Choosing rat names can be hard! Pet names are a bit of a statement. They can reflect your interests and passions, and even your sense of humor.

You don’t want your rat to have a boring, everyday name. Or a name that will seem dated or that you might regret in six months time.

So, we have put together some inspiring ideas to help you choose a brilliant, original and fun name for your new pet.

You’ll find cute rat names, names inspired by movie characters and books, funny, unique, and original rat names, names for pairs of rats and much more.

Our fifteen favorite rat names:

Remy Templeton Ultima Roscuro Roddy Hazel Poppy Woodrow Jupiter Bianca Ratt Damon Hendrix Hielo Zelda Hoover

Naming Your Rat

Rats in the wild might have a bit of a bad reputation. But pet rats are a different thing entirely!

Rat owners celebrate their pets as being smart, clean, affectionate, and generally fantastic pets.

They’re also the perfect size for a pet owner who doesn’t have a lot of room to dedicate to their pet. Apartment living or small houses won’t bother a pet rat!

Since there is so much to love about rats as pets, we naturally look for a name that reflects some of those qualities.

Of course, there’s a wide range, just as there are with any other type of pet. So let’s jump in by looking at cute rat names!

Cute Rat Names

Cute names are often diminutives of more serious names, names that recognize a rat’s small size or sweet habits, or names that relate to treats! Here are some of our favorites.

Pixie

Trixie

Nippy

Nibbles

Cutie

Poppet

Chickpea

Cupcake

Sweetie

Tickle

Pickle

Popcorn

Bubble

Squeak

Tinkerbell

Famous Rat Names

When people think of famous rats, they’ll often immediately think of Remy, the Ratatouille rat name. He is well-known for being an admirable, intrepid character who is passionate and dedicated to his hobby in life — cooking.

His character traits are downright human!

While he is a famous character (who also happens to be a rat), he is by no means the only famous rat character out there!

Remy – Ratatouille

Samuel Whiskers – from Beatrix Potter’s stories

Templeton – the rat’s name in Charlotte’s Web

Rattie – from The Wind In The Willows

Scabbers – from Harry Potter

Roscuro – The Tale of Despereaux

Roddy – Flushed Away

Rita – Flushed Away

Nick – Chicken Run

Fletcher – Chicken Run

Rizzo – The Muppets

Splinter – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles rat name

Female Rat Names

Female rat names are often drawn from plants and flowers. Here are a few more girl rat names for you to consider, including names based on herbs and spices, nature, and even rock stars.

Bella

Mercy

Madonna

Savannah

Venus

Phoebe

Petra

Katy

Caitlin

Chloe

Lara

Dill

Taragon

Rosemary

Sage

Basil

Chilli

Juniper

Storm

Hurricane

Twister

Forest

Prairie

River

Hickory

Daisy

Apple

Hazel

Lily

Flower

Willow

Spruce

Maple

Poppy

Pansy

Clover

Bruno

Mars

Bieber

Jimmi

Hendrix

Malik

Styles

Male Rat Names

On the other hand, if you’ve got a male rat, you’re probably looking for something a tad more masculine.

These boy rat names are drawn from famous historical characters, human names, and also rock stars.

Because there just aren’t enough rats named for rock stars!

Drake

Jasper

Freddie

Monty

Zac

Jed

Theo

Billy

Josh

Buck

Lincoln

Nelson

Franklin

Winston

Churchhill

Custer

Carter

Bush

Jimmy

George

Woodrow

Wilson

Hoover

Napoleon

Wellington

Elton

Billie Joe

Mercury

Jagger

Tre

Rod

Eric

Dave

Funny Rat Names

Names that take a lighthearted look at rat behavior or are taken from the world of comedy or comics can often raise a smile.

Spongebob

Squarepants

Sniffy

Sneezie

Shredder

Gnasher

Basher

Crusher

Jeff

Joel

Ratunzel

Cheese Wiz

Ratt Lauer

Ratt Damon

Ratthew McConaughey

Unique Rat Names

Rats are full of unique personality. So you’ll want a unique name to match!

Drizzle

Bean

Levi

Oats

Zippy

Warrior

Cholmondley (pronounced Chumley)

Belford

Davies

Fischel

Cool Rat Names

“Cool” is in the eye of the beholder, these days. So take a look at these monikers that reflect some cool interests and enthusiasms!

