Back in the 18th century, names were important; there were certain names (and nick-names) that were generally useful, and some names that you would never find below a certain income level. This applied to both Christian (first) names and surnames. Here is a brief (by no means comprehensive) list of some potential character names. Some of them are all-purpose and some will be only found in a specific class. These are all appropriate English names.

Many Christian names are either Biblical, classical (Greek or Roman) or taken from the names of saints (such as Epaphroditus). Others (such as Nugent) there seems to be no excuse for.

Please note that certain modern names are unacceptable for the 18th century - or at least for 18th century England. Brad, Jayden, Katelyn, Cirrus, River, Carter, Aston, Wade, Shae, etc...names like this won't do.

Another fact to keep in mind is that three names (first, middle, and last) as well as hyphenated surnames were not yet in general vogue. Only the highest of the ton would be likely to have three names or a hyphenated last name. For an example from our characters, Anne Edith Brigham may have three names, because she is the genteel daughter of a respectable country doctor, who comes from a long line of gentlemen even if somewhat impoverished. Even still, some high-class snobs may consider her middle name to be an abominable pretension.

Anyway - on to the naming of cats!

Christian Names (Men)

Posh Names
Aloysius
Alphonse
Anselm
Archibald
Augustine
Azariah
Bartholomew
Bartimaeus
Basil
Benedict
Bonaventure
Boniface
Caesar
Chauncey
Christopher
Cornelius
Cuthbert
Cyrus
Damian
Ernest
Eugene
Eustace
Felix
Francis
Frederick
Gabriel
Godfrey
Gerald
Gervais
Gregory
Horace
Horatio
Ignatius
Julian
Justin
Lancelot
Lawrence
Lionel
Lysander
Malcolm
Marmaduke
Martin
Maximilian
Nathaniel
Neil
Norbert
Nugent
Oliver
Pius
Phineas
Pompey
Quentin
Raphael
Raymond
Roderic
St Claire (pr. Sinclaire)
St John (pr. Sinjin)
Sylvester
Terence
Thaddeus
Theodore
Theophilus
Tracy
Valerius/Valerian
Vincent
Virgil

Undifferentiated Names (appropriate for any class)
Abraham
Abel
Adam
Alexander
Anthony
Barnabas
Benjamin
Bernard
Charles
Daniel
David
Ebenezer
Edmund
Edward
Eliezer
Edwin
Elijah
Geoffrey
George
Harold
Harry
Henry
Hezekiah
Hiram
Hubert
Hugh
Isaac
Isidore
Ives
Jacob
James
Jedediah
Jeremiah
Jerome
Joel
John
Jonathan
Joseph
Josiah
Jude
Luke
Malachi
Mark
Matthew
Michael
Moses
Nathan
Nicholas
Obadiah
Paul
Peter
Philip
Richard
Robert
Roger
Samson
Samuel
Sebastian
Simon
Stephen
Thomas
Timothy
Titus
Tobias
Victor
Walter
William

Christian Names (Women)

Posh Names
Alceste
Adelaide
Adeline
Almena
Althea
Angeline
Arabella
Athena
Augusta
Belinda
Cassandra
Celandine
Clarissa
Clarinda
Clementine
Cornelia
Cynthia
Daphne
Demeter
Dido
Emiline
Electra
Eveline
Flavia
Forsythia
Fredonia
Genevieve
Henrietta
Ianthe
Isabella
Lavinia
Leonora
Letitia
Lucinda
Lucretia
Madeline
Malvina
Marietta
Olivia
Parthenia
Permelia
Philomena
Proserpina
Sabina
Selima
Sophronia
Theodosia
Tryphena
Vanessa
Virginia
Wilhelmina

Undifferentiated Names
Abiah
Abigail
Agnes
Alice
Amanda
Amelia
Anne/Anna
Barbara
Caroline
Catherine
Charlotte
Clara
Constance
Cynthia
Deborah
Dinah
Doris
Dorothy/Dorothea
Edith
Eleanor
Elizabeth
Ellen
Emily
Emmeline
Esther
Ethel
Eve
Gertrude
Frances
Florence
Hagar
Hannah
Harriet
Helen
Hepzibah
Hermione
Hester
Irene
Jane
Janet
Jemima
Joan
Judith
Julia
Louisa
Lucy
Magdalene
Margaret
Mary/Maria
Maryann/Marianne
Martha
Matilda
Mehitabel
Melinda
Mercy
Mildred
Millicent
Miriam
Nancy
Naomi
Pamela
Patience
Peg/Peggy
Phoebe
Polly
Prudence
Rachel
Rebecca
Rhoda
Roseanne
Roxana
Sally
Sarah
Sophia
Sukey
Susan
Tabitha
Temperance
Theresa
Winifred
Zilpha