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MICHIGAN
Allegan- Shortening of Allegany, from word "Oolikhanna"
meaning "Beautiful Stream".
Cheboygan- From an obscure Indian word probably meaning
"Pipe" or "Funnel".
Chippewa- After the tribe, Means "To Pucker Up",
referring to puckered toe moccasins.
Genesee- Indian word for "Beautiful Valley".
Gogebic- From an Ojibway word, meaning uncertain, but may mean
"Rock".
Huron- After the tribe, from French word "Hure",
referring to stiff bristled hair worn along the top of the head.
Iosco- Indian word for "Shining Water".
Kalamazoo- From the word for "Otter Tail" or "Stones
Like Otters". May also mean "Beautiful Water".
Kalkaska- From the Chippewa word for "Burned Over".
Keeweenaw- From the word for "Canoe Carried Back", or
"Carrying Place".
Lapeer- From the Indian word for flint, translated into French and
contracted.
Leelanau- For a Chippewa maiden, means "Delight of Life".
Lenawee- From the Indian word for "Man".
Mackinac- From the word "Michilimackinac", meaning
"The Island of The Great Turtle".
Manistee- Ojibway word for "Lost River", or
"Vermillion River".
Mecosta- For the Potawatomi chief, means "Bear Cub".
Menominee- After the tribe, means "Wild Rice Eaters".
Missaukee- For an Ottawa chief.
Muskegon- From the Chippewa word for "River With Marshes".
Newaygo- For an Indian chief, meaning unknown.
Ogemaw- From the Chippewa word for "chief".
Ontonagon- From the Indian word for "Lost Dish", or
"Fishing Place".
Osceola- For Ashi Vaholo the Seminole chief, means "Black
Drink Hallower".
Otsego- From the Indian word for "Place of the Rock".
Ottawa- After the tribe, from "Adawe" which means
"To Trade", or "Trader".
Saginaw- Ojibway word for "Sauk Place".
Sanilac- For the Wyandot chief.
Shiawashee- From the Indian word for "The River That Twists
About".
Washtenaw- Chippewa word for "River That is Far Off".
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MINNESOTA
Anoka- From the Dakota word for "On Both Sides of the
River".
Chippewa- After the tribe, means To Pucker Up". Referring
to puckered toe mocasins.
Chisago- From the Indian words "Kichi" for
"Large", and "Saga" for "Fair", dropping the
first syllables.
Crow Wing- From the Chippewa word "Kayauge Weguan".
Dakota- After the tribe, means "Friend" or
"Ally".
Isanti- After the Izatys Indians {Now called Santees}. Means
"Knife" or "One Who Makes Knives".
Kanabec- From the Ojibway word for "Snake".
Kandiyohi- From the Sioux word for "Where the Buffalo-Fish
Came".
Koochiching- From the Cree word for "Rainy River".
Mahnomen- From the Ojibway word for "Wild Rice".
Wabasha- Named for three successive generations of Indian chiefs.
Means "Red Leaf".
Wadena- From the Ojibway word for "Little Round Hill".
Waseca- From the Dakota word for "Rich in Provisions".
Watonwan- From the Dakota word for "Where Fish Abound".
Winona- For a Dakota woman, the cousin of Wabasha. Diminutive
of "Wino" meaning "Woman".
Yellow Medicine- From a translation of a Dakota name, referring to
Yellow Moonseed Root. Used as a medicine.
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MISSISSIPPI
Attala- from the Cherokee word "Otale" for
"Mountain".
Chickasaw- After the tribe, meaning unknown.
Choctaw- After the tribe, refers to having a flattened head.
Coahoma- For Sweet Coahoma, daughter of the last Choctaw in the area.
Copiah- From the Indian word for "Calling Panther".
Issaquena- From the Indian word for "Deer River".
Itawamba- For an Indian chief, meaning uncertain.
Neshoba- From the Choctaw word for "Grey Wolf".
Noxubee- From the Indian word for "Stinking Water".
Oktibbeha- From the Indian word for "Bloody Water" or
"Ice in the Creek".
Pontotoc- For a Chickasaw chief, means "Weed Prairie".
Tallahatchie- From the Indian word for "Rock River".
Tippah- For the wife of a Chickasaw chief, means
"Cut-Off".
Tishomingo- For a Chickasaw chief, means "Warrior Chief".
