Would Cody Ryder?
Hay, buckeroos and buckerettes, didya’all head to the rodeo? I have not been to the Calgary Stampede in years and it has been even longer since I have been to a smaller rodeo event. There is one thing that always impressed me about these athletic events, that is cowboy names and nicknames. I am not sure, but it seems as though a person must have a cool cowboy name to compete in a rodeo these days. There are some absolutely fantastic cowboy given names on modern birth certificates that are truly western in their inspiration. Strong, rugged and masculine names have always been associated with the western culture and some of these names have been used for decades. Then there are some that seem to be millennial.
In the old days, you were given a cowboy nickname because your Christian name was probably a dud and the first source for a nickname was where you were from or at least where you wanted to be from. Texas was/is a great place for cowboys. There have been a plethora of outlaws and inlaws that have the handle of Tex or Texas. At one time in history, there was no less than 4 different Texas Jacks on wanted posters at the same time in Texas, no less. I wonder if they were rated or had a competition to see who was the top Texas Jack and if there was a trophy. Out of the four Texas Jacks only one, “Texas Jack” Vermillion (John Wilson Vermillion) was born in Texas, which opens the door for anyone to call themselves Tex. Heck, I even have a buddy from the flatlands of Canada who has the handle of Tex, but in his case, he has earned that wonderful nickname and is a respected musician and instrument builder. I also heard of a Russian cowboy Buck Meoff who searches the Ural plains for his Moscow…and his Pa’s cow.
You could use your hometown as your cowboy nickname and some of those historically western type towns have become common as given names. Towns like Cody and Laramie (both in Wyoming) are now among the most popular cowboy type given names. It is a good thing there are few cowboys from Dildo Newfoundland. Having a name beginning with the letter R is a good start to a great cowboy name. Some of the most famous cowboys (real and imagined) in history have that beginning letter. Roy Rogers was, in my opinion, the greatest cowboy of all time. If I was to give myself a cowboy nickname, I would choose Roy, which is still a very popular cowboy name. Rex, Reno (again a town name), Rory are among the top 5 R names with Ryder being the most popular. Hmmm…I wonder why anyone would name their boy after the old truck rental company Ryder Rentals? Cowgirl names have been changing, as well, and having western heritage will influence a baby girl’s name. The trend to name baby girls after states and towns continues with names like Arizona, Dallas, Dakota, Cheyenne and Sierra being the most popular western names on birth certificates in North America. Again, it might be a good thing that there are not that many cowgirls or cowboys from oddly named places like Climax Saskatchewan.
Having a strong family heritage is not unique to the Cowboy culture. In Canada, we readily name a child after a hockey star with names like Crosby, Howe, Stanley and beleaf it or not, Leif is among the most popular hockey type names in Toronto. Again, it is a good thing there are few hockey players and cowboys from Dildo Newfoundland, too. Call me Liarton!