Cat Names That Start With L: 150+ Ideas for Boy and Girl Cats

Cat names that start with L begin with the most popular cat name in the English-speaking world: Luna has topped shelter and vet intake lists for years, and it is the single most likely name for a cat you meet at random to already have. That is either an argument for the letter or an argument for reading past the first entry, and this page assumes the second.

L is a liquid consonant, which means the tongue lets air run around it rather than stopping it. The sound flows, and it flows straight into whatever vowel follows, which is why L names are almost always easy to say quickly and why so many of them end up as pet forms of themselves. Below are more than 150 options grouped by feel, each with a meaning or a reason it works.

Why L Names Sound Right on a Cat

Three things make an L name land.

It slides. Luna, Lily, Lola, Lulu and Layla have almost no friction in them. That makes them pleasant to say hundreds of times a day, which matters more than people expect, since you will repeat this word for the next fifteen years.

It doubles beautifully. L is the best letter in the alphabet for repeating-syllable names, which cats respond to unusually well. Lulu, Lala, Lili and Lolly all work because the second syllable acts as a natural echo of the first, and the rhythm survives being called across a yard.

It takes a hard partner well. If a pure flowing name worries you, put a stop consonant behind it. Lark, Loki, Ludo, Lex, Lincoln and Linus all give the cat a sharp edge to hear, which is the practical fix for a soft opening.

The one caution: skip an L name if you already have a pet whose name opens on a similar liquid or nasal sound, such as Nala, Milo or Remy. Cats sort names by opening sound and rhythm, and near-identical openings mean two animals arriving every time you call either one.

Boy Cat Names That Start With L

These lean masculine by usage rather than by rule. Nothing here is off-limits for a girl cat.

More boy picks worth a look: Laddie, Lancelot, Landon, Leander, Ledger, Legend, Lemmy, Lennie, Leon, Leonard, Leopold, Leroy, Lester, Lewis, Liam, Lincoln, Lionel, Llewellyn, Lloyd, Lobo, Lorcan, Lorne, Louis, Lowell, Luca, Lucas, Ludwig, Luigi, Lukas, Lyndon and Lynx.

Lorcan is the sleeper there. It is Irish, it comes from a root meaning fierce or little fierce one, and it has a hard K in the middle doing all the work a cat needs.

Girl Cat Names That Start With L

More girl picks: Lacey, Ladybug, Lainey, Lana, Lani, Lara, Laurel, Lavinia, Lena, Leonie, Lexi, Libby, Liberty, Lilac, Lilith, Lilo, Linnet, Lisbeth, Livia, Liza, Lizzie, Lorelei, Loretta, Lotus, Louisa, Lovey, Lucia, Lucille, Ludmila, Luella, Lumen, Lupine, Lux and Lyla.

One genuine warning attached to the prettiest name on that list. Lilies are seriously toxic to cats, and even pollen brushed off a stem can cause kidney failure, so a cat named Lily should never share a house with the flower. Choosing the name and then keeping the plant out is a fine outcome. Choosing both is not.

Soft and Sweet L Names

For the cat who sleeps on your chest, kneads blankets and has never once been intimidating. These are built out of soft vowels and gentle endings.

Lala, Lambie, Lambkin, Lelu, Lili, Lilo, Lolly, Lollipop, Loops, Lovebug, Lovey, Lulu, Lulubelle, Lumi, Lumpy, Luvie, Luvvy, Lyla and Lyssa.

Repeating-syllable names are the whole point of this section, and L supplies more of them than any other letter. Lulu in particular is close to the ideal cat name on acoustic grounds: two identical syllables, an easy high vowel, and a shape that stays intelligible whether you say it gently indoors or bellow it off a porch.

Elegant and Regal L Names

If your cat walks into a room as though she holds the deed, give her a name with some weight behind it.

Lucasta is the curiosity here. It does not exist before the seventeenth century, when the poet Richard Lovelace built it out of Latin for a woman he addressed in verse. A name invented for a book and then quietly borrowed by real families is exactly the kind of thing a cat should be called.

Nature, Sky and Weather Names

Cats sit in windows watching weather they will never go out in, so a sky name always feels earned.

Lagoon, Lake, Larch, Lark, Laurel, Lava, Leaf, Ledge, Levin, Lichen, Lilac, Limestone, Linden, Loam, Lotus, Lumen, Lunar, Lupine, Lush, Lynx and Lyrebird.

Three deserve a note. Levin is an old English word for lightning, long out of everyday use, which makes it a quietly dramatic name for a cat who moves in sudden bursts. Lichen is a good pick for a mottled gray-green tabby and nobody will guess where it came from. And Lynx is the obvious choice for a cat with ear tufts, though it is worth saying out loud a few times first, because the final consonant cluster does not carry as well as it looks like it should.

