Kittens are inarguably the most adorable creatures on earth: miniature, bumbling, comic versions of their future regal selves. Human infants, in comparison, are little more than larvae.

And by “kittens,” I mean any young offspring of the family Felidae. Cases in point: the Nashville Zoo’s three new Sumatran tiger cubs.

The cubs entered this world Oct. 20, two females and one male, and the zoo has initiated a contest to select names for them. Among the options, with descriptions provided by the zoo:

Male names, selected because its birth was so close to Halloween.

• Abu (ah-BOO) – Indonesian name meaning ash

• Bulan (BOO-lahn) – Indonesian name meaning moon

• Hantu (han-TOO) – Indonesian name meaning ghost

Female names, selected for their reference to beauty and a bright hope for the future.

• Zara (ZAR-ah) – Malaysian name meaning princess and radiant

• Zaheera (za-HEER-ah) – Malaysian name meaning brilliant and shining

• Kirana (key-RAHN-ah) – Indonesian name meaning beautiful sunbeam

• Kalilla (kai-LEE-la) – Indonesian name meaning sweetheart

• Melati (me-LA-te) – Indonesian name meaning jasmine flower

If you’re wondering, as I did, whether every zoo resident gets a name, the answer is no. There are 360 species and more than 3,700 animals there, says Jim Bartoo, the zoon’s marketing and public relations director.

Those with names acquire them in various ways.

“Many times, the keepers choose the names, or the animal comes to us with a name given from another organization,” Bartoo says. “Sometimes a donor will get to choose. … Some of our animals have two names: one that was given to them from another organization, and one given to them here at Nashville Zoo. In these cases, the second name is referred to as their ‘stage name.’”

Among the two-name holders are the Sumatran cubs’ parents: Anne, born at the San Diego Safari Park in 2016, where she was known as Cathy, and Felix, born at the Jacksonville Zoo in Florida in 2017, where he was known as Jagger. As in Mick. Not sure why they changed that one.

Some of the more unusual names Bartoo mentioned were an African crested porcupine named Jake Quillenhaal (a play on the actor Jake Gyllenhaal), a rhinoceros iguana named Betty White, an African pygmy goat named Pekka Rinne (for the former Nashville Predators goalie) and two other African pygmy goats named Maverick and Goose (for “Top Gun” characters).

Betty White the iguana got her name because zoo people love the (late) human Betty White, “a huge zoo advocate and animal advocate,” Bartoo says.

Among those without names, many “are identified by implanted microchips that we can scan,” he says.

But these newcomer cuties, members of a critically endangered species, were obviously deserving of more than a high-tech accessory. The option of letting the public suggest possible names is almost always rejected, Bartoo says, “because it goes off the rails really quickly. You wind up with something that might not at all be appropriate.”

Or sensical. I recall for you here the British publicly named underwater vehicle Boaty McBoatface.

So, keepers put their heads together for the cubs. Malaysian and Indonesian words were chosen because they are languages spoken in the Southeast Asian home region of the tigers, though not, presumably, by tigers themselves. Another goal was to have the names easily pronounceable.

To make your preference known, go to the zoo’s website, nashvillezoo.org, scroll down to the Vote to Name Our Tiger Cubs link and follow the instructions. Vote as much as you like for as many or as few as you like – Chicago ballot rules apply.

Each vote will cost you $1, but it’s money well spent. All will go to the Tiger Conservation Campaign, a nonprofit working to preserve habitats and combat poaching. The zoo will match the total up to $50,000.

The contest closes Jan. 11 at noon, with the winners announced the next day. I might have mentioned before that I’m something of a savant when it comes to feline names. I started young with Tiger, moved on in early adulthood to Taco Guacamole, shared my middle-age years with Clouseau and Cato, and cohabit now as a senior with Khun Chai and Khun Mai, Thai for Miss Yes and Miss No, which suits their personalities.

For the cubs, I’d go with Abu, Zara and Zaheera. But you do you.

Joe Rogers is a former writer for The Tennessean and editor for The New York Times. He is retired and living in Nashville.