Sheep names get more interesting the moment you know the breed, because a flock of the same animals looks nearly identical from a distance and the fleece or face is usually the only thing that tells them apart. A name tied to that feature does double duty as an identifier.
The lists below start from breed and markings, move through ewes, rams and lambs, and end with how one working pedigree flock actually chooses names each spring.
Name the Breed You Actually Have
Several of the popular smallholder breeds come with a built-in naming hook.
- Jacob. The breed combines two things unusual in sheep: it is piebald, dark with areas of white wool, and most commonly carries four horns. Names: Domino, Patch, Magpie, Oreo, Pinto, Dapple, Splodge, Checkers, Harlequin, Pied, Crossbones, Trident, Quad, Candelabra, Antler, Speckle, Freckles, Paisley, Calico, Tuxedo.
- Valais Blacknose. White wool, a black face, and horns on both sexes; the breed takes its name from the Swiss canton of Valais. Names: Sooty, Smudge, Panda, Bandit, Inkspot, Charcoal, Mocha, Espresso, Truffle, Coal, Heidi, Matterhorn, Zermatt, Edelweiss, Alpine, Soot Nose, Smoky, Ember, Klaus, Gretel.
- Herdwick. Native to the Lake District in north-west England, and known for staying put on its own patch of upland instead of wandering. Names: Fell, Scafell, Keswick, Grasmere, Windermere, Tarn, Crag, Beck, Ghyll, Cumbria, Wordsworth, Ruskin, Coniston, Borrowdale, Skiddaw, Helvellyn, Buttermere, Ullswater, Kendal, Derwent.
- Merino. The wool breed most people have heard of, and the one Shrek below belonged to. Names: Cashmere, Angora, Flannel, Tweed, Worsted, Cardigan, Mohair, Velvet, Felt, Chenille, Boucle, Alpaca, Knit, Purl, Skein, Tartan, Argyle, Gingham, Corduroy, Jersey.
For crossbreds and anything without a famous look, the face and fleece colour are still the most useful source.
White or cream: Snowball, Cotton, Marshmallow, Cloud, Pearl, Frost, Meringue, Dove, Coconut, Vanilla, Blanche, Ivory, Linen, Chalk, Cumulus, Lily, Swan, Frosty, Nimbus, Custard.
Black or dark: Midnight, Licorice, Raven, Onyx, Soot, Ebony, Shadow, Jet, Cinder, Pepper, Sable, Nightshade, Blackberry, Espresso, Obsidian, Crow, Liquorice, Panther, Coal.
Brown or grey: Cocoa, Biscuit, Toffee, Nutmeg, Hazel, Pebble, Slate, Ash, Smokey, Mushroom, Oatmeal, Fudge, Hickory, Granite, Driftwood, Walnut, Chestnut, Russet, Tawny, Flint.
Names for Ewes
Old-fashioned and sturdy: Agnes, Mabel, Edna, Gertrude, Ethel, Hilda, Doris, Bertha, Maud, Winifred, Gladys, Enid, Beryl, Myrtle, Opal, Hattie, Nora, Iris, Vera, Maggie, Ida, Nell, Peggy, Betty.
Meadow names: Clover, Daisy, Buttercup, Bluebell, Primrose, Meadow, Heather, Bramble, Willow, Fern, Poppy, Marigold, Violet, Honeysuckle, Cowslip, Foxglove, Sorrel, Yarrow, Campion, Sage, Chamomile, Lupin, Tansy, Vetch, Thrift, Speedwell.
Wool puns with a feminine lean: Fleecia, Lanolina, Woolly Parton, Baabara, Ewenice, Shearlene, Lambrina, Ewegenie, Merinda, Tufty, Fluffina, Knitta, Purlita, Crochetta, Skeina.
Names for Rams and Wethers
A ram is the intact male that runs with the ewes at breeding time, and the names that suit him carry some weight. A wether is a castrated male, and the gentler names below suit him better.
For a ram: Thor, Titan, Brutus, Goliath, Atlas, Hercules, Boulder, Diesel, Tank, Maximus, Zeus, Magnus, Rocky, Bruno, Hamish, Angus, Duke, Bishop, Colonel, Sergeant, Ramses, Ramone, Horatio.
For a wether: Teddy, Ollie, Pip, Barney, Gus, Otis, Murphy, Chester, Wilbur, Bertie, Toby, Stanley, Walter, Alfie, Basil, Monty, Rupert, Humphrey, Bumble, Dougal, Hobbes, Percy, Cuthbert, Fergus.
A Lamb Needs a Name That Grows
A baby sheep is a lamb, and naming one after its size is an easy trap, because the animal outgrows it. Tiny, Peanut and Button stop making sense once the lamb is grown.
