Best Names for Abyssinian Cats and Maine Coons

Through the years, thousands of cats were named Muffin, Fluffy, Snowball, or just Kitty. Today, choose a distinctive name for your Abyssinian or Maine Coon cat that suits his/her heritage, coloring, or personality. A little research into your cat's breed helps make the best decision on what to name your cat.

Cat Breeds and Name Suggestions:

Abyssinian - also known as Aby by owners and breeders. Abys are bred in a variety of colors, including: Ruddy, which is a burnt sienna color, Red with brown tipping, Blue with beige undercoat, and Fawn which consists of rosy beige and tipped with brown.

The Abyssinian cat was originally brought to the United Kingdom by Captain Barret Leonard after he returned home from the Abyssinian Wars in Ethiopia during the mid 1800's. The war was fought in the Ethiopian Empire. Captain Leonard brought two cats home with him. Every Aby is descended from the cats bred in Britain.

Name suggestions for Abys - Names referring to colors: Sienna(Ruddy color); Faunen, Fagnian, Fagan, Fain(Fawn color); Slater, Kaolin, Zircon(Blue color); Scarlet, Ruby, Cinnabar, Russet, Flame(Red color.)

Abysinnian historical or regional names: Barret, Leonard, Axum, Hawalti, Yeha, Sabaea, Melazo, Habashat, Massawa, Adulis, Napata, Sheba, Ezana, and Meroe.

Maine Coon Cat - The Maine Coon is one of North America's oldest breed of cats and is the official State Cat of Maine. The origin of the Maine Coon Cat is unknown but varying stories arose about how the cat came to be.

One such story tells of Queen Marie Antoinette making her attempted escape to the United States before she is put to death in 1793. Marie never makes her escape but her Turkish Angora cats did land safely in Wiscasset, Maine. They bred with the Norwegian Forest Cat and the result was the Maine Coon. This is only one of the theories surrounding the origin of the Maine Coon Cat.

Most likely, the Maine Coon Cat was derived from a cross between short-haired domestic cats and long-haired cats taken home by English sailors or domestic cats breeding with bobcats or lynx. Modern Maine Coon cats are the largest of all domestic breeds. Their tails are long and stripes like a raccoon. The coloring of Maine Coon cats vary from brown tabby, chocolate, blue grey, orange, white, calico, and tortoiseshell. Their coat is long and shaggy.

Name Suggestion for the Maine Coon Cat: Names from Maine Native Americans (Abenaki): Waban, Niben, Zanoba, Awan, Tebok, and Skweda.

Names referring to color or folk tales: Mapache (meaning raccoon); Jasper(tortoiseshell color); Agouti and Torbie(tabby markings); Saira, Munroi, Oxy, and Perci (mackerel color); Rufus, Mya, and Blynx(referring to bobcats or lynx).

Resources: Abyssinian Cat Association
Historical Abyssinia and Ethiopia
Maine Coon Association
History of Maine