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This is a list of U.S. county name etymologies, covering the letters N to R.
N
edit| County name | State | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Nacogdoches County | Texas | Named for the Nacogdoche tribe of Caddo Native Americans. |
| Nance County | Nebraska | Named after Governor Albinus Nance.[1] |
| Town and County of Nantucket | Massachusetts | Nantucket takes its name from a word in an Eastern Algonquian language of southern New England, originally spelled variously as natocke, nantaticut, nantican, and nautican. The meaning of the term is uncertain, although it may have meant "in the midst of waters," or "far away island."[2] |
| Napa County | California | Named for the city of Napa, California, which takes its name from a southern Nappan village. |
| Nash County | North Carolina | Named for Brigadier General Francis Nash, who had been mortally wounded at the Battle of Germantown. |
| Nassau County | Florida | Named for the Duchy of Nassau in Germany. |
| Nassau County | New York | Named after an old name for Long Island, which was named Nassau after William of Nassau, Prince of Orange (who later became King William III of England.) |
| Natchitoches Parish | Louisiana | Named for the Natchitoches tribe of Native Americans. |
| Natrona County | Wyoming |
Named for the natron (soda) deposits in the county. |
| Navajo County | Arizona |
named for the Navajo. |
| Navarro County | Texas | Named for José Antonio Navarro, a Tejano leader in the Texas Revolution who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. |
| Nelson County | Kentucky | Named for Thomas Nelson, Jr. a Virginia Governor who signed the Declaration of Independence. |
| Nelson County | North Dakota |
for Nelson E. Nelson, a ND legislator at the time. |
| Nelson County | Virginia | Named for Thomas Nelson, Jr. a Virginia Governor who signed the Declaration of Independence. |
| Nemaha County | Kansas |
Chiwere word ñí-máha 'murky water.' |
| Nemaha County | Nebraska |
Chiwere word ñí-máha 'murky water.' |
| Neosho County | Kansas | Neosho River, from the Osage meaning 'cold, clear water' or 'main river,' |
| Neshoba County | Mississippi | Nashoba, a Choctaw chief, derived from the Choctaw word nashoba, means Wolf. [3] |
| Ness County | Kansas | Named for Corporal Noah V. Ness of the 7th Kansas Cavalry Regiment (US Army). Ness died of wounds suffered at the Battle of Abbeyville in Mississippi in August 1864.[4] |
| Nevada County | Arkansas | The state of Nevada, which it resembles in shape. |
| Nevada County | California | named after the mining town of Nevada City, a name derived from the term "Sierra Nevada." The word nevada in Spanish means "snowy" or "snowcovered."[5] |
| New Castle County | Delaware | William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, courtier. |
| New Hanover County | North Carolina | Named for the House of Hanover. |
| New Haven County | Connecticut | Named after its largest city and county seat, New Haven. |
| New Kent County | Virginia | The county of Kent, England. |
| New London County | Connecticut | Named after the county seat, New London, which is named for London, England. |
| New Madrid County | Missouri | Named after a district located in the region that was once under Spanish rule, Nuevo Madrid, after the city of Madrid, Spain. |
| New York County | New York | New York is named after James, Duke of York, who renamed New Amsterdam after himself shortly after the British takeover in 1664. The county name also refers to the fact that New York City was wholly contained in the county until it combined with other areas in the 1880s. New York County today is thus simply referred to as Manhattan, the island that forms almost all the area of the county. |
| Newaygo County | Michigan | Derived from then name of a Chippewa chief who signed the Treaty of Saginaw or from a Algonquian word meaning "much water." |
| Newberry County | South Carolina | Unknown; possibly named for Newbury, Berkshire, England. |
| Newport County | Rhode Island | Descriptive, recalling Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales |
| City of Newport News | Virginia | Not known with any certainty. See the "Name" section of the city's article for possibilities. |