Names that work on a lamb and still work on a full-grown sheep: Rowan, Juniper, Barley, Bramble, Hazel, Clementine, Nutmeg, Cricket, Sorrel, Fennel, Wren, Pepper, Maple, Willow, Basil, Thistle, Clover, Oakley, Ember, Birch, Rye, Linden, Pippin, Quince, Hawthorn, Bracken, Moss.
One keeper shared a photo of their first lamb, Lambert, which is about as good as lamb puns get while still working on an adult.
The Pun Hall of Fame
A Reddit thread asking keepers for their favourite sheep names produced a shortlist worth borrowing: Woolter White, Lady BaBa, NoSheepTilBrooklyn, and Fleece Lightyear, which one keeper reported seeing running around.
More in the same spirit: Ewe Tube, Baaack Obama, Sheepy Hollow, Lamb Chop, Ewegene Levy, Baarbara Streisand, Shear Khan, Wool Smith, Ramsay, Lamborghini, Ewan McFleecor, Sir Woolington, Meryl Sheep, Mutton Chops, Baaron.
One keeper in the same thread took a different route and named four or five of their sheep Escoffier, after the chef, which is either a brilliant or a terrible policy depending on how you feel about telling them apart.
Sheep With Their Own Encyclopedia Entries
Two real sheep are famous enough to name after, and both come with a story.
Dolly. A Finn-Dorset ewe born in 1996, the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell, and named after Dolly Parton. Her six lambs had names too, and they make a ready-made set: Bonnie; the twins Sally and Rosie; and the triplets Lucy, Darcy and Cotton.
Shrek. A Merino wether on Bendigo Station in New Zealand who became famous in 2004 after avoiding capture and shearing for six years, by which time he was carrying 27 kilograms of wool.
From fiction, the obvious ones are Shaun the Sheep and Lamb Chop the puppet.
How One Pedigree Flock Names Its Lambs
One smallholding that keeps a pedigree flock at Monk Hall Farm describes the approach plainly: it is fairly common for pedigree flocks to name each year’s lambs with a single letter of the alphabet, A in the first year, B in the second. We cover how that lettering system works for a whole herd in our cow names guide.
What their list adds is a pairing habit. Their A-year twins included Artemis and Apollo, themselves twins in Greek myth, a pairing that suits a set of twin lambs. Their A-year also shows the range a single letter allows: Attenborough, Agrimony, Aphrodite, Athos, Aragorn, Andromeda and Ariadne.
For themed sets beyond a single pair, the approach in our goat names list carries straight across, since sheep have twins too.
Naming Down the Family Line
One of the neatest systems comes from a keeper whose first Finn ewe arrived over fifteen years ago. That first ewe, bought from a llama farm, was named Llama. Her daughter was Paca, and Paca’s daughter was Cria, keeping the llama theme running down three generations.
Pick a theme wide enough to run for generations and the names turn into a family tree you can read at a glance. Some that scale:
- Cheeses: Brie, Feta, Halloumi, Ricotta, Manchego, Roquefort, Pecorino, Wensleydale
- Stars: Vega, Rigel, Lyra, Altair, Sirius, Capella, Deneb, Polaris
- Knitting: Purl, Skein, Cable, Garter, Aran, Fairisle, Moss Stitch, Gansey
- Scottish islands: Skye, Mull, Iona, Islay, Jura, Harris, Lewis, Barra
Settling on One
- Look at the face first. Breed and markings give a name that tells two sheep apart at thirty paces.
- Match the name to the animal’s job. A breeding ram and a companion wether want different registers.
- Skip size names for lambs. Pick something that still fits the grown sheep.
- Think in lines if you breed. A theme that runs mother to daughter turns names into a record.
Mixed smallholdings name across species, and our lists for chicken names and horse names work through the same problem for the rest of the yard.
FAQ
What’s the best name for a sheep?
One tied to what the sheep looks like. Domino suits a Jacob, Sooty suits a Valais Blacknose, and Snowball suits a white crossbred, because each name helps you pick that animal out of the flock.
What are some famous sheep names?
Dolly, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell and named after Dolly Parton, is the most famous real sheep. Shrek, the New Zealand Merino who dodged shearing for six years, is a close second. In fiction, Shaun the Sheep leads.
What would you name a sheep?
Start from its breed or markings, then match the register to its role: a sturdy name for a breeding ram, a gentle one for a pet wether, and a name that will outgrow the lamb stage for anything young.
What is a name for a baby sheep?
A baby sheep is a lamb. Good lamb names are ones that still suit the adult: Rowan, Juniper, Barley, Hazel and Clementine all work, while Tiny and Peanut stop making sense within a year.
What should I name a ram?
Something with weight to it, such as Thor, Brutus, Hamish or Angus. A ram is the intact breeding male, so names that suit a companion wether can feel mismatched on him.
Why do some flocks name lambs by letter?
So the name records the birth year. It is fairly common for pedigree flocks to give every lamb born in one year a name starting with the same letter, moving through the alphabet year by year.
