Browse Names

This is a list of names in which the meaning contains the keywords cat or lion or tiger or jaguar or panther.
gender
usage
meaning
Alisher m Uzbek, Kazakh, Tajik
From the given name Ali 1 combined with Persian شیر (shīr) meaning "lion". It was borne by the Timurid poet Ali-Shir Nava'i (1441-1501), who wrote in the Chagatai Turkic language.
Alparslan m Turkish, Azerbaijani
From Turkish alp meaning "brave" and arslan meaning "lion", referring to the 11th-century Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan, who expanded the Seljuk Empire into Anatolia.
Apollo m Greek Mythology (Latinized)
From Greek Ἀπόλλων (Apollon), which is of unknown meaning, though perhaps related to the Indo-European root *apelo- meaning "strength". Another theory states that Apollo can be equated with Appaliunas, an Anatolian god whose name possibly means "father lion" or "father light". The Greeks later associated Apollo's name with the Greek verb ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi) meaning "to destroy". In Greek mythology Apollo was the son of Zeus and Leto and the twin of Artemis. He was the god of prophecy, medicine, music, art, law, beauty, and wisdom. Later he also became the god of the sun and light.
Areli m Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
Possibly means "lion of God, hero" in Hebrew. This is the name of a son of Gad in the Old Testament.
Ari 1 m Hebrew
Means "lion" in Hebrew.
Arieh m Biblical, Hebrew
Derived from Hebrew אֲרִי (ʾari) meaning "lion", an animal particularly associated with the tribe of Judah (see Genesis 49:9). This is the name of an officer of King Pekahiah in the Old Testament.
Ariel m & f Hebrew, English, French, Spanish, Polish, Biblical, Biblical Greek
Means "lion of God" in Hebrew, from אֲרִי (ʾari) meaning "lion" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". In the Old Testament it is used as another name for the city of Jerusalem. Shakespeare utilized it for a spirit in his play The Tempest (1611) and Alexander Pope utilized it for a sylph in his poem The Rape of the Lock (1712), and one of the moons of Uranus bears this name in his honour. As an English name, it became more common for females in the 1980s, especially after it was used for the title character in the Disney film The Little Mermaid (1989).
Arslan m Turkish, Turkmen
Turkish variant and Turkmen form of Aslan.
Asad m Arabic, Urdu
Means "lion" in Arabic.
Asadullah m Arabic, Pashto
Means "lion of Allah", derived from Arabic أسد (ʾasad) meaning "lion" combined with الله (Allah).
Aslan m Turkish, Kazakh, Azerbaijani, Chechen, Ossetian, Circassian, Literature
From Turkic arslan meaning "lion". This was a byname or title borne by several medieval Turkic rulers, including the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan (a byname meaning "brave lion") who drove the Byzantines from Anatolia in the 11th century. The author C. S. Lewis later used the name Aslan for the main protagonist (a lion) in his Chronicles of Narnia series of books, first appearing in 1950.
Aslanbek m Chechen, Ossetian, Circassian
Derived from Turkish aslan meaning "lion" combined with the Turkic military title beg meaning "chieftain, master".
Babur m Urdu
From a Persian word meaning "tiger". This was the nickname of Zahir ud-Din Muhammad, the 16th-century founder of the Mughal Empire in India.
Baihu m Chinese Mythology
From Chinese (bái) meaning "white, pure" and () meaning "tiger". This is the Chinese name of the White Tiger, associated with the west and the autumn season.
Balam m Mayan
Means "jaguar" in Mayan (Yucatec Maya báalam; K'iche' Maya balam).
Cat f & m English
Diminutive of Catherine. It can also be a nickname from the English word for the animal.
Fahd m Arabic
Means "panther" in Arabic.
Felinus m Late Roman
Late Latin name meaning "cat-like". This was the name of a possibly legendary saint who was martyred with Gratian in the 3rd century.
Haidar m Arabic
Means "lion, warrior" in Arabic. This is a title of Ali ibn Abi Talib.
