Once upon a time, a nerd was seen as a bumbling fool with few social skills and graces. These days, the term has transformed into a description of a person who throws themselves deeply into some interest or skill, which incidentally, is a pretty positive thing!
A person can be nerdy about anything and everything, from academia to various fandoms in pop culture, from table-top role playing games to sports. Whatever the case, a nerd is passionate about his or her interests. If you are passionate about giving your cat a great nerd name as a way to wave your nerd flag high, then this list of furry friend names is for you!
Male Nerdy Cat Names
- Aragorn – A heroic and kingly character from The Lord of the Rings.
- Aristotle – One of the greatest and most influential philosophers in human history.
- Ash – The main human character from the mega-hit anime series Pokémon.
- Atom – The teeniest, tiniest unit of matter, we love this name for a very small cat.
- Atreyu – The child hero of The Neverending Story.
- Axis – A line on which a round object rotates, science nerds might appreciate this name that has a nice ring to it.
- Baggins – The surname of the hobbit heroes of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (Bilbo and Frodo, respectively).
- Batman – We love this name for a black cat!
- Beaker – A tool used in scientific experiments and of course, the name of one of the silliest Muppets.
- Big Boss – What we nerds call the antagonist at the end of a video game level, a dungeon or a turning point where our heroes must fight in the story.
- Chewie – The affectionate nickname of Han Solo’s Wookie sidekick and bestie, Chewbacca.
- Clippy – Remember this little paperclip assistant from Microsoft Office?
- Da Vinci – Named for Leonardo Da Vinci, an artist, inventor, scientist, scholar and quintessential Renaissance man – the OG nerd!
- Data – The emotionless droid striving to become more human in Star Trek: Next Generation. And of course, the name for collected technical information.
- Dumbledore – A powerful and enigmatic wizard headmaster of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series.
- Einstein – One of the most brilliant scientists to ever live.
- Falkor – The always optimistic Luck Dragon from The Neverending Story. A good name for a happy-go-lucky white kitty.
- Fibonacci – This fun to say name means a series of numbers in which each number is the sum of the two that precede it. Occult nerds also recognize it from sacred geometry.
- Galileo – One of science’s most famous names and original rebels.
- Gandalf – A powerful and wise wizard in The Lord of the Rings stories.
- Geordie – Fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation will recognize this name of the Enterprise’s lovable chief engineer, Geordie LeForge.
- Gizmo – An adorable Mogwai from the Gremlins movies.
- Hawking – A nod to the brilliant theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.
- Helix – A spiral or twisted shape, such as the structure of DNA. Sort of like Felix the Cat, but with a science twist (pun not intended)!
- Jeeves – Back before we asked Google everything, we asked Jeeves!
- Klingon – One of the favorite Star Trek alien races, complete with their own learnable language.
- Lego – A fun name for fans of these timeless, fun for all ages building toys.
- Link – The Hero of Time from the Legend of Zelda video game series.
- Max Headroom – A 1980s AI TV presenter that influenced later depictions of AI in pop culture.
- Morpheus – Originally a Greek god associated with sleep and dreams, sci-fi nerds will recognize this pivotal character from The Matrix.
- Mr. Mistoffelees – Calling all Broadway nerds! You may recognize this magical character from the musical Cats. Perfect for a tuxedo cat!
- Mulder – X-Files fans love FBI agent Fox Mulder and his endless obsession with exposing the existence of extra-terrestrials and government conspiracies.
- Neo – The main hero of the 90s and early 2000s sci-fi classic, The Matrix.
- Neutron – A subatomic particle without an electric charge, this science-based name is both fun and cute.
- Newton – Named for Sir Isaac Newton, one of science, math and theology’s most influential figures.
- Pascal – Named for Blaise Pascal, a child prodigy mathematician and inventor.
- Photon – The basic unit of all light.
- Pikachu – The undisputed Pokémon mascot.
- Poindexter – An old French name that has come to represent nerdiness.
- Professor X – The founder and occasional leader of Marvel’s X-Men.
- Quark – The elementary particles that make up the protons and neutrons, this fun name also happens to be the name of a Ferengi bartender on Star Trek: Deep Space 9.
- Salem – The name of the ancient witch in black cat form from Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
- Schrodinger – This is one of our favorite names on the list, Schrodinger’s Cat is a thought experiment that illustrates a quantum paradox.
- Severus – Everyone’s favorite Harry Potter anti-hero, Severus Snape.
- Sheldon – The brilliant but utterly socially inept character from the hit TV series The Big Bang Theory.
- Smeagle – We can’t help but feel for this hobbit that became corrupted by the power of the ring in The Lord of the Rings.
- Vector – A mathematics term that incidentally makes a fun cat name for math nerds.
