The horse is the one animal species that played an extremely important role in the development of America. In fact, the horse is especially revered for its role in the American West. Even though cars are now the norm and horses have become a hobby rather than a life necessity, the role of the horse is honored through books, movies, and television shows. Choosing a western horse name will help you and your horse honor the past as well.
As a kid, all I wanted was to be a cowgirl. I used to watch awesome shows like Zorro and when I got my first horse I loved reading western training books. One of my favorites, Ride Smart by Craig Cameron .
This list has been curated to give you some awesome options for western names for your mare, filly, colt, gelding or stallion. Of course, male and female names are included but there are some that work for either gender as well so they may appear on both lists.
Let’s get started with some wild west horse names.
Table of Contents
Best Western Horse Names
While we’ve compiled a list of some awesome western horse names for you, our top choices are:
- Dutch
- Blaze
- Paisley
- Rawhide
- Butch
- Wyatt
- Sadie
- Cisco
- Micah
- Annie
Western Horse Names for Mares and Fillies
Women in the old west didn’t seem to earn as much notoriety as the men. Nevertheless, there are still some female horse names that are very much western. These western names are perfectly suited for your mares and fillies.
- Annabelle
- Annie
- Arizona
- Arrow
- Babs
- Bailey
- Bella
- Bess
- Betsy
- Blaze
- Boots
- Charlotte
- Cowgirl
- Curly
- Dawn
- Duck
- Dumplin’
- Grainger
- Jolene
- Justice
- Kate
- Maybelle
- Morgan
- Paisley
- Rawhide
- Rose
- Sally
- Starr
- Stormy
- Sundance
- Tulsa
Western Horse Names for Geldings and Stallions
The boys seem to have received all the glory of the American West. While there were some girls that history recognizes, they are far fewer in number than the boys. As such, it’s much easier to find a western sounding name for male horses. These horse names work great for your geldings and stallions.
- Amos
- Angus
- Apache
- Arrow
- Bailey
- Bale
- Barrel
- Billy
- Billy Ray
- Biscuit
- Blaze
- Boots
- Bourbon
- Brisket
- Buck
- Butch
- Carter
- Cash
- Cherokee
- Cisco
- Clyde
- Cody
- Colonel
- Colt
- Cowboy
- Curly
- Daniel
- Doc
- Duck
- Dumplin’
- Garrett
- Grainger
- Grazer
- Gunner
- Gunslinger
- Hank
- Hunter
- Jeb
- Johnny
- Justice
- Landon
- Morgan
- Outlaw
- Rawhide
- Rhett
- Rider (or Ryder)
- Ringo
- Roper
- Snake
- Starr
- Sundance
- Tex
- Wade
- Waylon
- Wyatt
Horse Names Based on Western Legends
Here are some show names we can draw from Western legends. These may be heroes or villains, cowboys or outlaws. Some are just the names of the famous actors that portrayed them.
- Black Bart
- Apache Kid
- Arkansas Tom
- Bella Starr
- Big Nose Kate – Wife of Doc Holiday
- Bill Doolin
- Billy The Kid
- Bitter Creek – Ghost Town
- Blaze Carson – Sheriff
- Bonnie – Criminal, of Bonnie and Clyde
- Broken Doll – 1910 Western (IMDB)
- Buck Garrett – Gunfighter and Lawman (Legends of America)
- Buck Taylor – Actor in Gunsmoke
- Butch Cassidy – Train Robber / Bank Robber
- Calamity Jane – Friend of Wild Bill Hickok, Performer in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show (Wikipedia)
- Carry Nation – Independent Woman / Radical (Wikipedia)
- Cattle Kate Watson
- Cherokee Bill
- Cherokee Charlie
- Cisco Kid
- Clyde
- Daniel Boone
- Deadwood Dick
- Doc Holliday – Gunfighter & Gambler
- Don Juan de Onate
- Flat Nose
- Howdy Doody
- Iron Eyes Cody
- Jesse James
- Kid Cassidy
- Lillie Langtry
- Little Beavers
- Magua
- Outlaw Kid
- Pawnee Bill
- Pearl Heart
- Rawhide Kid
- Red Ryder
- Richard Bullock
- Ringo Kid
- Sam Bass
- Samuel Colt
- Sundance Kid
- Tex Morgan
- Texas Kid
- The Apache Kid
- The Bronze Buckaroo
- The Durango Kid
- The Lone Rider
- The Squaw Kid
- The Tall Texan
- The Wyoming Kid
- Tulsa Jack
- Two-Gun Kid
- Western Kid
- Will Rogers
Western Show Names for Horses
Whether you show your horse English or western, you can give him an old western name that suits his personality. These names are perfect “show names” for any horse in your barn with that western flair!