Food-Inspired L Names

Food names are popular for a reason: they are affectionate, they are specific, and a cat named Lasagna is instantly a whole personality.

Laksa, Lardo, Lasagna, Latte, Leek, Lemon, Lemondrop, Lentil, Licorice, Lime, Linguine, Loaf, Lobster, Lokum, Lollipop, Lox, Lumpia and Lychee.

Latte is the standout for a cream or fawn cat, and Licorice is the definitive black-cat food name in this letter. Lokum — Turkish delight — is the most underused of all of them, since it is soft, sweet, pale and dusted, which describes a great many cats accurately.

Mythology, Legend and Folklore

Lethe is the pick for anyone with a cat who forgets, twice a day, that she has already been fed. It is one of the five rivers of the Greek underworld, drinking from it erased memory entirely, and the name shortens to Leth or Lee without losing anything.

L Names by Coat Color

Matching a name to a coat is the fastest way to land on something that feels obvious in hindsight.

If you want to browse names for a cat against a specific coat, sound or origin rather than scrolling a list, the pet name generator lets you filter and shortlist in one place.

Funny and Unserious L Names

Some cats do not deserve dignity. Names for them: Lampshade, Lasagna, Lazybones, Legs, Lint, Litterbug, Loafer, Lobster, Loudmouth, Lugnut, Lumberjack, Lumpkin, Lumpy, Lunatic, Lunchbox, Lurch and Lurker.

Loafer is the best of them, and it is a double joke: it is a shoe, it is a word for someone who does nothing all day, and a cat sitting with all four feet tucked underneath is universally described as a loaf. Three meanings, one syllable and a half.

Short One-Syllable L Names

Short names get learned faster because there is less for the cat to filter out. If your priority is a name your cat will actually respond to, choose from here.

Lace, Lark, Leaf, Lee, Lex, Lime, Link, Lint, Lloyd, Loaf, Lou, Lox, Luke, Lump, Lux and Lynx.

Of these, Lex, Lark and Link are the strongest, because each puts a hard consonant behind the flowing opening. That combination — soft start, sharp finish — is the shape that most of the best cat names share, whatever letter they begin with.

L Names for a Bonded Pair

If you are naming two cats at once, resist the urge to give both an L name. Same-letter pairs sound nearly identical to a cat, and L is the worst offender of all, because the opening flows straight into the vowel and there is barely any edge to distinguish.

Instead, pick one L name and pair it with a contrasting opening sound: Luna and Pepper, Loki and Freya, Lark and Wren, Leo and Nala, Lily and Basil, Latte and Biscuit. The meanings can still rhyme even when the sounds do not, which is where the pairing pleasure actually lives.

How to Pick the One

Narrow your list to three, then run each through the same three tests.

The back-door test. Stand at your door and call each name out loud at normal volume. The one that does not feel embarrassing is your name. If you would hesitate to shout it in front of a neighbor, cut it. This test eliminates Lumberjack for most people and keeps it for exactly the right ones.

The nickname test. Every cat name shortens whether you plan it or not. Lavinia becomes Vinnie, which drops the L entirely. Leonard becomes Leo or Lenny. Ludmila becomes Mila. Make sure you like the version you will actually use ninety percent of the time, and check whether the short form keeps the letter if the letter is why you chose it.

The two-week test. Use the name exclusively for two weeks before you write it on anything permanent. Names that seemed clever on day one sometimes wear thin by day ten, and the reverse happens too: quiet names grow into the cat.

One last practical point. Whatever you choose, pair the name with something the cat wants for the first few weeks. Say it right before food, right before treats, right before the good scratches. Cats learn names by association rather than instruction, and a flowing name needs a few more repetitions than a hissing one to separate itself from ordinary household speech.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are cat names starting with L that people choose most? Luna is the most common by a wide margin and has been for several years running, with Leo, Lucy, Lily and Loki filling out the rest. If avoiding the crowd matters to you, the top cat names in this letter are precisely the ones to skip, and Lark, Lumi, Lorcan or Linnea will get you the same sound with none of the company.

What are the best names for cat coats that are gray or blue? Lavender, Lilac, Lead, Limestone and Lunar all read as gray without stating it outright, and Lynx suits a cat with tufted ears or a heavy ruff. Loam is the quiet pick for a warm brownish gray, and it is short enough to call easily.

Should I avoid naming a cat Lily? Not necessarily, but keep the flower out of the house. Every part of a true lily is highly toxic to cats, including the pollen, and even small exposures can damage the kidneys. The name is fine. The bouquet is not.

Do the names of a cat have to match her personality? No, and expecting the names of the cat in front of you to match a personality she has not developed yet is how people stall for weeks. Kittens have almost no settled personality yet, so choose a name you enjoy saying and let the cat grow into it. In practice the name starts to sound like the animal within a month, whichever one you picked.