diff --git a/docs/colormaps.md b/docs/colormaps.md
index ab9ccf123..4e4560bba 100644
--- a/docs/colormaps.md
+++ b/docs/colormaps.md
@@ -435,6 +435,30 @@ external visualization libraries.  To that end, `cmap.Colormap` provides
     Returns an instance of
     [`pyqtgraph.ColorMap`](https://pyqtgraph.readthedocs.io/en/latest/api_reference/colormap.html#pyqtgraph.ColorMap)
 
+### Using cmap names as matplotlib strings
+
+`cmap` does not register its colormaps with matplotlib on import.  To use catalog
+names as plain strings anywhere matplotlib accepts a colormap name, call [`cmap.register_mpl`][]:
+
+```python
+import cmap
+import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
+
+cmap.register_mpl("tol:*", "batlow")  # names or fnmatch patterns
+plt.imshow(data, cmap="tol:sunset")
+plt.imshow(data, cmap="crameri:batlow_r")  # reversed versions are registered too
+```
+
+Colormaps are registered under their canonical, fully-qualified name (lowercase, with
+`_` in place of `-` or spaces: `Colormap(name).name`), so they never collide with
+matplotlib's builtin names.
+
+!!!note "For library authors"
+    Please don't call `cmap.register_mpl("*")` on behalf of your users: it adds
+    1300+ entries to matplotlib's global registry, visible to all code in the
+    session, and takes a second or more.  Prefer registering the specific name(s)
+    you need.
+
 ## Usage with pydantic
 
 `Colormap` can be used as a field type in [pydantic](https://docs.pydantic.dev/)
diff --git a/src/cmap/__init__.py b/src/cmap/__init__.py
index bda54a72d..ef5dc7c07 100644
--- a/src/cmap/__init__.py
+++ b/src/cmap/__init__.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 
 from ._color import HSLA, HSVA, RGBA, RGBA8, Color, ColorLike
 from ._colormap import Colormap, ColormapLike, ColorStop, ColorStops
-from ._util import to_mpl
+from ._util import register_mpl, to_mpl
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from collections.abc import Iterator, Mapping
@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@ def resolve(self, name: str) -> str:
     "ColorStop",
     "Catalog",
     "CatalogItem",
+    "register_mpl",
     "to_mpl",
     "RGBA",
     "RGBA8",
diff --git a/src/cmap/_util.py b/src/cmap/_util.py
index b4dba85b0..d5d2b40b3 100644
--- a/src/cmap/_util.py
+++ b/src/cmap/_util.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import sys
+from fnmatch import fnmatchcase
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, TypedDict, cast
 
 import numpy as np
@@ -593,6 +594,68 @@ def to_mpl(
     return cm.to_matplotlib(N=N, gamma=gamma)
 
 
+def register_mpl(*patterns: str) -> list[str]:
+    """Register colormaps from the cmap catalog with `matplotlib.colormaps`.
+
+    Call this explicitly to make catalog names usable as strings anywhere
+    matplotlib accepts a colormap name.
+
+    Colormaps are registered under their canonical, fully-qualified cmap name
+    (lowercase, with `_` instead of `-` or spaces; see `Colormap(name).name`), along
+    with a reversed `_r` version.  Short names like "viridis" are never registered, so
+    as not to collide with matplotlib's colormaps.  Names that are already registered
+    are left untouched, so it is safe to call this multiple times.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    *patterns : str
+        Colormap names or `fnmatch`-style patterns (e.g. `"tol:*"`) to register.
+        Any name accepted by `Colormap` works (including short names and aliases).
+        `"*"` registers the entire catalog, but be aware that matplotlib's
+        registration time grows with the size of its registry: this may take many
+        seconds.
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+    list[str]
+        The canonical names of the matched colormaps.
+
+    Examples
+    --------
+    >>> import cmap
+    >>> cmap.register_mpl("tol:*", "batlow")  # doctest: +SKIP
+    >>> plt.imshow(data, cmap="crameri:batlow_r")  # doctest: +SKIP
+    """
+    import matplotlib as mpl
+
+    from cmap import Colormap
+
+    if not patterns:
+        raise TypeError("register_mpl() requires at least one name or pattern.")
+    catalog = Colormap.catalog()
+    norm = catalog._norm_name
+    resolved: set[str] = set()
+    for pattern in patterns:
+        matches = {
+            catalog[catalog.resolve(key)].qualified_name
+            for key in catalog
+            if fnmatchcase(norm(key), norm(pattern))
+        }
+        if not matches:
+            raise KeyError(f"No colormaps in the cmap catalog match {pattern!r}.")
+        resolved |= matches
+
+    # look up `mpl.colormaps` at call time: downstream libraries (e.g. UltraPlot)
+    # may have replaced it with their own registry.
+    existing = set(mpl.colormaps)
+    for name in resolved - existing:
+        mpl_cm = Colormap(name).to_mpl()
+        for cm in (mpl_cm, mpl_cm.reversed()):
+            if cm.name not in existing:
+                mpl.colormaps.register(cm)
+    return sorted(resolved)
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":  # pragma: no cover
     import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
 
diff --git a/tests/test_utils.py b/tests/test_utils.py
index 7663ef07d..98bcf2dce 100644
--- a/tests/test_utils.py
+++ b/tests/test_utils.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 except ImportError:
     MplFigure = None
 
+import cmap
 from cmap import Colormap, _util
 
 CMAP_NAME = "viridis"
@@ -78,3 +79,27 @@ def test_report() -> None:
 
     report2 = _util.report(Colormap("red"))
     assert isinstance(report2, dict)
+
+
+def test_register_mpl() -> None:
+    mpl = pytest.importorskip("matplotlib")
+    before = set(mpl.colormaps)
+    try:
+        names = cmap.register_mpl("tol:*", "batlow", "colorbrewer:Blues")
+        assert "tol:bright" in names
+        assert {"crameri:batlow", "colorbrewer:blues"} <= set(names)
+        for name in names:
+            assert mpl.colormaps[name].name == name
+            assert f"{name}_r" in mpl.colormaps
+        assert "batlow" not in mpl.colormaps
+
+        # idempotent
+        added = set(mpl.colormaps) - before
+        assert cmap.register_mpl("tol:*") == [n for n in names if n.startswith("tol")]
+        assert set(mpl.colormaps) - before == added
+
+        with pytest.raises(KeyError, match="No colormaps"):
+            cmap.register_mpl("nope:*")
+    finally:
+        for name in set(mpl.colormaps) - before:
+            mpl.colormaps.unregister(name)