Reputation Wasn't the Worst Part
The Wild West produced some intimidating names, but not everyone got to be “Wild Bill” or “Black Bart.” No, sometimes frontier nicknames were brutally literal, drawing attention to your face, injuries, or even an embarrassing story. These were 20 real people whose unfortunate labels became permanently attached to their place in history.
1. John “Turkey Creek Jack” Johnson
John Johnson earned one of the most random nicknames around: “Turkey Creek Jack.” It wasn’t even a clever pun; it was tied to the Arizona frontier rather than anything intimidating about the guy himself. Long story short, he worked as a cowboy and lawman, becoming associated with Wyatt Earp’s circle during the violent Tombstone conflicts of the early 1880s.
2. George “Big Nose” Parrott
George Parrott was an outlaw and train robber, but his nickname certainly didn’t reflect that. He was better remembered as “Big Nose George” because of his large, prominent nose. His story got even stranger after his 1881 lynching, when parts of his body were used for medical study.
3. “Big Nose Kate” Horony
Mary Katherine Horony had an eventful life as Doc Holliday’s longtime companion, but history largely remembers her as Big Nose Kate. Sources attribute the awful moniker to her prominent nose while she was working as a dance-hall woman (and a lady of the evening) in the 1870s.
4. Frank “Cockeyed” Loving
Professional gambler Frank Loving became known around as “Cockeyed Frank” because his eyes pointed in different directions. If that wasn’t enough, the Ford County Historical Society preserves an especially blunt period description stating that one eye appeared to look northeast of the other.
5. Charley “Cockeyed” Parkhurst
You really need to be careful around horses, and no one learned that better than Charley. The legendary California stagecoach driver lost the use of one eye after being kicked by one. Instead of letting anyone forget the injury, people just started calling him “One-Eyed Charley” and, even less tactfully, “Cockeyed Charley.”
Harper's New Monthly Magazine - illustrator not stated on Wikimedia
6. Cornelius “Lame Johnny” Donahue
Cornelius Donahue was a Black Hills outlaw remembered by the less-than-subtle name “Lame Johnny.” Despite the name, he had a terrifying rap sheet: a stagecoach robbery, horse theft, and cattle rustling during the 1870s. Vigilantes intercepted him while he was being transported to Deadwood for trial and lynched him in 1879.
7. George “Flat-Nose” Curry
Canadian-born outlaw George Sutherland Currie apparently didn't have the sort of profile his companions were willing to ignore. He was better known as “Flat-Nose Curry,” which is probably better than Kate’s nickname, but still bad. He robbed banks and rustled livestock before becoming associated with Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch. Curry was then shot dead in 1900.
8. Thomas “Pegleg” Smith
Mountain man Thomas L. Smith lost part of his right leg after being shot in the knee. While that’s obviously bad on its own, this is the Wild West we’re talking about, so he also developed a serious infection. A wooden replacement earned him the permanent nickname “Pegleg Smith,” even though he returned to trapping and horseback riding after the amputation.
9. William “Bigfoot” Wallace
Texas Ranger and frontiersman William Alexander Anderson Wallace had exceptionally large feet, and frontier creativity produced “Bigfoot Wallace.” Accounts differ on exactly how the name began, but Wallace himself apparently joked that it was preferable to being called “Lying Wallace” or “Thieving Wallace.”
Michael Miley (1841-1918) on Wikimedia
10. Frank “Shorty” Harris
Prospector Frank Harris was a short king, standing only about 5-foot-4. Of course, everyone started calling him “Shorty.” They could call him what they wanted, though, because Harris became an important Death Valley prospecting figure, helping discover gold in the Bullfrog Mountains in 1904.
11. William “Little Bill” Raidler
The Doolin-Dalton gang just loved pointing out whichever member happened to be undersized. Enter William Raidler, the guy who became known as “Little Bill” (and that wasn’t even the worst nickname in this gang). Deputy U.S. Marshal Bill Tilghman captured him in 1895.
12. John “Fatty Gray” Morris
One of confidence man Soapy Smith’s associates operated under the alias “Fatty Gray,” although his real name was John H. Morris. Period material connected Morris with Smith’s gang of swindlers, making the insulting alias part of his criminal identity. Even writers later confused the nickname so thoroughly that some assumed Gray was his real last name.
13. Jefferson “Soapy” Smith
Speaking of whom, Jefferson Randolph Smith became one of the West’s most successful con artists, even if history remembers him as “Soapy.” The name stemmed from his famous prize-soap racket, in which accomplices helped convince crowds that wrapped bars had cash prizes. Smith built his empire all over before being shot dead in 1898.
Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, PPOC, Library of Congress on Wikimedia
14. John “Potato Creek Johnny” Perrett
Welsh immigrant John Eli Perrett settled near Potato Creek in South Dakota, which was all it took to become “Potato Creek Johnny.” He spent years prospecting around the Black Hills and even became something of a celebrity after finding a huge gold nugget in 1929. Weirdly, unlike many of these figures, Johnny actually lived long enough to enjoy the fame attached to his ridiculous name, dying in 1943.
15. The Stage Robber Called “Sugarfoot”
Do you remember Mr. Charley “Cockeyed” Parkhurst? Well, he ran into a California stage robber who went by the bizarre nickname “Sugarfoot.” Records state that the name likely came from his habit of stomping a foot wrapped in burlap. Either way, he robbed Parkhurst once before encountering him a second time—after which Parkhurst shot him.
16. Newman “Old Man” Clanton
Newman Haynes Clanton had one of the least glamorous titles in a family filled with notorious figures: everybody just sort of called him “Old Man Clanton.” He was Ike and Billy Clanton’s father, and he died in the Guadalupe Canyon Massacre in 1881, just months before the famous O.K. Corral gunfight involving his sons.
17. “Shacknasty Jim”
Few Western names look as bad as Shacknasty Jim, a Modoc warrior who fought during the 1872–1873 Modoc War. Fortunately, the name wasn't actually an insult; historians trace it to a corruption of a Modoc name meaning “Left-Handed Man.” After surrendering, Jim served as a U.S. Army scout and was later exiled with other Modoc survivors to Indian Territory.
California Historical Society Digital Collection on Wikimedia
18. “Bogus Charley”
Jim wasn’t the only Modoc figure given a deeply unfortunate name. Modoc Nation records “Bogus Charley” among several tribal members who became known even among their own people by names originally given or used by white settlers. He later served as one of the Modoc scouts who assisted the U.S. military after the resistance started to fall apart in 1873.
19. “Scarface Charley”
The Modoc warrior known as Scarface Charley only got his name because of a scar on his face. Allegedly, he was run over by a mail stage as a child. The name didn’t keep him down too much, however; he became an important fighter during the Modoc War and led a devastating attack against U.S. troops in 1873. Despite how crude the nickname sounds today, his Modoc name itself has actually been translated more closely to “wagon scar-faced.”
Unknown author or not provided on Wikimedia
20. “Curley Headed Doctor”
One Modoc spiritual leader somehow wound up preserved in English-language history as “Curley Headed Doctor." His Modoc name was Cho-ocks, and he conducted ceremonies intended to protect his people during the Modoc War. After the surrender, he was deported to Indian Territory, where he continued practicing his beliefs until he died around 1890.
California Historical Society Digital Collection on Wikimedia
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