Luna doesn't just rule the dog park. She owns the cat world too. Salem and Ash are climbing. Emma and Monty are vanishing. Seven years of naming trends from Toronto's licensed cats.
By Onslow's Team · August 6, 2026 · Data: City of Toronto Open Data, 2020–2026
The short version
Luna leads by a wide margin. Her 22% share is nearly double the runner-up. Each name's bar shows its share of the top 10 total.
Share = percentage of the top 10 total. Arrow = change in rank since 2020.
5 of the top 10 cat names also appear in the top 10 dog names. The overlap is biggest at the top. Luna, Charlie, and Max are favourites for both species.
Shared with dogs
Cats only
300 names, sized by how many cats carry them. The bigger the bubble, the more popular the name.
Each bubble is a cat name in Toronto, sized by how many cats have it. Tap or hover to explore. Source: City of Toronto Open Data, 2026.
Luna has been the #1 cat name in Toronto since 2021, when she overtook Charlie. In 2026, 140 licensed cats in Toronto are named Luna.
5 of the top 10 cat names also appear in the top 10 dog names: Luna, Charlie, Milo, Max, Coco. Cat-specific favourites include Leo, Simba, Shadow, Lily, Oreo.
Mystical and character names are surging: Ash climbed 124 spots since 2020, Casper rose 87, and Salem jumped 63. Meanwhile, traditional names like Emma and Monty are dropping fast.
All data comes from the City of Toronto’s Open Data portal, specifically the Licensed Dog and Cat Names dataset. It covers the top 200 names per year from 2020 to 2026. Only about 30% of Toronto cats are licensed, so these reflect registered cats, not all cats.
This analysis uses the City of Toronto's Licensed Dog and Cat Names dataset, which publishes the top 200 most popular names each year from 2020 to 2026.
Toronto requires all dogs and cats over 6 months to be licensed. Only about 30% of cats are actually licensed, so this data reflects naming trends among registered cats, not the full population.
Rankings are based on the number of active licences with each name in a given year. Names outside the top 200 are not published and are excluded from our analysis.
Related: Toronto's most popular dog names · which breed belongs to your neighbourhood
See how names changed
Who rose, who fell, and why
Look up your cat's name
Quiz yourself, then search the data
Onslow's is the all-in-one app for pet parents. Free on iOS and Android.
Data: City of Toronto Open Data, Licensed Dog and Cat Names. Top 200 names per year, 2020–2026.