Top Chicken Names | Ultimate Backyard Chicken Survey
On today’s Top Chicken Names post I’m sharing what I think is some of the most enjoyable info folks shared when they completed the Ultimate Backyard Chicken Survey that I published back in the spring of 2017 … what they named their feathered friends! It may not be the most helpful … on a practical level (stay tuned for that) … but it will certainly serve as a source of inspiration the next time we add another hen to our flock.
But before share the chicken names, because this is the first in a series of posts I’ll do from that survey, let me give you a little background.
Back in 2017, literally right before my world turned upside down with family drama, I published a survey called the Ultimate Backyard Chicken Survey. The impetus for it was to provide me some goodie for a presentation I was doing for a local backyard chicken club, hosted at my awesome local feed & seed store, Neighbor’s Feed & Seed. I expected a few hundred repsonses, maybe. Just maybe.
But thanks in a very large part to my friend, Lisa Steele of Fresh Eggs Daily fame, who shared it with her tribe … we received over 1,700 responses. Crazy! (Thanks so much, Lisa!)
My subsequent plans for the survey was to share what I learned to help others with their chicken-raising efforts … in hopes of helping build a stronger, more informed backyard chicken community. So to that end, over the next several months I’m going to do a number of posts highlighting some of what I gathered from the survey. I hope you will both enjoy what I share and get something out of it.
Top 10 Chicken Names
Okay, back to what folks shared about what they named their chickens. Most of the Top 10 Chicken Names probably don’t come as a surprise … we actually have (or have had) 3 of them (those in bold):
- Henrietta
- Lucy
- Red
- Goldie
- Fluffy
- Penny
- Ginger
- Daisy
- Rosie
- Rose
Top 100 Chicken Names
However, if you want your yard birds’ names to be less run-of-the-mill and need a little inspiration, check out the entire list of Top 100 Chicken Names below.
Creative Chicken Names
Now if you want to get your creative naming juices flowing even more … or just want a laugh … here are some names from our more out-of-the-box chicken-lovin’ friends that I found particularly clever … and/or funny!
- Thanksgiving
- Rhedd Butler
- Poopy Butt
- Chow Mein
- Chic-Fil-A
- Harvey Weinstein
- Bad A$$
- Lucifer
- Breakfast
- Screecher
- Ms. Meanie
- Jinx
- Kylo Hen
- Crazy Chick
- Crabby Pants
- Number Nine
- Kung Pao
- Rick James
- Spartacus
- Cordon Bleu
- Tori (for Cacciatore)
- Sister Monica Joan
- King Dorking
What have you named your chickens? What themes have you used to come up with your chicken’s names.
Ours have typically stayed in the “old fashioned, elderly woman” lane or marking something that’s going on in our lives at the time of naming. For example, my oldest daughter was in the Dr. Seuss musical, Seussical, and one of the lead characters was a red bird named “Mayzie.” (Our Mayzie is who’s sitting on my shoulder on the picture above.)
We have some friends who have just recently started raising backyard chickens and they’ve named them after First Ladies.
Please share in the Comments below, as I’m sure others would love to hear what you have to say.
Thanks friends,
![[VIDEO] Introducing…Our Backyard Chickens!](https://redeemyourground.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Video-Introducing-Our-Backyard-Chickens-RYGblog-150x150.png)
If you're not already subscribed to RYG and want to get periodic updates, links to new posts & other ground redeeming info ... just enter your email address below. Easy as that!
You seem to favor Henrietta in #2 and #22 spots. AND you have all 4 of mine: Ethel, Dottie, Harriet, and Gladys. My other flocks are named by the pen they’re in. 🐥
Nana, thanks so much for your comment AND catching my mistake!!! (My eyes must have been crossing after crunching through almost 3,000 names!)
So with your correction, Henrietta moved Lucy out of the top spot and Martha moved up from #101 to #100! I’ve updated my post. Thanks again! And by the way, I love your 4 names … I’m going to have to keep them in mind the next time we get some new ladies.
Take care, D.
We have 21 chickens, and named only two – Prince Humperdinck and Princess Layer (subtle nods to our favorite movies – Princess Bride and Star Wars!) .
Love it, Stacy! Thanks for chiming in with your chickie names! So what was it about these 2 that they got names and the other 19 didn’t? And I agree, PB & SW are 2 of my favorite movies too … especially PB! Thanks again and take care, D.
Humperdinck is our only rooster, and Princess Layer was the chicken my daughter picked for herself, so she gave her a name. I don’t know if I could have kept them all straight! Anyway, they’ve been a source of great fun here.
That makes a ton of sense…on both sides of the coin … too many others to name + 1 rooster and 1 special one. And YES … our flock is a constant source of fun! Thanks, Stacy! Take care, D.
EasterEggers & Green Queens
Feathered feet..Slippers;
white…Powder, Snowflake
black….Ebony;
Grey….Shadow
Welsummers….Welty(named after Eudora Welty the writer), Penny, Rusty the Rooster; Copper, rooster…MrDoodleDo; Summah
Spotted Sussex…Patchees
Australop….Maizi;
various others….Piper, Paisley, Princess, Snuggly,
Love these names! We have a Penny and had Mayzie (just spelled differently). Thanks for sharing, Tris! Take care, D.
I am getting 3 silkies and some of these names are really cute thanks for the help 😉🐤🐣🐔🐥
Hey Chloe, that’s great. Glad our names inspired you. Sadly a red fox decimated our flock in December. I took the opportunity to make some repairs and improvement to your coop … and now have 11 new hens. Most of which started laying last month or so. Their names are: Daisy, Mayzie, Maggie, Martha, Meri, Annie, Laverne, Shirley, Penny, Dolly, and Ollie. There’s a story behind each name. Some people find it strange to name your chickens, but I’d find it strange if we didn’t. So we do.
Now I have to get one of my daughters to update the sign! Thanks again for reaching out.
Take care,
D.