Cool Cowboy Names

Ryles may be one of the best-kept secrets in baby names. It has all the trappings of a hit — similarities to fashionable names like Miles and Riley, traditional surname history, that S ending! And yet, neither Ryles nor Riles has ever been given to more than five American baby boys in a single year.

As Huxley and Huck become more popular and accepted, so does Hux, either as a full name or a diminutive.

Early is a word-turned-name, pleasantly suggesting the start of a bright new day. Of the new word and day names, Early is one of the best.

Wheeler is one of the most energetic of the newly stylish occupational names, all those 'e's giving it a friendly, freewheeling sound.

We've seen babies with Texas city names like Austin, Houston and Dallas--, why not the unexplored Laredo, which has a lot of cowboy charisma? Laredo might make for a more modern and creative namesake for an Uncle Lawrence/Larry--as could the related Laramie.

An appellation that couldn't be more Ivy League or sound less Welsh. The name of the University is taken from the surname of college benefactor Elihu Yale. In the movie Manhattan, Yale Pollack is the name of Woody Allen's best friend. The Hebrew Yael is not related.

Cowboy swagger via the non-cowboy flick "The Guns of Navarone," chosen by Priscilla Presley.

Though Davy Crockett is a childhood hero, a frontiersman, soldier, politician, congressman and prolific storyteller. But be aware that "crock" is American slang for a lot of nonsense or something broken.

Strider is a name that walks the walk. It blends into many current styles — cowboy names, aspirational word names, and intensely masculine names — and has a cool, calm, and collected aura.

Rawlings was a surname brought to England with the Norman invasion and has ties to the name Raul, which means "wolf counsel."

Rider is a rock-and-roll baby name, in every sense of the term, though usually spelled Ryder, as in the sons of Kate Hudson and John Leguizamo.

Sharp and preppy.

Pistol is one of the new names that entered the lexicon in the US in 2013, when it was given to nine babies of each gender. Call it an equal-opportunity badass baby name with an unfortunately violent image.

Down-to-earth surname name with a drawl, also associated with cereal and dog food.

Ode could be part of the extended Otto/Otis family, or it might be a literary term, referring to an elaborate lyric poem.

The jazziest nickname for Charles.

This would make a startling but likable choice; poet Dylan Thomas used it for a character in his play "Under Milk Wood."

Chapman is derived from céapmann, an Old English occupational name for a merchant or marketman. The slang word "chap" came from chapman — which was also used as a term for a customer in 17th and 18th century England.