- Weird Al – Mr. White and Nerdy himself!
- Wookie – The alien race of Star Wars’ Chewbacca, we imagine this name for a big, fluffy brown kitty.
- Yoda – An adorable cat name, this is!
Female Nerdy Cat Names
- Abby – The brilliant, nerdy and goth forensic scientist from the TV show NCIS.
- Agatha – A reference to Agatha Christie, the prolific writer of some favorite detective book series.
- Alexa – For fans of this popular AI.
- Alice – The heroine of The Resident Evil movie series, played famously by Milla Jovovich.
- Arwen – A powerful and inspiring elven queen from The Lord of the Rings.
- Arya – Named for the cool and tough Arya Stark from Game of Thrones.
- Bethesda – We have Bethesda Games to thank for some of the best video games out there, especially the utterly magical Elder Scroll games.
- Black Widow – One of Marvel Comics’ heroines who started out as a Russian spy, and antagonist to Iron Man.
- Bones – The brilliant, if out of touch forensic anthropologist named Temperance “Bones” Brennan on the TV show Bones.
- Brienne – The name of the noble and towering female knight, Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones.
- Buffy – Of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame.
- Catwoman – Is there any better name for a nerdy girl cat?
- Ciri – Or Cirila if you prefer, the name of the powerful princess in The Witcher series.
- Cookie – In technical terms, a cookie is “a piece of data from a website stored within a web browser that the website can retrieve at a later time.” Incidentally, it’s also an adorable cat name.
- Cyber – A name for computer and online enthusiasts.
- Daenerys – A fierce Game of Thrones character, also known as Mother of Dragons.
- Eleven – A reference for Stranger Things fans.
- Elphaba – Broadway fans will recognize this name of the heroine from Wicked.
- Felicia – Named after the actress and the Queen of the Geeks, Felicia Day.
- Furiosa – A badass war captain from the Mad Max franchise.
- Galadriel – The ethereal elven Lady of the Woods in The Lord of the Rings.
- Guinevere – King Arthur’s wife, this early legendary queen of Britain has a fascinating and colorful story.
- Harley Quinn – One of the most charming and diabolically charismatic villains in the DC universe.
- Hermione – One of Harry’s best friends, and a brilliant wizard in the Harry Potter series.
- Janeway – The first female captain in the Star Trek franchise, Captain Janeway of Star Trek: Voyager.
- Jess – The nickname of the adorkable lead character in the TV show, The New Girl.
- Kara – The name of Supergirl, or more appropriately, Kara Zor-El.
- Katniss – The survivalist protagonist of the Hunger Games series.
- Khaleesi – Daenerys Targaryen’s Dothraki title, meaning “queen” in Game of Thrones.
- Kimmy – A cute name that references the lead character of the TV show Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
- Lara – After Lara Croft, the heroine of the Tomb Raider franchise.
- Leeloo – Milla Jovovich’s portrayal of this character in the 90’s sci-fi classic The Fifth Element, cemented the actress as one of Sci-Fi’s most iconic actresses.
- Lois – A name referencing Lois Lane, a smart journalist for The Daily Planet newspaper, and Superman’s love interest.
- Motoko – The cybernetic lead from the hit anime Ghost in the Shell.
- Penny – One of the main characters from The Big Bang Theory.
- Princess Leia – An adorable name for Star Wars fans. Extra points if you have a male cat to name after her brother Luke.
- Ripley – Name your furry little girl after one of the first sci-fi film protagonists to properly challenge gender roles via Ellen Ripley from the Alien movies.
- Sailor Moon – Anime fans will appreciate this reference to the classic anime series.
- Samus – The sci-fi heroine of Nintendo’s Metroid series.
- Sheik – Princess Zelda’s roguish alter ego in The Legend of Zelda series.
- She-Ra – More than a simple female equivalent of He-Man, She-Ra is a badass heroine currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity since her 1980s origins.
- Siri – Apple’s virtual assistant.
- Storm – A favorite character from X-Men, Storm is iconic for her shock of white hair and powers to control the weather.
- Sylvanas – The imposing World of Warcraft elf turned banshee and leader of the Undead.
- Trinity – From The Matrix, and one of the coolest sci-fi heroines to grace the screen.
- Ugly Betty – From the TV show of the same name, starring a wonderfully nerdy lead.
- Uhura – Lt. Nyota Uhura from Star Trek broke barriers for prominent roles for women in sci-fi, particularly with women of color.
- Willow – This geeky sidekick in Buffy the Vampire Slayer is full of tech knowledge and magical know-how.
- Xena – This warrior princess taught us that you can be both tough and a princess!
- Zelda – The Legend of Zelda video game series is one of Nintendo’s most beloved franchises.