- All Cowboy
- Cactus Cowboy
- Casanova Cowboy
- Dixie Cowboy
- Kalico Cowboy
- Bayou Cowgirl
- Cowgirl Sass
- Cowgirl Way
- Crystal Cowgirl
- Denim Cowgirl
- Broke Gambler
- Gamblers Girl
- Prime Time Gambler
- Secret Gambler
- True Gambler
- Tennessee Whiskey
- Whiskey Bottom
- Whiskey Charlie
- Whiskey For Me
- Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
- Juan More Tequila
- One Shot Tequila
- Silver Tequila
- Tequila On Ice
- Tequila Talk
- Dunslinger
- Escaped Outlaw
- Gunslinger
- Shifty Sheriff
- Wanted Outlaw
- By The Law
- Shotgun Ryder
- Silver Bullet Babe
- Stop the Bullet
- Outlaw at Work
Famous Western Horse Names
The old west was made popular by numerous westerns produced and televised. These shows allowed viewers to “live” the wild west without actually owning a horse or a ranch.
While we know the names of actors like Gene Autry, Dale Evans and others, their horses gained a popular following as well. Here are some famous horses from old westerns.
- Black Diamond
- Black Jack
- Blossom
- Brownie
- Buck
- Bullet
- Buttermilk
- Cactus
- Calico
- Champion
- Duke
- Eddie
- Joker
- Jubilee
- King Nappy
- Koko
- Lightning
- Loco
- Raider
- Rebel
- Reno
- Ring Eye
- Rocket
- Rush
- Scout
- Shadow Trail
- Shiek
- Sickle
- Silver
- Silver Bullet
- Stardust
- Steel
- Sundance
- Tarzan
- Thunder
- Tony (the wonder horse)
- Topper
- Trigger
- White Flash
Wild West Horse Names Inspired by Red Dead Redemption
If you are a gamer and a horse lover, you may be more than familiar with the popular game Red Dead Redemption 2 . When you’re done at the real stable, this is an awesome game where you can ride your horse in the wild west and complete missions.
Here are some great horse names inspired by some of the places and characters in the game.
- Adler
- Andrew
- Angelo
- Archibald
- Armadillo
- Arthur
- Aurora
- Barrow
- Bell
- Benedict
- Bill
- Braithwaite
- Bronte
- Caliban
- Catherine
- Cattail
- Cholla
- Citadel
- Colm
- Cornwall
- Coronado
- Cotorra
- Cumberland
- Dakota
- Diablo
- Don Julio
- Dutch
- Edgar
- Elizabeth
- Emerald
- Escuella (also means school in Spanish)
- Glacier
- Grant
- Gray
- Grimshaw
- Gus
- Hagen
- Hanover
- Harriet
- Hawk Eye
- Hennigan
- Herbert
- Jack
- Javier
- John
- LaGras
- Leigh
- Leviticus
- Luis
- MacFarlane
- MacGregor
- Manzanita
- Marston
- Micah
- Milton
- Molly
- Montana
- Monto
- Moon
- Moonstone
- Morgan
- O’Creagh
- O’Driscoll
- O’Shea
- Quaker
- Ross
- Sadie
- Shann
- Slim
- Spider
- Strawberry
- Susan
- Tumbleweed
- Valentine
- Wallace
- Williamson
I hope you were able to get some ideas for the perfect western horse name. There are millions of possibilities when choosing a name for your horse or pony. Remember that you can have two separate names, a barn name, and a show name.
Ultimately, you should try your best to pick a name that suits your horse’s personality the best!