| Newton County | Arkansas | Named for Thomas W. Newton, an Arkansas Congressman. |
| Newton County | Georgia | Named after Sgt. John Newton of the American Revolutionary War. |
| Newton County | Indiana | |
| Newton County | Mississippi | Named for Sir Isaac Newton, physicist. |
| Newton County | Missouri | Named after Sgt. John Newton of the American Revolutionary War. |
| Newton County | Texas | |
| Nez Perce County | Idaho | Named for the Nez Percé tribe of Native Americans. |
| Niagara County | New York | Derived from the Indian word Onguiaahra meaning the straight or thunder of waters.[6] |
| Nicholas County | Kentucky | Named for George Nicholas, the "Father of the Kentucky Constitution". |
| Nicholas County | West Virginia | Named for Virginia Governor Wilson Cary Nicholas. |
| Nicollet County | Minnesota | Named for Joseph Nicolas Nicollet, a geographer-explorer. |
| Niobrara County | Wyoming |
Omaha–Ponca languageIndian 'spreading water river.' |
| Noble County | Indiana | Named for James Noble, the first U.S. Senator from Indiana. |
| Noble County | Ohio | Named for Rep. Warren P. Noble of the Ohio House of Representatives, who was an early settler there. |
| Noble County | Oklahoma |
for John W. Noble, Secretary of the Interior |
| Nobles County | Minnesota | Named for William H. Nobles, a member of the Territorial Legislature. |
| Nodaway County | Missouri | Named for the Nodaway River, from the Chiwere Nyi At'ąwe, "jump over water." |
| Nolan County | Texas | Named for Philip Nolan, one of the first American traders to visit Texas. |
| Nome Census Area | Alaska | Named for Nome, Alaska. |
| City of Norfolk | Virginia | Named for the county of Norfolk, England. |
| Norfolk County | Massachusetts | |
| Norman County | Minnesota | In honor of the large number of Norwegians (endonym nordmenn), who settled in this county. |
| North Slope Borough | Alaska | Named for the Alaska North Slope, a region on the northern slope of the Brooks Range. |
| Northampton County | North Carolina | Named for James Compton, 5th Earl of Northampton. |
| Northampton County | Pennsylvania | Northamptonshire, England, |
| Northampton County | Virginia | for Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton |
| Northumberland County | Pennsylvania | Named for the county of Northumberland, England. |
| Northumberland County | Virginia | |
| Northwest Arctic Borough | Alaska | Named for its location in the northwest Arctic region of Alaska. |
| City of Norton | Virginia | Named in 1890 after Eckstein Norton, then president of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. |
| Norton County | Kansas | Named for Orloff Norton. |
| Nottoway County | Virginia | From the Nottoway people. |
| Nowata County | Oklahoma | From the Lenape word nuwita, meaning "friendly" or "welcome." |
| Noxubee County | Mississippi | Derived from the Choctaw word nakshobi, meaning to stink.[3] |
| Nuckolls County | Nebraska | Named after Stephen F. Nuckolls, an early pioneer in this area.[7] |
| Nueces County | Texas | Named for the Nueces River, whose name comes from the Spanish word for walnuts or pecans. |
| Nye County | Nevada | Named in honor of James W. Nye, first governor of the Nevada Territory and later U.S. Senator from the state. |
O
edit| County name | State | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| O'Brien County | Iowa | For William Smith O'Brien, Irish leader |
| Oakland County | Michigan | Named for the numerous oak openings in the county. |
| Obion County | Tennessee | From the Obion River, named either from an Indian word meaning 'many forks' or from an Irish-French trapper named O'Brien. |
| Ocean County | New Jersey | Location on the Atlantic Ocean[8] |
| Oceana County | Michigan | Named "Oceana" because it borders Lake Michigan, the freshwater "ocean." |
| Ochiltree County | Texas | For Col. William Beck Ochiltree, Republic of Texas secretary of the treasury. |
| Oconee County | Georgia | For the Oconee River, which is named after a Muskogean people. |
| Oconee County | South Carolina | |
| Oconto County | Wisconsin | For the Oconto River, said to mean "plenty of fish." |
| Ofu County | American Samoa | Named after Ofu island. |