Pythagorus (Thaggy for short)

Ozone

Darwin

Crick

Watson

Gravity

Louis

Pasteur

Galileo

Mario

Luigi

Zelda

Legend

Sonic

Nintendo

Rat Names for Girl Pairs

Rats love company and many of you are likely to have bought two at the same time. You may have found some paired names already in the lists above. But here are a few more girl names for rat pairs.

Lexie and Laurie

Buttercup and Blossom

Pitter and Patter

Mabel and Martha

Sally and Suzie

Salt and Pepper

Rat Names For Boy Pairs

The same goes for boy pairs of rats. They’re sociable animals and do well with friends.

And these names work well with a partner!

Ben and Jerry

Jeckyl and Hyde

Itchy and Scratchy

Trucker and Tracker

Digger and Dozer

Rambo and Rocky

Black Rat Names

Do you have a rat with fur as dark as night? Take a look at these dark-inspired names.

Ember

Ash

Ashes

Jupiter

Universe

Coffee

Cafe

Cibo

Ultima

Oscuro

Raven

White Rat Names

On the other hand, you might have a white rat, probably with red eyes. This traditional color combination lends itself to all sorts of monikers.

Rabbit

Snowball

Benji

Frankie

Drift

Hielo

Glacier

Arctic

Beaches

Tourist

Bianca

Blanca

Fictional Character Rat Names

We all have a favorite character from TV, books, comics, or elsewhere. Here are a few suggestions on some pop culture characters that may work well for your rat’s personality.

Cersi

Tyrion

Arya

Jamie

Harry

Ron

Weasley

Potter

Voldemort

Snape

Dumbledor

Minerva

Hermione

Crookshanks

Filch

Malfoy

Neville

Quidditch

Dobby

Kenny

Stan

Cartman

Kyle

Homer

Marge

Maggie

Lisa

Bart

Bebop

Rocksteady

Splinter

Celestia

Applejack

Finn

Jake

Cosmo

Wanda

Marceline

Bubblegum

Arnold

Sylvester

James

Bond

Gandalf

Sam

Frodo

Gollum

Pippin

Gimley

Legolass

Elrond

Galadriel

Borrowmere

Aragon

Rat Names Inspired By Food

Pet names of all sorts are often found by looking into things we like to eat.

We’re certain it isn’t because we want to eat our pets. It’s probably because we associate our pets with other things we like!

I’m sure you’ll figure out lots more appealing names just by taking a look in your kitchen cupboards or refrigerator!

Cookie

Crumbs

Noodles

Cornflake

Pretzel

Bagel

Poptart

Cheerio

Oreo

Ketchup

Mustard

Pizza

Biscuit

Rat Names That Start With R

Names beginning with R always roll nicely off the tongue when it comes to pet rats.

In the UK we have a TV character called Roland Rat. Here are a few more suggestions that also start with R, for the always alliterative among us.

Roland

Ronnie

Ralph

Rufus

Rachael

Rebecca

Remy

Rebel

Rizzo

Rosie

Reese

Ricky

Roxanne

Renee

Robbie

Ruby

Rambo

Roger

Good Rat Names

Well, those tidy little lists above give you well over 200 names to think about!

That’s quite a lot! And the odds are that these names have inspired you to think of others, as well.

Are you overwhelmed with name choices?

A great way to choose a name is to make a shortlist of your favorites and pin it up on your refrigerator or bedroom mirror for a few days.

Say the names out loud each time you look at them. You’ll soon find out which are the ones you can live with and which are the ones you’ll need to discard.

If you just can’t decide between your two or three favorites, get members of your family and friends to give each name a vote out of ten, and choose the name that gets the highest score.

More Rat Name Options

If you’re still looking for inspiration, don’t give up!

There are always other sources of possible names.

Take a look at these lists of other name ideas for small pets.

Best Rat Names

By giving you a range of different themes, we hope we have inspired you to create many more names to add to the lists above. You can create your own themes depending on your own interests. Try your sporting heroes, or your hobbies.

If you are into rock climbing, for example, you might call your rat “Crampon.” And if you like knitting you could use the name “Stitch.”

The possibilities go on and on. Once you get going, you won’t be able to stop. In fact you may need to get some more rats to use all the great names you come up with (only partly joking).

The best rat names will be the ones that truly reflect the unique, individual personality of your beloved pet.

What’s your rat called? We’d love to hear the story of how you chose their name!

Let us know your favorite rat names in the comments below!

References And Further Reading

This article has been extensively revised and updated for 2019.