250+ Cowboy Dog Names for Your Buckaroo!

Are you a fan of cowboys and canines who has recently welcomed a little pardner into your heart and home? We’ve rustled up a list of possible cowboy dog names for your new barking buckaroo!

Words Associated with Cowboys

• Bandana
• Boots
• Bronco
• Calico
• Chaps
• Chaparral
• Charro
• Corral
• Cowpoke
• Denim
• Dogie
• Drover
• Gallop
• Gaucho
• Giddyup
• Gingham
• Hondo
• Horseshoe
• Howdy
• Lariat
• Lasso
• Levi
• Longhorn
• Maverick
• Mustang
• Partner
• Petticoat
• Ponderosa
• Ranchero
• Rawhide
• Reata
• Rodeo
• Spur
• Stetson
• Tumbleweed
• Vamoose
• Wagon
• Wrangler
• Yee-haw
• Yokel

Old Cowboy Slang Words as Dog Names

• Allers — Always
• Angelica — A young single woman
• Apple Jack — Cider brandy
• Arbuckle’s — Coffee
• Auger — Big boss
• Bosh — Foolishness
• Buckaroo — Another word for cowboy. One of the most popular cowboy dog names!
• Buss — Kiss
• Button — A boy
• Buster — A strong man
• Catawampus — Destructive
• Chickabiddy — Although it is another term for a chicken, the word was also a pet name for children.
• Daisy — Excellent
• Deuce — A slang term meaning devil.
• Dickens — A word that can mean “devil’ or “a lot.”
• Diggers — Spurs
• Dilly-dally — To waste time. The term could be shared between two new fur babies!
• Dirk — Dagger
• Dogie — Small calf
• Dough Belly — A cook
• Ducky — A word which once meant “darling”
• Fandango — A large party
• Faro — A card game played in the Old West
• Feller — Fellow
• Fetch — still in use today, the word means “to get”
• Fice — A small, mixed breed dog, usually with a foul temper.
• Fiddle faddle — Meaning ‘stuff and nonsense,” the term could be shared between two adopted dogs.
• Flap-Jack — Pancake
• Flitter — Another word for fritter or pancake
• Fuffy — Soft, fluffy
• Higgledy-Piggledy — A name that can be shared between two pups, the term means ‘in confusion.”
• Hoss — Horse
• Huckleberry — A dependable, go-to person for a job.
• Jackeroo — Cowboy
• Kit and Caboodle –The entire thing. (The two names could be shared by a pair of adopted pups!)
• Lammy — Blanket
• Lone Star — An independent cowboy. (The term “Lone Star State” is also used today for the state of Texas.) More Texas Dog Names
• Monte — A gambling game
• Night Hawk — The cowboy who had to stay awake at night to guard the cattle
• Pinto — a paint horse. A great cowboy dog name for a tri-color dog!
• Sam Hill — Perhaps a name for a dog with a bit of a naughty streak, Sam Hill is another name for “devil.”
• Satinet — A name for the canine companion of someone who is fashion-conscious, satinet is a cloth made from cotton and wool.
• Savanna — Open plain