Hamza m Arabic, Turkish, Bosnian
Means "lion" in Arabic, a derivative of حمز (ḥamuza) meaning "strong, sturdy". This was the name of an uncle of the Prophet Muhammad who was killed in battle.
Hari m Hinduism, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali
Means "brown, yellow, tawny" in Sanskrit, and by extension "monkey, horse, lion". This is another name of the Hindu god Vishnu, and sometimes of his avatar Krishna. In this context it is sometimes considered a derivative of Sanskrit हृ (hṛ) meaning "to take away", referring to the removal of sins.
Izem m Berber
Means "lion" in Tamazight.
Kfir m Hebrew
Means "lion cub" in Hebrew.
Lavi m Hebrew
Means "lion" in Hebrew.
Leander m Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of the Greek name Λέανδρος (Leandros), derived from λέων (leon) meaning "lion" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek legend Leander was the lover of Hero. Every night he swam across the Hellespont to meet her, but on one occasion he was drowned when a storm arose. When Hero saw his dead body she threw herself into the waters and perished.
Leib m Yiddish
Means "lion" in Yiddish, from Old High German lewo. This is a vernacular form of Arieh.
Lencho m Oromo
Means "lion" in Oromo.
Leo m German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, English, Croatian, Armenian, Late Roman
Derived from Latin leo meaning "lion", a cognate of Leon. It was popular among early Christians and was the name of 13 popes, including Saint Leo the Great who asserted the dominance of the Roman bishops (the popes) over all others in the 5th century. It was also borne by six Byzantine emperors and five Armenian kings. Another famous bearer was the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), name spelled Лев in Russian, whose works include War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Leo is also a constellation and the fifth sign of the zodiac.
Leon m English, German, Dutch, Polish, Slovene, Croatian, Greek, Ancient Greek
Derived from Greek λέων (leon) meaning "lion". During the Christian era this Greek name was merged with the Latin cognate Leo, with the result that the two forms are used somewhat interchangeably across European languages. In England during the Middle Ages this was a common name among Jews. A famous bearer was the communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky (1879-1940), whose name is Лев in Russian.
Leonard m English, Dutch, German, Polish, Romanian, Germanic
Means "brave lion", derived from the Old German elements lewo "lion" (of Latin origin) and hart "hard, firm, brave, hardy". This was the name of a 6th-century Frankish saint from Noblac who is the patron of prisoners and horses. The Normans brought this name to England, where it was used steadily through the Middle Ages, becoming even more common in the 20th century.
Leonidas m Greek, Ancient Greek
Derived from Greek λέων (leon) meaning "lion" combined with the patronymic suffix ἴδης (ides). Leonidas was a Spartan king of the 5th century BC who sacrificed his life and his army defending the pass of Thermopylae from the Persians. This was also the name of a 3rd-century saint and martyr, the father of Origen, from Alexandria.
Leontes m Literature
Variant of Leontios. This is the name of the king of Sicily in Shakespeare's play The Winter's Tale (1610). He is the husband of Hermione, whom he imprisons, and the father of Perdita, whom he abandons.
Leontios m Ancient Greek
Derived from Greek λέοντος (leontos), the genitive case of λέων (leon) meaning "lion". This was the name of various early saints and martyrs. It was also borne by a 7th-century Byzantine emperor.
Lev 1 m Russian
Means "lion" in Russian, functioning as a vernacular form of Leo. This was the real Russian name of both author Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) and revolutionary Leon Trotsky (1879-1940).
Lew 2 m Polish (Rare)
Polish cognate of Lev 1.
Luan m Albanian
Means "lion" in Albanian.
Lyonors f Arthurian Cycle
Probably from Middle English lyon meaning "lion". It appears in Thomas Malory's 15th-century compilation of Arthurian legends Le Morte d'Arthur, belonging to a woman who had a child with Arthur. Alfred Tennyson used the name in his poem Gareth and Lynette (1872) for the sister of Lynette (this character is called Lyonesse in Malory's version of the story).
