Country Baby Names

A phonetic variation of Shepherd, an occupational surname. Sam Shepard, the actor and playwright, is a notable figure to use this spelling for his last name.

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.

Relaxed western place-name that still has some masculine punch, but be warned: this whole posse of similarly trendy names, like Sierra and Dakota, will soon ride toward the sunset.

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

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.

The popular cosmetics brand Maybelline inspires at least a few baby girls' names each year. Company founder Thomas Lyle Williams created the name as a portmanteau of Mabel and Vaseline after watching his sister Mabel mix up a quasi-eyeshadow out of coal dust and Vaseline.

Old-fashioned nickname for a sister, almost never heard today.

Looking for a Texas name more distinctive than Austin and Dallas? Houston is a lanky, roguish place-name, right in style with its Texas accent and cowboy image.

We usually think of place-names as a modern invention, but in fact Arizona ranked on the US Top 1000 from its inception in 1880 until 1911, when it vanished below the surface. It peaked at Number 510 in 1882, before Arizona became a state. One notorious vintage bearer: criminal "Ma" Barker, born Arizona Clark.

When playwright Thomas Lanier Williams adopted the pen name of Tennessee, he created a new possibility among American place-names, although it's admittedly a bit bulky in size.

Overly trendy western place-name, as stated in the title of our book Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana.

An early unisex nature name that has been surpassed by others, Dale is still a simple, sylvan and serene option.

Vintage nickname for Roberta or Barbara, most famously borne by Roberta "Bobbie" in Edith Nesbit's classic The Railway Children. Bobbie is one of the adorable boyish nicknames newly fashionable for girls, with all the appeal of Billie but without the popularity (yet!).

Britney Spears' little sister Jamie Lynn was one of the first to put this nickname on the birth certificate. Cute for a child, but we recommend giving her the option of the full name for later use.

Tied to country singer/sitcom star Reba McEntire.

Gatlin has risen into the Top 1000 in recent years on the strength of its association with the Olympic champion sprinter Justin Galtin as well as the Gatlin Brothers of Nashville fame. The name has the same root as gadabout, thus the meaning related to wandering.

May be the most modern, stylish Catherine nickname: more unusual than Kate or Cate, with an animal and word name edge. Cat Power is a trendy folksinger.

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.

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.