Hollywood Cowboy’s Companion Animals

• Beau — The horse John Wayne rode in True Grit.
• Black Jack — A stallion who starred in a number of Red Ryder movies, Black Jack’s popular screen presence prompted the production of a comic book based on the horse’s adventures.
• Bullet — A German Shepherd who starred alongside Roy Rogers and Dale Evans both onscreen in their hit TV series The Roy Rogers Show and off as their four-legged family member. Bullet’s full name was Bullet Von Burge.
• Bullseye — Jessie’s The Yodeling Cowgirl’s equine companion in the Toy Story movie franchise.
• Buttermilk — An American Quarterhorse who starred alongside Dale Evans in The Roy Rogers Show.
• Champion — Three horses portrayed Gene Autry’s trusty steed Champion The Wonder Horse in close to 80 movies and five years in a television series.
• Coco — Nick Barkley’s horse in The Big Valley.
• Diablo — The horse of Cisco The Kid.
• Koko — Rex Allen’s horse.
• Rush/Black Diamond — The name of Lash Larue’s horse.
• Scout — Tonto’s horse in the TV series The Lone Ranger.
• Silver — A stallion named White Cloud portrayed The Lone Ranger’s trusty steed, who would rear and get ready for action whenever Clayton Moore said “Hi yo, Silver! Away!”
• Stardust — The palomino American Saddlebred which starred in more than a dozen of Randolph Scott’s movies.
• Sonny — The horse that starred alongside signing cowboy Jimmy Wakeley.
• Tarzan — While some may think that you’ve named your dog after the king of the jungle, classic cowboy movie fans will recognize the name as that of Ken Maynard’s white stallion.
• Topper — Named after the main character in a series of popular novels by Thorne Smith, this white stallion portrayed actor William Boyd’s loyal steed in Hopalong Cassidy movies and the Hopalong Cassidy TV series.
• Trigger — The most famous horse in movie history, Roy Rogers sang “Happy Trails To You” while riding this Palomino. Originally known as Golden Cloud, Trigger began his acting career alongside Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood before taking on the role of The King of The Cowboys’ co-star in movies, television and in real life.
• White Flash — In many of his movies Tex Ritter rode off into the sunset on this horse.

Famous Hollywood Cowboys and Cowgirls

• Rex Allen — Known as “The Voice of The West” and “The Arizona Cowboy,” fans of Fidos may remember him as the voice of Purina Dog Chow commercials.
• James Arness — The star of Gunsmoke.
• Gene Autry — Oklahoma’s Yodeling Cowboy entertained generations of movie-goers, and today the Autry Museum of the American West educates generations about the cowboy way of life.
• William Boyd — The actor who brought Hopalong Cassidy to life on the big screen.
• Reno Browne — Taking her name from the Nevada city where she was born Reno Browne (real name Josephine Ruth Clarke) starred in a number of B Westerns in the 1940s.
• Smiley Burnette — A sidekick in many Westerns, he also wrote songs that have been recorded by Willie Nelson, Bing Crosby and Leon Russell.
• Gary Cooper — A multi-faceted actor who starred in a number of Westerns, among them The Virginian and High Noon, off screen Cooper was a proud pet parent of a Sealyham Terrier.
• Carolina Cotton — Dubbed the “Queen of the Range” and the “Yodeling Blonde Bombshell,” Carolina Cotton was an actress and singer who starred in many B Westerns. If you really want to show off your comprehension of all things country, you might want to name your little pardner Helen Hagstrom, which was Carolina’s real name.
• Clint Eastwood — The movie icon, who starred in a number of Westerns as well as the TV series Rawhide. Eastwood is also the father of Alison Eastwood, the co-founder of The Eastwood Ranch Foundation, which helps no-kill shelters, animal sanctuaries and rescues throughout the US.
• Dale Evans — Known as the Queen of The West, Dale was Roy Rogers’ co-star both on screen and in real life.
• Ken Curtis — Actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen in the long-running series Gunsmoke.
• Gabby Hayes — A character actor who starred alongside some of the top cowboy actors of his day.
• Lash LaRue — Called “King of The Bullwhip,” Lash swas a star of 1940s Westerns.
• Ken Maynard — A Western star who made cinematic history as the first of the big screen singing cowboys.
• Tom Mix — The first silver screen cowboy star.
• Dorothy Page — A star of B Westerns, she was dubbed The Singing Cowgirl.
• Tex Ritter — This singing cowboy may be best known by many as the father of the late actor John Ritter.
• Roy Rogers — The King of The Cowboys.