Narasimha m Hinduism, Telugu
Means "man-lion", derived from Sanskrit नर (nara) meaning "man" combined with सिंह (siṃha) meaning "lion". This is the name of a lion-headed avatar of the god Vishnu who kills the evil king Hiranyakashipu.
Nawel m Mapuche
Means "jaguar" in Mapuche.
Othniel m Biblical
Meaning uncertain, possibly "lion of God" or "strength of God" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament he is a nephew or brother of Caleb who becomes the first of the ruling judges of the Israelites.
Pantaleon m Ancient Greek
Derived from the Greek elements πᾶν (pan) meaning "all" (genitive παντός) and λέων (leon) meaning "lion". This was the name of a 2nd-century BC king of Bactria. It was also borne by Saint Pantaleon (also called Panteleimon), a doctor from Asia Minor who was martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian in the early 4th century. He is a patron saint of doctors and midwives.
Panther m Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek name meaning "panther".
Pantheras m Ancient Greek
Derived from Greek πάνθηρ (panther) meaning "panther", a word ultimately of Sanskrit origin, though folk etymology connects it to Greek πᾶν (pan) meaning "all" and θηράω (therao) meaning "to hunt". According to some legends a Roman soldier named Panthera was the father of Jesus.
Sher m Urdu, Pashto
Means "lion" in Persian. A famous bearer of this name was Sher Shah, a 16th-century Mughal ruler.
Sherali m Uzbek, Tajik
From Uzbek and Tajik sher meaning "lion" (of Persian origin) combined with the name Ali 1.
Sherzod m Uzbek, Tajik
Means "son of the lion", derived from Persian شیر (shīr) meaning "lion" and the suffix زاد (zād) meaning "son of".
Shir 2 m Persian (Rare)
Modern Persian form of Sher.
Simba 2 m Swahili
Means "lion" in Swahili. This is the name of the main character in the Disney movie The Lion King (1994), about a lion cub who exiles himself after his father is murdered.
Singh m Indian (Sikh)
From Sanskrit सिंह (siṃha) meaning "lion". In 1699 Guru Gobind Singh gave all his male Sikh followers the surname Singh, and it is now a very common surname or a middle name. The female equivalent is Kaur.
Tau m Tswana, Sotho
Means "lion" in Tswana and Sotho. Tau was the name of the last ruler of the Rolong in South Africa (18th century).
Tecumseh m Shawnee
Means "panther passing across" in Shawnee. This name was borne by the Shawnee leader Tecumseh (1768-1813), who resisted American expansion along with his brother the spiritual leader Tenskwatawa.
Thiha m Burmese
Means "lion" in Burmese, ultimately from Sanskrit सिंह (siṃha).
Tiger m English (Rare)
From the name of the large striped cat, derived (via Old French and Latin) from Greek τίγρις (tigris), ultimately of Iranian origin. A famous bearer is American golfer Tiger Woods (1975-).
Tigerlily f English (Rare)
From tiger lily, a name that has been applied to several orange varieties of lily (such as the species Lilium lancifolium). Tiger Lily is also the name of the Native American princess in J. M. Barrie's play Peter Pan (1904).
Timoleon m Ancient Greek
Derived from the Greek elements τιμάω (timao) "to honour" and λέων (leon) "lion". This name was borne by a 4th-century BC Greek statesman and general.
Usama m Arabic
Means "lion" in Arabic.
Vepkhia m Georgian
Derived from Old Georgian ვეფხი (vepkhi) meaning "tiger".
Xbalanque m Mayan Mythology
Possibly from Classic Maya balam "jaguar" and k'in "sun" or kej "deer". In the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the K'iche' Maya, Xbalanque and his twin brother Hunahpu avenge their father's death at the hands of the underworld gods.
Yeruslan m Folklore
From Tatar Уруслан (Uruslan), which was possibly from Turkic arslan meaning "lion". Yeruslan Lazarevich is the name of a hero in Russian and Tatar folktales. These tales were based on (or at least influenced by) Persian tales of their hero Rostam.