My family milk cow is named Sienna. I didn’t name her. I purchased her a little over a year ago and didn’t change her name. When my husband heard her name, his input was, “I hope we don’t get her confused with the van.” We own a Toyota Sienna minivan. He’s a real comedian, my husband.

I don’t think that Sienna sounds like the name of a milk cow. I’ve had two previous milk cows that I did name: Matilda (who I always called Tilly) and Callie. I also named Sienna’s calf a real milk cow name: Marabelle. The last time I took Sienna to the vet, he guessed that her name was Bossy. Also a good milk cow name, I thought. When I told him her name was Sienna, he gave me a funny look like, “That’s a weird name for a milk cow.” So, yes, my milk cow doesn’t have a traditional-sounding name. But, she knows her name. She comes when I call her, and that’s the important thing.

Sienna is a six-year-old Jersey who I milk by hand twice a day. She’s currently giving me about three gallons a day. She’s pregnant and due in June. I was very excited that she had a heifer last summer, because I intend to train that calf to be a milk cow, too. And it was the first time one of my milk cows had a female! If this summer’s calf is another heifer, any input on a “real” milk cow name?

Side note: My husband, Scott, doesn’t get a vote. He always suggests the same name for every cow: Carl Oswald Winslow, initials C.O.W. Ha, ha, very funny, Scott.