• Will Rogers — This folk hero once stated “If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” and “No man can be condemned for owning a dog. As long as he has a dog, he has a friend; and the poorer he gets, the better friend he has.”
• Randolph Scott — A star of more than 60 Westerns, he was also immortalized in a song by The Statler Brothers, “Whatever Happened To Randolph Scott?”
• Charles Starrett — The star of The Durango Kid.
• Jimmy Wakely — A singing cowboy in B Westerns who rose to the top of the charts with his single “Slippin’ Around.”
• John Wayne — The Duke may have portrayed a hero in many of his movies, but on one fateful night in 1958 it was the iconic actor’s Dachshund who saved the day! While the star was on location in Japan filming his next flick, fire tore through the second floor of his home. Wayne’s wife Pilar and their young daughter might have perished in the blaze if not for the family’s faithful dog Blackie, whose barks alerted Pilar of danger.
• Whip Wilson — Born Roland Charles Meyers, Whip was the star of more than 20 B Westerns.

Famous Figures of The Wild West

• Buffalo Bill — Born William Frederick Cody, this colorful character was the mastermind behind Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.
• Wyatt Earp — A lawman known for the gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
• Calamity Jane — A sharpshooter who would go on to star in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, the memory of Martha Jane Cannary would live on thank in part to Doris Day’s portrayal of the frontierswoman in the Western musical Calamity Jane (which Day later relayed was her all-time favorite role.) Fun fact: A dog named Calamity Jane once roamed the halls of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue! Calvin Coolidge’s Shetland Sheepdog was dubbed Calamity Jane by First Lady Grace Coolidge dog to the dog’s propensity to get dirty. According to The Presidential Pet Museum, President Coolidge even had a dog bath tub installed in The White House just to keep his canine companion clean.
• Bat Masterson — A lawman and gambler in the Old West, who was immortalized on the small screen in the series that bore his name.
• Annie Oakley — Dogs played a large role in the life of this famous Wild West figure, whose heart was won over by the man she would marry thanks in part to his canine companion, George. Seeing that the sharpshooter liked his French Poodle, Frank Butler would sign the name of his four-pawed pal in letters that he wrote to her. Later on, the couple continued the tradition by signing their Christmas cards “Dave Butler,” the name of their English Setter. Dave became a star in his own right, with the press dubbing the dog “Red Cross Dave” for his efforts raising funds during World War I.

Top 20 Names in the 1880s & Their Meanings

According to Social Security, the following are the most popular names in 1880. The list varied only slightly during the days of the Old West, with most people preferring to stick with traditional names:

Good cowboy dog names: male

• John — Graced by God
• William — Resolute protector
• James — supplanter
• George — Farmer
• Charles — Free man
• Frank — Free
• Joseph — God will add
• Henry — House ruler
• Robert — Bright fame
• Thomas — Twin
• Edward — Protector
• Harry — Home ruler
• Walter — Commander of the army
• Arthur — Bear
• Fred — Peaceful ruler
• Albert — Noble
• Samuel — God has heard
• Clarence — Clear
• Louis — Famed warrior
• David — Beloved

Good cowboy dogs’ names: female

• Mary — Beloved, rebellious
• Anna — Grace
• Emma — Universal
• Elizabeth — God is my oath
• Margaret — Pearl
• Minnie — intellect, of the mind
• Ida — Industrious
• Bertha — Bright one
• Clara — Clear, bright
• Alice — Noble
• Annie — Grace, favor
• Florence — Blossoming
• Bessie — My God is bountiful
• Grace — Charm, goodness
• Ethel — Noble
• Sarah — Noblewoman, princess
• Ella — She, her
• Martha — lady, mistress of the house
• Nellie — Horn, light
• Mabel — Lovable

