White Cat Names

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.

If you're looking for an unusual alternative to all those Rose names, Rhoswen might be a good choice. This name has the soft sounds we've come to love from the Welsh language but is still not as familiar as Bronwen and Rhiannon.

Pretty and unusual, Livana may find a lot more fans as parents look for alternatives to Number 1 Olivia. Livana was used for only seven baby girls in the US last year.

Popular in India and among Indo-Americans, this name of the hero of a famous Hindu epic has an extremely pleasing sound.

This presidential name is in style limbo today - or, some might say, in the the sweet spot of familiar but little-used.

Despite the light, pretty sound of Bella for a girl, the boys' name Bela has dark and mysterious undertones, thanks to Dracula actor Bela Lugosi. Béla is also the first name of composer Bartók.

Haitian-born rap superstar and humanitarian Wyclef ("Fugees") Jean has lent this name a powerful musical beat.

Consistently popular Latina gem name; good choice for those who can't shake Pearl's grandmotherly vibe.

Finola, the readily accessible version of some of the more problematic Gaelic versions of the name, would make a welcome addition to the stockpot of Irish girls' names.

Olwen is a Welsh favorite, the name of a legendary princess in what is believed to have been the earliest Arthurian romance, and in fact one of the first recorded examples of Welsh prose.

Thanks to two cultural influences, January has joined March, April, June and August as a plausible month name.

Whitman, a namesake surname for poet Walt, would be much more suited to a boy, probably because of that "man" part. Whit or Witt makes an uplifting short form which can be used on its own.

More colorful than Blanche, but blanker than Bianca.

Kenyon is a very engaging British surname name, the middle y giving it a kind of southwestern canyonesque undertone.

Western place-name that feels equally appropriate for both genders. Note: Natives say rhyme that second syllable with had, so it's not nehv-AH-da.

This name is usually seen as a surname, but could be used as a first in the tradition of Cooper, Sawyer etc.

Among the first wave of word names used in the hippie era, it actually is a legitimate girl's name with a lot of luster.

An unusual floral -wen name which was the name of an 1878 opera by Welsh composer Joseph Parry.

This kind of plainspoken nature name (think River and Sunshine) may still carry a whiff of the hippie, but this one has a nice, airy feel.

Welsh heritage choice that's rare today even in its native land.