Tunica- After the Tunica Indians, means "Those Who are the
People".
Yalobusha- From the Indian word for "Tadpole Place".
Yazoo- After the tribe, means "To Blow an
Instrument".
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MISSOURI
Mississippi- From the Algonquin words "Missi" for
"Great" and "Seepee" for "Water".
Nodaway- From the Potawatomi word for "Placid".
Osage- After the Osage Indians. French corruption of "Waz-Hazhe"
for "The People".
Pemiscot- From the Indian word for "Liquid Mud".
MONTANA
Flathead- For the Salish Indians. A name shared by several
tribes, some who flattened their infants' heads, and some who had
naturally flat heads.
Missoula- From the Indian word "In-Mis-Sou-Let-Ka" for
"River of Awe" or "Water of Surprise".
Pondera- After the tribe, phonetic spelling of Pend Orielle, the
French word for "Ear Pendant".
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NEBRASKA
Cheyenne- After the tribe, Dakota word meaning "Red
Talkers".
Dakota- After the tribe.
Keya Paha- From the Indian words for "Turtle" and
"Hill".
Loup- From a French translation of the Pawnee word "Skid"
meaning "Wolf".
Nemaha- After the tribe, means "Muddy Water".
Otoe- After the tribe. from "Whatohtana" for
"Those Who Make Love". Refers to a band who broke off
because of a marriage proposal refused by the brides father. The
couple ran off, and those accompanying them took the name.
Pawnee- After the tribe. Probably from Siouan word "Pani",
refering to Red Bird Feathers, because of their fondness for colorful
feathers.
Sioux- After the tribe.
NEVADA
Elko- From the Indian word for "First White Woman".
Washoe- After the tribe, Originally spelled Wassou or wassuu.
Means "Tall Bunchgrass" or "Eyegrass".
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Coos- From the Indian word "Cohos" for "Pines".
Merrimack- From the Indian word for "Sturgeon" or
"Swift Water".
NEW JERSEY
Passaic- From the Indian word for "Peace" or
"Valley".
NEW YORK
Allegany- From the Indian word "Oolikhanna" meaning
"Beautiful Stream". Or possibly from the Allegewi tribe.
Cattaraugus- From the Seneca word for "Bad Smelling
Banks".
Cayuga- After the tribe.
Chautauqua- From the Seneca word for "Where the Fish Was Taken
Out".
Chemung- After a Delaware Indian village.
Chenango- From the Onondaga word for "Large Bull Thistle".
Erie- After the Erie Indians. From the word meaning "Long
Tail", referring to the wildcat. Known as the Cat Nation.
Genesee- From the Indian word for "Beautiful Valley".
Niagara- From the Indian word for "Bisected Bottom Lands".
Oneida- After the tribe, means "Standing Stone People".
Onondaga- After the tribe, means "On the Top Of".
Ontario- From the Iroquois word for "Beautiful Lake".
Oswego- From the Iroquois word for "Pouring Out of
Waters".
Otsego- From the Indian word for "Place of the Rock".
Saratoga- From the Indian word for "The Side Hill".
Schenectady- From the Mohawk word for "On the Other Side of the
Pine Lands".
Schoharie- From the Mohawk word for "Floating Driftwood".
Seneca- After the tribe, means "The Great Hill People".
Tioga- After the Indian village, means "At the Fork".
Wyoming- After the tribe, means "Upon the Great Plains".
NEW MEXICO
Taos- From either the Indian word "Tuota" for "Red
Willow Place" or "Tuatah" for "At the Village".
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NORTH CAROLINA
Allamance- From the Indian word for "Blue Clay".
Alleghany- From the Indian word "Oolikhanna" meaning
"Beautiful Stream", or possibly for the Allegewi tribe.
Catawba- After the tribe, meaning unknown.
Cherokee- after the tribe, Chickasaw word for "Cave
People".
Chowan- After the tribe, means "They of the South".
Currituck- After the tribe, said to mean "Wild Geese".
Pamlico- After the tribe.
Pasquotank- After the tribe, Probably means "Tidal
Divided River".
Perquimans- After the tribe.
Wautauga- After the tribe.
Yadkin- From the Indian word for "Reatkin".
NORTH DAKOTA
Pembina- From the Chippewa word for "High Cranberry Bush".
Sioux- After the tribe
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OKLAHOMA
Adair- For John Lynch Adair, one of the editors of the Indian
Chieftan.
