 of 10.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Cyprus cat really one of the oldest domesticated cat breeds?
It descends from the oldest archaeologically documented cat-human association in the world. A roughly eight-month-old wildcat was buried in a Neolithic human grave at Shillourokambos, Cyprus, around 9,500 years ago. Cyprus has no native wildcat species, so the cat had to have been brought to the island by humans, which is why the find is so significant. The modern Cyprus cat is a much later landrace descended from this long-running island population.
Is the Cyprus cat the same as the Aphrodite's Giant?
Yes — they are the same population under different registry names. The World Cat Federation recognizes the breed as Aphrodite's Giant (or Aphrodite's Giant Longhair) with full recognition granted on 1 July 2012. TICA recognizes the same cats as the Aphrodite breed, accepted as a Preliminary New Breed in September 2017. CFA and GCCF do not currently recognize the breed.
What naming traditions suit a Cyprus cat?
Aphrodite is the obvious starting point — the goddess is Cypriot in cult, and her birthplace at Petra tou Romiou is on the island's south coast. From the same tradition: Adonis, Pygmalion, Galatea. Saint names work too because of the legend of Empress Helena and the Saint Nicholas of the Cats Monastery: Helen, Nicholas. Cyprus geography also reads well: Paphos, Kyrenia, Troodos, Larnaca, Limassol.
Are Cyprus cats large?
Yes — the WCF designation 'Giant' is literal. Cyprus cats developed in the cool, wet inner Cyprus mountains where prey included rats, large lizards, and snakes, and the cats grew larger and bushier than typical Mediterranean shorthair populations to match. They are substantial, semi-longhaired cats with strong builds, though specific weight ranges vary because the breed is still being standardized.
How is the Cyprus cat different from the Turkish Van or Aegean cat?
All three are eastern-Mediterranean island or coastal landraces, and all three developed independently with semi-long coats and substantial builds. The Turkish Van is from the Lake Van region of eastern Turkey and is famous for its distinctive van pattern and reported swimming behavior. The Aegean is from the Cycladic islands of Greece. The Cyprus cat is from the mountainous interior of Cyprus and traces, archaeologically, to the oldest known cat-human association on record.