Cool Cowgirl Names

A hot name, though perhaps not in the sense you want for your baby. About 20 times as many boys as girls were named Blaze in one recent year, perhaps because it can be seen as a spelling variation of the classic male saint's name Blaise.

Blaze

Short for Samantha or long for Sam, Sammy is a sweet midcentury nickname name that we can see coming back.

Sammy

Mamie is back. Having finally shorn her Mamie Eisenhower bangs, this insouciant and adorable nickname name is perfect if you want a zestier way to honor a beloved aunt Mary. Meryl Streep's actress daughter, properly named Mary Willa, is called Mamie Gummer. You might think of Mamie as a sister of the stylish Maisie.
 Mamie was a Top 100 name from the time records were published through 1912, falling off the list in 1966. There have been Mamie characters on two recent sitcoms: Hot in Cleveland and 3rd Rock from the Sun.

Mamie

As this word is less often used to mean derriere, it becomes more possible to view Fanny as the kind of appealingly quaint nickname name, like Josie and Nellie, that many parents are favoring now. 

Fanny

Stronger and more contemporary twist on Carla or Carly, Carlin was used just about equally for girls and boys in the US last year.

Carlin

Marty and Martie are old-fashioned gender-neutral nickname names, boyish nicknames not heard much since the middle of the last century. That could change, though, with the rise of vintage boyish nicknames for girls. They have a certain charm and may come back into style along with mother names such as Martha.

Marty

So uncool it's cool! Bertie makes for a boyish nickname for Alberta, Roberta, Bertille, Albertine... or just use it on its own, à la Billie or Frankie. Old school unisex nickname names are back in and Bertie has an undeniable vintage charm; particularly given soundalike Birdie rising in the ranks.

Bertie

Old-fangled nickname could make dot.com era short form or middle name. 

Cady is one of those names that sounds popular but is actually rare in this form, given to only a few dozen baby girls in the US last year.

Its origins are unclear, and as many possible meanings and origins are cited as there are sources on the web. It may relate to male names Cade, which means round or barrel, or Caden, meaning battle. The similar Caddie is an antiquated nickname for Caroline.

One disadvantage is that Cady will forever be misunderstood as Katie. Advantage: It can be used, perhaps in the middle place, to honor women's rights leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Cady

Straightforward yet romantic, this is one newly minted name with long-term appeal, especially as a middle name. It was used as such for Tea Leoni and David Duchovny's Madelaine, whom they call West. Definitely ambigender, it was chosen by Marley Shelton for her daughter.


West

Mauve-tinted nickname with vintage charm that could just follow in the footsteps of ABBIE.  More prominent now as the nickname for the Texas A&M sports teams.

Aggie

An early unisex nature name that has been surpassed by others, Dale is still a simple, sylvan and serene option. 
 Most of Dale's recent best known bearers – father and son race drivers Dale Earnhart, glass sculptor Dale Chihuly – are male, but if you look further back to her heyday as a girls' name (she was Number 237 in 1952), you'll find singing cowgirl Dale Evans (born France Octavia) and Flash Gordon's gal, Dale Arden.

Dale

Chosen by Woody Allen for his son with Mia Farrow (now renamed Seamus), honoring the great old-time baseball player Satchel Paige, and by Spike Lee for his daughter, but far too eccentric for ordinary use. 

Satchel

A word name with fashionable o-ending that has associations with both the homespun fabric and the mottled cat. Alice Cooper named his daughter Calico decades ago, while it was selected more recently by influencer Paige R Williams for her daughter in 2025.

Calico

Bernie is an old school unisex nickname name, on the order of Bobbie or Willie. But with Billie and her tomboyish crew coming back, it's time to get Bernie on your radar! Bernie has a certain vintage charm and is boosted by the funky clunky Bernadette long form. 
 
Politician Bernie Sanders (temporarily) boosted this name for boys but Bernie has not been used as a given name for girls since 1975.

Bernie

Gertie has a certain homespun charm, summoning to mind butter-yellow braids and denim overalls, summoning mind the adorable character played by little Drew Barrymore in E.T.  Is the world ready for the return of Gertie and Gertrude? Maybe?

Gertie

Dee is a slight midcentury nickname that might be short for Deanna or Denise, but might be too slight for today's strong, independent female.

Gussie fits the growing trend of boyish nicknames for girls - alongside Charlie and Frankie. But Gussie is a bit fussy — try Gus.

Gussie

While some sources assign the place-name the romantic meaning "beautiful daughter of the stars," the Virginia region itself says the name is of uncertain Native American origin with many possible but no definitive meaning. No matter: Shenandoah is a lovely name that's rare but usable.

Shenandoah

Spunky old vaudeville era nickname name suddenly sounds new again. 

 a bronco-busting outdoorsy feel, are pretty much always in style. Cowgirl names might be vintage, like Bonnie and Lula or newly-minted, such as Blaze and River. Additionally, these

 might be conventionally feminine or gender-neutral.

 include Callie, Dakota, Hadley, Josie, Liberty, Millie, Shiloh, and Sierra. Other girl names that feel at home in the West include Abilene, Cheyenne, Mamie, and Wynonna.

Some of these country girl names are inspired by famous cowgirls and pioneer women, Western places or nature, while others simply have a cowgirl feel.

Western names for girls that might for your little cowgirl include the following.

Cowgirl Names with meanings, popularity, and origins, including top cowgirl southern western names for baby girls  (Page 6)