Cat Names That Start With W

Chef Wolfgang Puck has helped soften this thunderous Germanic name; music-lovers will appreciate its association with Mozart, though the composer's middle name Amadeus is more appealing.

Wilfred is one of those Old Man Names that still sounds fusty in the US but is fashionable in the UK. It comes with readymade short forms Will or Fred and might make an adventurous alternative to the ubiquitous William. The central character of Walter Scott's Ivanhoe is the knight Wilfred of Ivanhoe. Wilfred Owens was a well-known British poet.

Wiley is a perfectly appropriate way to spell the Scottish name also known as Wylie. Given all the babies named William and Liam today, Wiley or Wylie can be a wonderful variation that's more distinctive but still honors Grandpa Bill. Wiley might also be considered an Attitude Name, given that its other meaning lends it a lot of sass.

Whit is an uplifting short form of any number of surname-y full names, for Whitman to Whitaker to Whitney. But Whit stands perfectly well on its own and makes for a witty spin on modern virtue names.

Willoughby is an energetic last-name-first route to the popular short form Will, livelier than any of the two-syllable options. It could be picked up by parents attracted to the Willow sound for girls.

The girls have dibs on Spring, Summer, and Autumn, leaving this name evocative of snowy landscapes as the one possible seasonal choice for boys. And naturally, it's one of the most obvious names for winter babies.

Winslow's most famous reference may be male painter Winslow Homer, but as a name it's beginning to be on the rise for girls. Adorable nickname Winnie may be the reason. Other unusual painterly possibilities for either sex: O'Keeffe, Hopper, and just plain Painter.

With Willow and Willa becoming more popular for girls, surname-name Willoughby could be a more unusual alternative. Its full form sounds appropriate for both genders, but can be shortened for girls to Willow, Willa, or even Bee.

In the US, Wilma is appears to be eternally fossilized in Bedrock as Fred Flintstone's wife, but in Sweden it's a Top 10 hottie. It did have its moment in the US--from 1912 to 1940 it was a Top 100 name. One notable namesake: track and field star Wilma Rudolph.

Waverly, with its literary resonance and lilting three-syllable sound, could well become the next generation's successor to Kimberly. Its upper-crusty surname feel places it among the new stylish English names for girls, successors to Ashley and Whitney.

Most famous as one of the many middle names of Professor Dumbledore from Harry Potter, Wulfric is an earlier form of the medieval English name Ulric. It has also belonged to an 11th- century Earl of Mercia and a 12th-century saint.

Yesterday's sensation that rose with the popularity of Whitney Houston. Whitney may have lost some of its style value, but it still sounds like one of the quintessential English names for girls. Today, you might want to shorten it to cool nickname Whit.

This name has hardly been used since Wendell Willkie ran for president in 1940, and it may not quite be ready for revival yet. Still, clunky grandpa names like Lionel, Douglas, Benedict, Carl, and Melvin have received more attention in recent years, so Wendell can't be ruled out just yet.

This powerful old name can actually be traced back to two distinct sources. As an Old German name, Wolfram (borne by the medieval poet Wolfram von Eschenbach) derives from a combination of wolf + hraben "raven".

While Woodrow is too forbidding, its nickname Woody is a bit cartoonish, as in Woody Woodpecker and the animated cowboy character in Toy Story. Woody Allen was born Allen.

What with the resurgence of W names like Weston and Walter, the prominence of high profile actress Emma and golfer Bubba, and even the attention paid to Watson, the IBM computer on "Jeopardy" (named for IBM's founder, Thomas Watson) this name could be in line for a revival of its own.

Whimsy is a new entry to the ever-expanding word name lexicon, sister for Pixie and Bliss. While it has an undeniable offbeat English aristocratic charm (maybe we're thinking of Dorothy Sayers' fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey, whose middle name was Death?), we see this as more fitting for a middle than a first name.

If you discount the connection to the controversial Whittaker Chambers in the days of the Red Scare, Whittaker is a pleasant enough British surname with the preppyish nickname Whit.

A common surname often used as a first among the Amish.

The final -e takes this from a daring word name to a literary honor name, for the inimitable Irish author, poet and playwright Oscar Wilde, infamous for his wit and flamboyance.