| Ogemaw County | Michigan | From the Anishinaabemowin word ogimaa, meaning "chief". |
| Oglala Lakota County | South Dakota | For the Oglala Lakota people. |
| Ogle County | Illinois | For Lt. Joseph Ogle, first Methodist layman in Illinois and captain of the territorial militia. |
| Oglethorpe County | Georgia | For Gen. James Edward Oglethorpe, founder of Georgia and first governor |
| Ohio County | Indiana | Named for the Ohio River (Seneca Ohi:yo', "Good River"), which it borders. |
| Ohio County | Kentucky | Named for the Ohio River (Seneca Ohi:yo', "Good River"), which it used to border until Daviess County and Hancock County were carved out of it in 1829. |
| Ohio County | West Virginia | Named for the Ohio River (Seneca Ohi:yo', "Good River"), which it borders. |
| Okaloosa County | Florida | From Choctaw oka lusa, "black water." |
| Okanogan County | Washington | From the Syilx (Okanogan, ukʷnaqín) people. |
| Okfuskee County | Oklahoma | Named for the Okfuskee, a Muscogee people. |
| Oklahoma County | Oklahoma | From the Choctaw phrase okla humma, meaning "red people", invented by Allen Wright and applied to the Oklahoma Territory. |
| Okmulgee County | Oklahoma | From the Creek okimulgi meaning "boiling water." |
| Oktibbeha County | Mississippi | From Choctaw okti abeha, "ice therein." |
| Oldham County | Kentucky | Named in honor of Col. William Oldham of Jefferson County, a Revolutionary War officer. |
| Oldham County | Texas | named for William Simpson Oldham Sr., Texas pioneer and Confederate Senator. |
| Oliver County | North Dakota | Harry S. Oliver, Republican politician and member of the Dakota Territory House of Representatives |
| Olmsted County | Minnesota | David Olmsted, first mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota. |
| Olosega County | American Samoa | Named after Olosega island (Samoan ʻOlosega, "fortress of parakeets.") |
| Oneida County | Idaho | Named for Oneida Lake, from which most of the early settlers had migrated. |
| Oneida County | New York | Named for the Oneida people. |
| Oneida County | Wisconsin | |
| Onondaga County | New York | From the Onondaga (Onöñda’gaga’, "Hill Place") people |
| Onslow County | North Carolina | Named for Arthur Onslow, longtime Speaker of the House of Commons. |
| Ontario County | New York | Named for Lake Ontario (Huron Ontarí'io, "great lake.") |
| Ontonagon County | Michigan | Named for the Ontonagon River, from Ojibwe Nondon-organ ("hunting river") or Ontonagori ("lost bowl"). |
| Orange County | California | Named for the orange, so the county would sound like a semi-tropical, Mediterranean region to people from the east coast. |
| Orange County | Florida | Named for the orange, its main crop. |
| Orange County | Indiana | The first settlers were from Orange County, North Carolina. |
| Orange County | New York | Named for William, Prince of Orange, later King William III. |
| Orange County | North Carolina | Named for the ruling House of Orange-Nassau. |
| Orange County | Texas | Named for the orange, formerly its main crop. |
| Orange County | Vermont | Named for William, Prince of Orange, later King William III. |
| Orange County | Virginia | Named for William, Prince of Orange, later King William III. |
| Orangeburg County | South Carolina | Named for Orangeburg, South Carolina, which was named for William, Prince of Orange, later King William III. |
| Oregon County | Missouri | Named for the Oregon Territory. |
| Orleans County | New York | Uncertain; either to honor the Louis Philippe, Duc d'Orléans, or in reference to the 1815 Battle of New Orleans. |
| Orleans County | Vermont | Uncertain, believed to be named after Orléans, France. |
| Orleans County | Louisiana | Named for Philippe II, Duke of Orléans. |
| Osage County | Kansas | Named for the Osage Nation. |
| Osage County | Missouri | Named for the Osage River. |
| Osage County | Oklahoma | Named for the Osage Nation. |
| Osborne County | Kansas | Named for Captain Vincent B. Osborne, a Civil War soldier in the 2nd Kansas Volunteer Infantry Regiment on the Union side. |
| Osceola County | Florida | Named for the Seminole chief Osceola. |
| Osceola County | Iowa | |
| Osceola County | Michigan | |
