Most popular kitten names revealed

Fictional names inspired by the year's top movies and books proved as popular as ever. Photo / 123RF

The most popular kitten names for 2014 have been revealed - with Bella and Oliver topping the list of most-loved feline monikers once again.

According to veterinary website Vetstreet.com, Bella has held onto pole position for seven years in a row - no doubt influenced by the famous Twilight character of the same name - while Oliver is enjoying its second year at the top.

Fictional names inspired by the year's top movies and books proved as popular as ever; the highest climber in the female category this year was Elsa, presumably thanks to Disney's smash hit Frozen. The name given to the movie's title character jumped to number five in the chart, having not even made the top 50 last year.

The American veterinary site ranked the names using its database of almost 500,000 kittens born since Jan 1 2014.

Luna climbed this year's female list to number two, and its popularity might just have been influenced by Harry Potter's much-loved character Luna Lovegood, who has appeared in the last four Harry Potter movies.

Chloe, Molly, Sophie and Nala - mostly rather human names - all fell from the top ten this year.

As for the male kitten names, the list was more consistent with last year, although the names Max, Smokey, Tiger and Simba all saw a dip in popularity.

Perhaps Winnie the Pooh and The Lion King are a little out of vogue now.

Unsurprisingly, there were several cross-overs between popular kitten names and VetStreet's most popular puppy names of 2014, which was published last week.

Bella, for example, took the top spot for both female kittens and female puppies. Daisy came second for female puppies and sixth for female kittens. Lucy came third for both.

Max topped the list for male puppies, and came sixth for male kittens, while Charlie came second for puppies and fourth for kittens.

Top 10 female kitten names

1. Bella

2. Luna

3. Lucy

4. Kitty

5. Elsa

6. Daisy

7. Lily

8. Callie

9. Lilly

10. Gracie

Top 10 male kitten names

1. Oliver

2. Milo

3. Leo

4. Charlie

5. Max

6. Simba

7. Tiger

8. Smokey

9. Jack

10. Kitty

- Daily Mail