Unisex Nerdy Cat Names
- Adorkable – This name probably needs no explaining!
- Anime – For Japanese animation fans.
- Avatar – Those figures that represent us in our online and video game lives. Also a reference to the popular James Cameron movie of the same name, and the excellent animated series, Avatar: The Last Airbender.
- Beta – The second letter of the Greek alphabet, but also the way we tend to indicate something in its testing phase, such as a video game or new interface.
- Bookworm – We love this name for a kitty that likes to curl up on your lap while you enjoy a good book.
- Brainiac – A name for a smarty-pants cat.
- Bug – We are thinking of a computer bug, but it’s a very cute name even if you think of the insect!
- Byte – The unit of digital information. For a big kitty, maybe Megabyte would be an even better name!
- Cipher – Short of “decipher.”
- D&D – This of course stands for Dungeons and Dragons, the infamously imaginative and fun roleplaying game.
- Dalek – The extra-terrestrial mutants and antagonists from Doctor Who.
- Doodle – If you are an art nerd, this would be a fun name for your kitty.
- Dorkus – Sometimes you are a nerd, sometimes you are a dork. Which one is your cat?
- Doctor Who – For fans of this long-running British classic TV show.
- Elf – Elves, fairies, gnomes…all the fae folk that fantasy fans know and love.
- E.T. – Short for “extra terrestrial.” Sometimes we suspect that our cats must have originated as E.T.s with their quirks and silly behaviors – and we wouldn’t want it any other way!
- Firefly – The short-lived but beloved sci-fi series created by Joss Whedon.
- Gadget – An ingenious tool or toy, and an ingenious name for a cat!
- Geek – Nerds, dorks and geeks are all used interchangeably, but do they all mean the same thing? We’ll leave that to you to decide.
- Genius – For the exceptionally smart kitty.
- Gif – Is it pronounced like “giraffe” or like “goat”? People argue about this online to this day.
- Glitch – That sudden malfunction in the system, but it makes for a cute cat name as well.
- Gremlin – An especially fun name if you happen to have a hairless kitty.
- Grey – Grey can mean so many things in the world of nerds: a reference to Gandalf the Grey in The Lord of the Rings, a common name to refer to a type of extra-terrestrial… and how about the name for a grey kitty?
- Halo – For fans of this mega-popular online shooter.
- Hobbit – In Tolkien’s fantastical world, hobbits are a beloved small and kind (but stubborn) people with furry feet. Sounds a bit like how we describe our cats, right?
- Java – A reference to the programming language JavaScript.
- Konami – A Japanese video game and entertainment conglomerate that is responsible for some of the best video games from Japan, such as Metal Gear, Silent Hill and Dance Dance Revolution.
- Laser – Perhaps the favorite high-tech toy of felines everywhere: the laser pointer!
- Leet – The shortened term for “elite,” which refers to the most skilled of gamers.
- Manga – The graphic novel version of anime, so to speak.
- Matrix – A reference to the ground-breaking sci-fi franchise, The Matrix.
- Macro – Meaning “big,” a macro is also used in techspeak. A great name for a big cat.
- Meta – A tech company hoping to bring virtual reality to the next level, and also a term meaning a “self-referential creative work.”
- Micro – Meaning “small,” if you have a large cat and small cat, Macro and Micro would be a fun duo of names.
- Mogwai – The race of small creatures that you are not to feed after midnight in the Gremlins movies.
- Nerdling – For your mini-nerd (of the furry kind)!
- Newbie – A slang term used even outside of nerd culture, but is definitely a favorite term used in the world of nerds.
- Otaku – In Japanese, this term basically means “nerd” (more or less). In the West, fans of anime, manga and all things Japanese pop culture have adopted this title.
- Pi – The mathematical constant that is a key equation to many mathematical formulas.
- Pixel – The tiny lights that make up pictures on our screens.
- Pong – A classic video game from the days of the Atari entertainment system.
- Prodigy – A great name for your little genius.
- Puzzle – A favorite hobby of nerds and others, interest in solving puzzles seems to be ingrained in human behavior.
- Techie – A term for technology enthusiasts.
- Tesla – You may recognize this as Elon Musk’s company, but it’s also a nod to the brilliant inventor, engineer and futurist, Nikola Tesla.
- Tokyo – The Otaku’s wonderland and Japan’s hi-tech metropolis.
- Trekkie – A term for Star Trek fans.
- Widget – A small, generic mechanical device.
- Wizard – The perfect name for the magical kitty cat!
Nerds are certainly having a moment in today’s zeitgeist. Once derided for their niche interests, recent years have been kinder to the nerd, as more and more people have finally come to the realization that nerds simply have more fun. We hope your nerdy feline agrees!