Country Names: From Dolly and Dierks to Randy and Miranda

Is it me, or has country music been having a real moment lately? I never used to pay attention to it, but with artists like Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift played on both country and mainstream music stations, country has reinvented itself into something less marginalized. Now, the genre seems more accessible and relatable than ever before, as do the names of the artists themselves. Here, I've put together a list of some of the best country names--names which, in the style of contemporary country music, can please a wide variety of parents.

Some trends I noticed:

1. To "countrify" a girls' name, take a nickname name and add a short, one-syllable name to the end to create a double-barrelled first name. Examples: Sally Mae, Winnie Lou, Laura Bell, etc.

2. To "countrify" a boys' name,  use a one-syllable, tough-sounding name like Beau or Clay, or simple, down-homey nicknames like Billy and Randy.

THE COUNTRY GIRLS:

ALABAMA

CAROLINA Rain

CARRIE Underwood

DIXIE Chicks

DOLLY Parton

EMMA MAE Jacobs

EMMYLOU Harris

FAITH Hill

GLORIANA

HEIDI Newfield

HOLLY Williams

JENNETTE McCurdy

JESSI Alexander

JESSICA Andrews, Harp, Simpson

JOANNA Smith

KATRINA Elam

KRISTA MARIE

LAURA BELL Bundy

LeANN/LEE ANN Rimes, Womack

LORETTA LYNN

MAGGIE ROSE

MARLEE Scott

MINDY MacCready

MIRANDA Lambert

REBA McEntire

SAWYER Brown

SHEA Fisher

SIERRA Hull

SUNNY Sweeney

SUZY Burgess

VERONICA Ballestrini

WYNONNA Judd


THE COUNTRY BOYS:


AARON Lewis, Tippin

ASH Bowers

ASHTON Shepherd

BEAU Davidson

BILLY Currington, Dean, Shaver, Cyrus

BLAKE Shelton, Wise

BLAINE Larsen

BRAD Paisley

BRADY Seals

BRANTLEY Gilbert

BRETT Eldredge

BROOKS & Dunn

BUDDY Jewell, Miller

CHASE Rice

CHUCK Wicks

CHRIS (many)

CLAY Walker

CLINT Black

COLE Deggs & The Lonesome

COLT Ford

CORB Lund

CRAIG Campbell, Morgan

DARIUS Rucker

DEAN Brody

DIERKS Bentley

EASTON Corbin

FRANKIE Ballard

GARTH Brooks

GEORGE Jones, Strait

GLEN Campbell, Templeton

HAL Ketchum

HANK Williams

HUNTER Hayes

JACE Everett

JACK (many)

JASON (many)

JOSH (many)

KEITH Anderson, Urban

KENNY Chesney, Rogers, Vaughn

KIP Moore

LEE Brice, Greenwood

LUKE Bryan

NEAL McCoy

RANDY (many)

RAY Charles, Scott

RHETT Akins

RODNEY Atkins, Carrington, Crowell

SHOOTER Jennings

SONNY Burgess

TOBY Keith

TRACE Atkins

VINCE Gill

WADE Hayes

WAYLON Jennings

From Ace to Zane: The Best Cowboy Names for Boys

Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

This post was originally published in 8/11, and revised and edited in 7/13.

Let’s say you want your son to grow up to be like Clint Eastwood. Gruff, rough and tough. A real boy’s boy. A manly man. Macho. Or maybe you’re in love with old Westerns. The romance. The drama. The lonely dusty prairies and tumbleweeds, swinging saloon doors and swaggering, comboy-hat-wearing, gun-slinging heros. Whatever the case, you aren’t into sissy names. None of that Aidan and Liam crap for you. If that’s the way you feel, take a look at these names, a list appropriate for any future comboy, tough guy, or guy’s guy.

Cowboys:

These names were inspired by old Western films, Western literature, and other Western paraphernalia. A lot of names that were used for cowboys were traditionally short and strong nicknames for longer, Biblical names:

Zane
Cooper
Zeb (Zebedee, Zebulon)
Jed/ Jeb (Jedidiah, Jebidiah)
Link (Lincoln)
Ford
Slade
Grady
Ike (Isaac)
Deck
Press (Preston)
Gray
Gus (August)
Flint
Fletcher
Hank (Henry)
Hal (Henry)
Eli
Luke
West
Clay
Dock
Cord
Wade
Hudson
Price
Mose (Ambrose, Moses)
Cash (Cassius)
Jem (Jeremiah)
Grover
Lou (Louis)
Sly (Sylvester)
Amos
Silas
Jake
Cleve (Cleveland)
Clint
Loper
Wiley
Abe (Abraham, Abel)
Heck (Hector)
Boone
Ranger
Linus
Jose, Josie (The Outlaw Josie Wales)
Jud (Judson)
Clem (Clement)
Guthrie
Destry (from Destry Rides Again)
Burt
Zeke (Ezekiel)
Rover
Denver
Lasso
Jethro
Toby (Tobiah, Tobias)
Trace
Dakota
Laramie
Win (Edwin)
Ransom
Mal (Malcolm, Malachi)
Mort (Mortimer)
Cai (Mordecai)
Cass (Casper, Cassian, Cassius, Casimir...)
Hersch (Herschel)
Harlan

Other Guy’s Guys:

These names project a cool, tough, (or combination of both) image:

Jack
Dash
Seth
Dune
Thor (Thorben)
Dirk
Oak
Sam (Samuel, Samson)
Moss (Thomas)
Easton
Foster
Cliff
Vale
Hawk
Keane
Jude
Max
Rift
Ridge
Finn
Ross
Ajax
Red (Redmond)
Dane
Bo
Hunt (Hunter)
Wes (Wesley)
Ramsey
Eben (Ebenezer)
Grant
Ace (Asa)
Blaise
Archer
Pike
Arrow
Birch
Shane (from the film Shane)
Gunnar
Talon
Cade
Flynn
Rush
Chase
Jase/Jase
Cole