A Few Famous Fictional Wild West Characters

• Adam Cartwright — Portrayed by Pernell Roberts, Adam was one of the Cartwright sons on Bonanza.
• Ben Cartwright — The patriarch of the Carwright family on Bonanza.
• Durango Kid — The popularity of this Western character led to 65 Durango Kid movies in the 1940s.
• Festus — Matt Dillon’s sidekick on Gunsmoke.
• Theodore ‘Teddy’ Flood — A gunslinger in the HBO series Westworld.
• Hopalong Cassidy — A cowboy character brought to life on the big screen by William Boyd.
• Hoss — Ben Cartwright’s son on Bonanza.
• Jessie — The cowgirl doll from the Toy Story movies.
• Will Kane — The stoic character brought to life on the big screen by Cary Cooper in High Noon.
• Little Joe — Portrayed by Michael Landon, Joseph was one of Ben Cartwright’s sons on Bonanza.
• Lone Ranger — AKA ranger John Reid, the masked man was a fictional hero who, along with Tonto, fought bad guys in the Old West.
• Matt Dillon — Although film fans may think that you have named your new barking buddy after the Oscar-nominated actor, those with a hankering for classic TV Westerns will recognize the name as that of the U. S. Marshal who protected the residents of Dodge city in Gunsmoke.
• Miss Kitty — Did you know that actress Amanda Blake, who portrayed the owner of the Long Branch saloon in Gunsmoke, was one of the founders of the Arizona Animal Welfare League and SPCA in 1971? The star was also a supporter of Performing Animal Welfare society, which provides sanctuary for performing animals who have been abused, abandoned or retired, and strives for the preservation of wildlife and their habitat. Honoring the star’s memory, the 100-acre Amanda Blake Wildlife Refuge was established in 1997.
• Rooster Cogburn — John Wayne’s character in True Grit.
• Shane — Created by novelist Jack Schaefer, the tale of this quiet gunslinger was brought to the big screen in 1953.
• Woody — Andy’s cowboy doll in the Toy Story movies.

Famous Western Outlaws

• Billy The Kid — Born Henry McCarty, and known as William H. Bonney, the life of this gunfighter has been told in movie theaters since the start of the silent era.
• Butch Cassidy — The bank robber immortalized on the big screen by Paul Newman.
• Cattle Kate — Born Ellen Watson, this pioneer woman was accused of cattle rustling.
• Pearl Hart — One of the last of the stagecoach robbers. She was also known as Lady Bandit and Talo Halo.
• Etta Place — Although much of her personal history has remained a mystery, her name is forever linked to Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.
• Belle Starr — A horse thief who was later immortalized on the silver screen by Gene Tierney in a movie bearing her name.
• The Sundance Kid — Born Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, this Old West bank robber gained cinematic fame when he was portrayed by Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.

Famous Western TV Series

• Bonanza
• Deadwood
• Gunsmoke
• Laredo
• Joe Pickett
• Maverick
• Quickdraw
• Rawhide
• The Rifleman
• The Virginian
• Yellowstone

Famous Movies About The Old West

• Cat Ballou
• Django
• Liberty Valance
• McLintock
• The Outlaw Josey Wales
• Silverado

Famous Western Artists

• Thomas Moran
• Frederick Remington
• Charles Marion Russell (C.M.Russell)

Famous Authors of Western Lore

• Willa Cather — The author who penned O Pioneers! and The Song of the Lark.
• Zane Grey — The author who wrote Riders of The Purple Sage.
• Louis L’Amour — An author who spun many popular Western tales, among them The Quick and the Dead, Hondo and Last of The Breed.
• Larry McMurtry — The Pulitzer Prize winner who brought Woodrow F. McCall and Gus McCrae to life in the pages of Lonesome Dove.

Famous Wild West Towns

• Bandera (known as The Cowboy Capital of The World)
• Bisbee
• Bodie
• Calgary
• Cimarron
• Cody
• Deadwood
• Durango
• Tombstone

Cowboy in Various Languages

• Albanian — Lopar
• Chichewa — Woweta
• Croatian, Estonian — Kauboi
• Czech — Covboj
• Filipino, Sudanese — Koboy
• Hausa — Kaboyi
• Hawaiian — Paniolo
• Icelandic — Kureki
• Igbo — Nurutu
• Indonesian, Malay — Koboi
• Kinyarwanda — Inka
• Latin — Eques
• Latvian — Kovbojs
• Lithuanian — Kaubojus
• Maori — Kaupoai
• Polish — Kowboj
• Portuguese — Vaqueiro
• Samoan– Tama-i povi
• Slovak — Kovboj
• Somali –Romney
• Spanish — Vaquero
• Turkish, Uzbek — Kovboy
• Vietnamese — Cau boi
• Welsh — Cowboi

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