A cowboy is an animal herder (herdboy) who takes care of cattle North American's ranches. This job comes from the vaquero, which is more or less the equivalent of the cowboy in New-Mexico during the 16th and 17th centuries.
In the 19th century the cattle of the West were providing the whole country with meat. Cowboys' job was to lead them across the Great Plains of the South because there was still no train.
This transhumance, which ceased around 1890, and gave cowboys the image of solitary nomadic free man (Cf Lucky Luke's song “I'm a poor lonesome cowboy...”), and, at points distant from reality. At the end of the 19th century and throughout the 20th century, many novels and films portrayed cowboys brave heroes, skilled horsemen shooters ready to save the widow and the orphan. Thus, the cowboy has become a mythical figure, embodying American values.

The "traditional" cowboy is inseparable from the imagery of the conquest of the West: this is probably why the image we may have is the product of a collective imagination that reflects reality. If the adventure was not non-existent, it has been exaggerated in many accounts of the lives of these characters. Through a mass media (film development, large prints, etc.). and above all the values it represents, it has become the symbol we know today.

Today, cowboys are still fascinating, and many Americans identify with them. However, nowadays cowboys are employees who have finally settled and they have little in common with men who roamed the track over thousands of miles. Cowboys are also rodeo participants, which are sometimes real sports professional.