| Oscoda County | Michigan | Believed to be a combination of two Ojibwa words, ossin (stone) and muskoda (prairie). |
| Oswego County | New York | Named for the Oswego River, from Mohawk for "small water flowing into that which is large." |
| Otero County | Colorado | Named for Miguel Antonio Otero, a prominent politician from the New Mexico Territory. |
| Otero County | New Mexico | |
| Otoe County | Nebraska | Named for the Otoe people. |
| Otsego County | Michigan | Derived from the Mohawk word that meant either "clear water" or "meeting place." |
| Otsego County | New York | Named for Otsego Lake, from a Mohawk or Oneida word meaning "place of the rock", referring to the large boulder near the lake's outlet, today known as "Council Rock". |
| Ottawa County | Kansas | Named for the native Odawa people. |
| Ottawa County | Michigan | |
| Ottawa County | Ohio | |
| Ottawa County | Oklahoma | |
| Otter Tail County | Minnesota | Named for the Otter Tail River. |
| Ouachita County | Arkansas | Named for the Ouachita River, named in turn for the Ouachita people, from the French transliteration of the Caddo word washita, meaning "good hunting ground." |
| Ouachita County | Louisiana | |
| Ouray County | Colorado | Named for Chief Ouray, leader of the Uncompahgre Ute tribe and a noted statesman. |
| Outagamie County | Wisconsin | A French transliteration of Utagami, the Ojibwe term for the Meskwaki (Fox) Indians, meaning "dwellers on the other side of the stream," referring to their historic habitation along the St. Lawrence River |
| Overton County | Tennessee | Named for John Overton, judge, planter, politician and banker. |
| Owen County | Indiana | Named for Abraham Owen, soldier, surveyor and politician. |
| Owen County | Kentucky | |
| Owsley County | Kentucky | Named for William Owsley, 16th Governor of Kentucky. |
| Owyhee County | Idaho | Named for some Native Hawaiian ("Owyhee") trappers who disappeared in the winter of 1819–20. |
| Oxford County | Maine | Possibly named for Oxford, Massachusetts. |
| Ozark County | Missouri | Named for the Ozarks (from the French abbreviation aux Arcs, aux Arkansas, "of/at Arkansas"). |
| Ozaukee County | Wisconsin | From Ozaagii, the Ojibwe name for the Sauk people. |
P
editQ
edit| County name | State | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Quay County | New Mexico | Named for Pennsylvania senator Matthew Quay, who supported New Mexican statehood.[9] |
| Queen Anne's County | Maryland | Named for Anne, Queen of Great Britain, who reigned when the county was established in 1706. |
| Queens County | New York | Named for the then-queen consort, Catherine of Braganza, the Catholic wife of Charles II. |
| Quitman County | Georgia | Named after General John A. Quitman, leader in the Mexican War, and two-time Governor of Mississippi. |
| Quitman County | Mississippi |
R
editSee also
edit- Lists of U.S. county name etymologies for links to the remainder of the list.
References
edit- ^ "Nance County". Archived 2008-08-19 at the Wayback Machine Nebraska Association of County Officials. Archived 2010-06-05 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2010-05-25.
- ^ Huden, John C. (1962). Indian Place Names of New England. New York: Museum of the American Indian. Cited in: Bright, William (2004). Native American Place Names in the United States. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, pg. 312
- ^ a b Byington, Cyrus (1909). Choctaw Language Dictionary. Global Bible Society.
- ^ Kansas Place-Names, John Rydjord, University of Oklahoma Press, 1972, ISBN 0-8061-0994-7
- ^ "Nevada County History". US Gen Web Project in California. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
- ^ Retrieved 2010-05-25 Archived 2009-02-06 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Nuckolls County". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-05-25. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
- ^ "History of Ocean County". Ocean County Cultural and Heritage Commission. Archived from the original on 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
- ^ Historical Sidebar: New Mexico Counties Archived 2008-07-04 at the Wayback Machine, Viva New Mexico!, c. 1996. Accessed 2008-05-01.