Bad guys... with good names

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Written by Mary Fetzer

American history is ripe with bad guys, and while we wouldn’t want our children to emulate their behavior, we wouldn’t mind stealing a name or two. Check out our roundup of cool baby names from George Cantor’s Bad Guys in American History.

Aaron Burr – Before murdering his political rival Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr was Thomas Jefferson’s Vice President!

Al Capone – One of history’s most memorable gangsters, Al Capone and his crime syndicate made a fortune bootlegging alcohol during the Prohibition era. Given name: Alphonse Gabriel Capone

Benedict Arnold – Because this one-time war hero betrayed the fortress at West Point to the British, it’s wise to choose Benedict or Arnold. We don’t recommend using them together!

Black Bart – The refined Black Bart was born in England. Too bad he didn’t stay there. The stylish and likeable Bart moved to America, where he became the “gentleman bandit” of the Old West. Given name: Charles Earl Bowles.

Bill Hickok – Wild Bill Hickok was a western gunfighter who could draw faster than any other man alive. The folk hero escaped to the western frontier as a fugitive from justice, only to become a lawman in Kansas and Nebraska. Given name: James Butler Hickok.

All-American baby names for boys

Bugsy Siegel – Bugsy Siegel, one of the most vicious gangsters in American history, was affiliated with Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, Frank Costello, Vito Genovese, Joe Adonis and Mad Hatter Anastasia. His Murder, Inc. made a fortune by carrying out contract killings. Given name: Benjamin Siegelbaum

Butch Cassidy – This well-known American outlaw, a member of The Wild Bunch, robbed banks, trains, ranches and everything else in his path. Given name: Robert LeRoy Parker.

Clyde Barrow – Clyde Chester Barrow was one half of Bonnie and Clyde, the young, unmarried couple who pillaged and murdered their way across the country during the Great Depression.

Henry Plummer – As a misbehaving sheriff in Bannack, Montana, Henry Plummer ran one of the country’s most corrupt police departments and may have been involved in nearly 100 deaths. He was hanged – without a legal trial – by the Montana Vigilantes.

Judge Isaac Parker – Isaac Parker spend 21 years on the federal bench, serving the Indian Territory of Arkansas. During his tenure, “the hanging judge” sentenced 160 to death by hanging. While many depict the judge as an enforcer of crude frontier justice, he was in reality a conscientious official who dealt sentences fairly and constitutionally. It was his choice of executioners – the grim George Maledon – that negatively affected Parker’s public persona.

Jacob Waltz – The Lost Dutchman Mine of the Superstition Mountains is named after Jacob Waltz, a German prospector who – on his deathbed at age 81 – revealed the existence of the very rich gold mine. It is believed that Waltz killed many in his efforts to find (and keep secret) the location of the elusive gold mine.

Famous American war heroes

Jay Gould – Jay Gould was a shy American speculator who cared about nothing except making money. Being a “robber baron” made him one of the country’s wealthiest men.

Jean Lafitte – Jean Lafitte, a pirate, spent most of his life pillaging merchant ships and executing mutinous crew members. Still, the name Jean – a French variant of John – has a nice ring to it.

Jesse James – Jesse James was one of the most notorious outlaws of the Wild West, murdering many as he robbed banks, trains, stagecoaches and more. Jesse’s middle name is Woodson.

Joaquin Murieta – England had Robin Hood, and Mexico had Joaquin Murieta. The bandit remains a hero and patriot to the Mexican-American population, but the rest of the world classifies the robber as little more than greedy bandit.

John Butler –John Butler and his Rangers, an irregular militia unit of Loyalists and Iroquois Indians, were accused of participating in the horrific Wyoming Valley and Cherry Valley massacres of 1778. More bad guys named John include John Brown, John Wilkes Booth, John Dillinger and John D. Lee.

Ancient baby boy names

Pancho Villa – Pancho Villa, a general in Mexican Revolution and the governor of Chihuahua, was blamed for the brutal predawn murders of 18 American soldiers and civilians. Given name: Jose Doroteo Arango Arambula.

Judge Roy Bean – Roy Bean described himself as “the law west of the Pecos,” but others called him “the hanging judge.” His unconstitutional courtroom – held in his saloon – enabled him to pad his pockets with fine money that belonged to the state of Texas.

Simon Girty – Simon is a Hebrew name that means Obedient, but Simon Girty was anything but. The renegade hated Americans and adopted the warfare methods of the Indians to rid the land of “white people.”

Soapy Smith – Soapy was an American gangster whose criminal exploits ranged from Colorado to Alaska. Soapy was the most notorious confidence man (i.e. con artist) of the Old West. Given name: Jefferson Randolph Smith II.

William Clarke Quantrill – William was a Confederate guerrilla during the Civil War who savagely led abolitionists and pro-slavery forces across enemy lines to pillage, kidnap, burn and kill. Despite its notorious association, the name William Clarke is decidedly and ruggedly American. Another infamous William: William “Billy the Kid” Bonney

Wyatt Earp – Although he served as a law enforcement officer on the Western frontier, Wyatt Earp is best remembered as the “toughest and deadliest gunman of the Old West. Wyatt, whose full name is Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp, was involved in the famed Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Presidential baby names