Pecos

♂ Boy

Pronounced PAY-kohs /ˈpeɪ.koʊs/Medium

Meaning: Pecos is a place name from the American Southwest: the Pecos River, which runs from New Mexico into Texas, and the Pecos Pueblo. The name is generally taken from a Puebloan (Keresan) word for the settlement; its precise original sense is not settled. It is widely known from Pecos Bill, a cowboy of American tall tales invented in the early twentieth century.Low

In 30 seconds: Pecos is a river and place name of the American Southwest - and the name of the tall-tale cowboy Pecos Bill (said 'PAY-kohs').

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Origin LowAmerican, Indigenous

MeaningPecos is a place name from the American Southwest: the Pecos River, which runs from New Mexico into Texas, and the Pecos Pueblo. The name is generally taken from a Puebloan (Keresan) word for the settlement; its precise original sense is not settled. It is widely known from Pecos Bill, a cowboy of American tall tales invented in the early twentieth century.

U.S. rank (2021)#9466 ↗ Rising

2021 U.S. births8 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)

Peak year2015

Total births (all-time)≈ 46

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Pecos is a place name of the American Southwest: the Pecos River, running from the mountains of New Mexico down into Texas, and the Pecos Pueblo, one of the great Puebloan settlements. The name comes through Spanish from a Puebloan (Keresan) word for the place, though its original sense is not settled and we do not guess. Pecos is also known from Pecos Bill, a cowboy hero of American tall tales invented by writers in the early twentieth century - a literary folk figure rather than an old legend, which we note honestly (said 'PAY-kohs').

It appears only very rarely for boys in the U.S. Rare, Western in flavour, and place-rooted.

Did you know? Pecos Bill - the cowboy who supposedly rode a tornado and dug the Rio Grande - was invented by writers in the early 1900s. The name itself comes from the Pecos River and Pecos Pueblo in New Mexico (said 'PAY-kohs').

Overall data confidence 40%

References - Pecos — Pecos River / Pecos Pueblo, New Mexico; Keresan origin, sense unsettled. Pecos Bill is a 20th-century literary folk hero.

Variations

PecosPeco

Nicknames

PecCosPeco

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Pecos mean?

Pecos is a place name - the Pecos River and Pecos Pueblo of the Southwest - taken from a Puebloan word whose original sense is not settled, which we note.

How do you pronounce Pecos?

It's said PAY-kohs /ˈpeɪ.koʊs/ - two syllables, stress on the first.

Is Pecos a boy or girl name?

Pecos is used as a boy's name.

How popular is Pecos?

Pecos is very rare and newly emerging for boys in the U.S.