A Warrior Cat Guide

Naming Guide

Warrior Cats are named from something that they represent in some way. For example, Hawkfrost was given the prefix hawk- for his dark brown tabby pelt and got the suffix -frost for his ice-blue eyes, and Fireheart was given Fire- for his ginger pelt and -heart for his bravery. Greystripe was given Grey- because of his pelt colour and -stripe because of the darker stripe he had on his back.

There are some occasions when cats are named in honour after a deceased cat. Leafpool's prefix leaf- was given in memory of Leafstar, SkyClan's leader and possibly after Spottedleaf, while -pool was given for her suffix as she discovered the Moonpool. Another example would be Crowfeather, -feather being requested in honour of Feathertail.

However, you can't have the name Breezewind or Windbreeze because breeze and wind have the same meaning. Technically your cat would be called Breezebreeze or Windwind. Cats also never have the same prefix and suffix as it would be confusing. Cats being named after gems (diamond, ruby, emerald, etc) are not allowed as cats do not have any knowledge of what they actually are.

There are restrictions on names such as Silverpelt and the prefix star- as they are holy to the cats and wouldn't be used for a cat's name. The same goes for Moonpool and Moonstone. Imagine a leader going around with the name Starstar. Moon- is reserved for scared places too and isn't used, however there has been the name Moonflower. Moon- makes the cat seem more beautiful than anyone else and is very special, another reason why it shouldn't be used as a prefix or suffix.

Some names do not have a proper prefix like Billystorm from SkyClan. Billystorm was a kittypet and probably wanted to keep the name Billy but have a suffix added onto it. Another example of this is Harveymoon. There are, of course, some cats who want to keep their loner/rogue/kittypet names like Daisy and Millie. The suffix -moon was used in Harveymoon's name only because Leafstar had no knowledge of scared areas like the other Clans, leading to another exception.

Cats can never have a prefix with the same name of their Clan. Thunderstar, Riverstar, Shadowstar and Windstar were the only exceptions as they are the founders of the Clans in the original Warriors series, however Windflight is a cat who didn't go by this. The prefix and suffix Sky- is only used because there is no knowledge within the Clans of SkyClan.

Cats are never named after Twoleg items since they don't understand their speech. There is an exception with Milkfur as cats actually do know what milk is, though it is rarely used as a prefix.

There are name changes if a name does not suit the cat anymore. An example would be Sparrowpelt, who was renamed Halftail because his tail was bitten off, and White-eye, who was named One-eye because of her missing eye. The cat is given a name changing ceremony.

Name Changing Ceremony:

"Spirits of StarClan, you know every cat by name. I ask you now to take away the name from the cat you see before you, for it no longer stands for what he/she is. By my authority as Clan leader, and with the approval of our warrior ancestors, I give this cat a new name. From this moment on he/she will be known as (new name), for (description of the reason)."

Sometimes a cat's name is changed if their new name is a mistake. An example of this is when Brightheart was named Lostface by Bluestar and Firestar changed it to Brightheart. Cats can ask for a name change like when Rainflower asked Hailstar to change Stormkit's name to Crookedkit.

Cats can be given their names after different things like their pelt colours or patterns on them, attributes, or after plants and animals. Some examples are:

Colors and Patterns: White, Golden, Dark, Spotted

Attributes: Brave, Sharp, Sweet, Wild

Body Parts: Claw, Heart, Foot, Tail, Fur

Plants and Animals: Birch, Holly, Hawk, Tiger, Flower

Nature: Cloud, Sand, Stream, Stone

Phenomena: Fire, Mist, Night, Storm

Action: Pounce, Running,  Leap,  Step

Apprentices are allowed to request their warrior names although it is rare as shown with Crowpaw, who wanted to be named Crowfeather after Feathertail.

If a cat is tiny in appearance, their parents may decide to given them the prefix Small- or Tiny-. Sometimes cats are given their names for what happened during their birth such as Stormkit, who was given the prefix Storm- for being born during a storm.

When cats address each other, they are called by their full name rather than being called by their prefix. There are exceptions when Lionblaze called Jayfeather 'Jay' out of affection for his brother, and when Sweetpaw was called 'Sweet'.