Do you feel like you’re noticing more and more of your friends naming their new kittens Stella and Bandit these days? They might not be the most popular kitten names right now, but based on our research, they’re definitely on trend.

You might have seen our list of the most popular kitten names of 2015, and now, we’re using that data to determine which kitten names are the trendiest! And, if you’re wondering how, exactly a popular kitten name differs from a trendy one, we’ve got a simple explanation. The most popular kitten names are found by looking at the number of kittens born in a single year and the names they’re given. But, to figure out the trendiest names, we take a longer view and look at kitty names over the space of ten years to see which ones have increased the most in popularity. 

To come up with this list, we worked with Nationwide Pet Insurance, who provided us with the most popular male and female kitten names of 2005. Then, we compared the cat names on the 2005 list to our 2015 popular kitten name list to see which names had the most dramatic increase. Those that rose the most over the decade earned spots in our slideshow below. 

Luna and Stella

Luna and Stella

We noted some significant movement among female kitten names. Luna, which was the most popular kitten name of the year in 2015, is also right on trend, climbing 33 places since 2005. Stella also raced up the charts at light speed, with an increase of 26 spots. 
Bandit and Milo

Bandit and Milo

There didn't seem to be quite as much trendiness among the male kitten names, although a number of monikers certainly had impressive moves. Bandit only hit No. 28 on the most popular kitten names list, but that was after a 12-spot climb, so we expect to see this name continue to grow. Milo, the No. 5 name in 2015, increased in popularity by nine spaces.
Mia, Willow, Kitty, Lilly and Sassy

Mia, Willow, Kitty, Lilly and Sassy

Other female kitten names with significant increases in popularity over the last decade were Mia (up 19 spots), Willow (up 15), Kitty (up 13), and Lilly and Sassy (both up 11).
Oliver, Charlie, Leo, George and Louie

Oliver, Charlie, Leo, George and Louie

Oliver, Charlie and Leo (Nos. 1, 2 and 4 most popular male kitten names in 2015), along with George (No. 22 most popular in 2015) and Louie (No. 26) all moved up eight spots since 2005.
Nala, Elsa, Cali and Mittens

Nala, Elsa, Cali and Mittens

Many of the names that are currently quite popular weren't anywhere near so hot in 2005; in fact, a number of the names in the top 45 in 2015 didn't make the list 10 years ago. 

So, even though we don't have a starting point for these names, it's certainly worth noting how much they've climbed! The following names all found spots within the current top 20 most popular kitten names: Nala currently No. 7, Elsa (No. 17), Cali (No. 18) and Mittens (No. 20).
Kitty and Loki

Kitty and Loki

A couple of male kitten names also hit the top 20 in 2015, despite failing to appear on the list at all in 2005: Kitty (currently No. 10 most popular) and Loki (No. 13).
Zoey, Rosie, Shadow, Penny and Oreo

Zoey, Rosie, Shadow, Penny and Oreo

The following female kitten names didn't quite crack the top 20, but considering they didn't showing up at all in 2005, making the top 30 is worth celebrating, right? Zoey (currently No. 23 most popular), Rosie (No. 24), Shadow (No. 25), Penny (No. 26) and Oreo (No. 30) are all names we'll keep an eye on for a few more years.
Jax, Dexter, Henry, Sammy, Pumpkin and Bear

Jax, Dexter, Henry, Sammy, Pumpkin and Bear

As we mentioned earlier, the upward trends weren't quite as strong for boy kitten names as they were for girl kitten names; however, the following male kitten names went from virtual obscurity in 2005 to spots within the top 35 in 2015: Jax (currently No. 21 most popular), Dexter (No. 29), Henry (No. 32), Sammy (No. 33), Pumpkin (No. 34) and Bear (No. 35).

Analyzing the Trends

We couldn’t help but notice that a number of these appellations had a few things in common.

Traditional Monikers: There’s definitely a bit of a throwback feel to a few of these names, isn’t there? Bandit, Mittens, Kitty, Sassy, Oliver, Princess, Pepper, Rosie, Shadow, Pumpkin and Oreo are all names that we could easily believe belonged to cats living in an earlier era. Additionally, there are some strong masculine and feminine tones — a trend we also noted among puppy names: Luna, Callie, Cali, Princess, Zoey, Mia, Milo, Oliver, Charlie, Leo, George, Louie and Henry are very popular.

Pop Culture: We also saw a sampling of handles with distinct pop culture ties. Loki’s upward trend is likely due to the fact that the name belongs to a main character in the Thor and Avenger movies, while both Jax and Dexter were lead characters in television hits (Jax from Sons of Anarchy and Dexter from Dexter). Stella is the name of the adorable Frenchie on Modern Family, and we’re sure you recognize Elsa as the elder sister in Frozen.

Did you catch any similarities that we missed? And, are there any names you’ve noticed on an upward trend that we should be watching for?

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