[2] The common alternate name "lark's head" is attributed to Tom Bowling (pseudonym) in the 1866 work The Book of Knots which is presumed to have been adapted from a French manuscript; lark's head is a literal translation of the French name for the knot, tête d'alouette.

[5] In general, however, this single-ended form of the cow hitch is less stable compared to the variations in which both ends are loaded.

This form is also often used to connect loop-ended lanyards to handheld electronic equipment, since it can be tied without access to the ends of the fastening loop.

Another application for the cow hitch is in the handling of large electric power cable in surface mines.

Known colloquially as a "Cableman's hitch", it is also used to attach loops of cable to the back of a pick-up truck during a shovel move.