As regards motivation, the early 19th-century cow-names belong to the earlier era when the predominant motivation of animal-names was their colour. Only later on did the motivation based on the animal's predecessors' place of origin, on the name of its preceding or current owner or keeper, or simply on a female - usually not frequently used - first name, gain ground. It is apparent that even such seemingly less significant category of proper names as the cow-names can be important in terms of the research of the history of the language and its dialects (especially lexis and word formation) and thus also in terms of learning about the earlier ways of life and thought.