Atoka- For a Choctaw sub chief.
Caddo- After the tribe, means "Real Chiefs".
Carter- For Benjamin Wisnor Carter, a Cherokee and superintendent of
the Chickasaw Male Academy.
Cherokee- Afetr the tribe, Chickasaw word for "Cave
People".
Choctaw- After the tribe, refers to having a flattened head.
Comanche- After the tribe, possibly from Spanish "Camino Ancho"
for "Broad Trail". refers to their travelling spread out
rather than in single file.
Craig- For Granville Craig, a Cherokee.
Creek- After the tribe, name given by the English because of the
large number of streams in their country.
Delaware- After the tribe.
Garvin- For Samuel Garvin, a Chickasaw leader.
Johnston- For douglas H. Johnston, governor of the Chickasaw nation.
Kiowa- Afetr the tribe, corruption of "KA-I-Gwu" for
"Principle People".
Le Flore- For Greenwood Le Flore, leader of a prominent Choctaw
family.
Love- For a prominent Chickasaw family.
McCurtain- for Green McCurtain, a Choctaw chief.
McIntosh- For D.N. McIntosh, a Creek Indian.
Mayes- For Samuel Houston Mayes, a Cherokee chief.
Muskogee- After the tribe.
Nowata- From the Delaware word for "Welcome".
Okfuskee- For a Creek Indian town located on the Talahoosa River in
Alabama.
Oklahoma- From combined and corrupted Indian words, "Okla"
meaning "People" and "Homma" meaning "Red".
Okmulgee- From the Indian word for "Boiling Water".
Osage- After the Osage Indians, French corruption of "Waz-Hazhe"
for "People".
Ottawa- After the tribe, From "Adawa" meaning "To
Trade" or "Trader".
Pawnee- After the tribe, probably from the Siouan word "Pani"
referring to Red Bird Feathers because of their fondness of colorful
feathers.
Pontotoc- For a Chickasaw chief, means "Weed Prairie".
Pottawatomie- After the Pottawattamie tribe, from the Algonquin word
"Pottawatomink" meaning "People of the Place of Fire".
Pushmataha- For the Choctaw chief Apushmatacha, means "The
Sapling is Ready For Him".
Seminole- After the tribe, means "Runaway" or "Seperate
Ones".
Sequoyah- For the chief who invented the Cherokee alphabet and
published the newspaper The Phoenix.
Tulsa- From the Indian word "Tulwa", name of a Creek town.
Washita- From the French derivation Faux Ouachita for "False
Washita", as opposed to the true Ouachita of Arizona.
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OREGON
Clackamas- after the tribe, meaning unknown.
Clatsop- After the tribe, means "Dried Salmon".
Coos- After the tribe, From "Cohos" for "Pines".
Klamath- After the, tribe meaning unknown.
Multnomah- After the tribe.
Tillamook- After the tribe, originally Killamook. Means
"People of the Nekelim".
Umatilla- After the tribe, meaning unknown.
Wallowa- From the Nez Perce word for "Tripod of Poles Used to
Support Fish Nets".
Wasco- After the tribe, means "Cup or Bowl Made of Horn".
Yamhill- After the tribe, meaning unknown.
PENNSYLVANIA
Allegheny- From the Indian word "Oolikhanna" meaning
"Beautiful Stream", or possibly after the Allegewi tribe.
Delaware- After the tribe.
Erie- After the Erie Indians, from the word for "Long Tail
Cat" referring to the wildcat. Known as the Cat Nation.
Juniata- From the Indian word for "Beyond the Great Bend".
Lackawanna- From the Delaware word "Lechauhanne" for
"The Stream That Forks".
Lehigh- From the Indian word "Lechauwekink" shortened to
"Lecha".
Lycoming- For the Delaware word for "Sandy or Gravel Bed
Creek".
Montour- For Madame Montour, a mixed blood Indian interpreter.
Susquehanna- From the Indian words "Sisku" for
"Mud" and "Hanne" for "River".
Tioga- After an Indian village, means "At the Fork'.
Venango- From the Indian word for "A Figure Carved on a
Tree".
Wyoming- After the tribe, means "Upon the Great Plains".
SOUTH CAROLINA
Cherokee- After the tribe, Chickasaw word for "Cave
People".
Oconee- From the Indian word for "Place of the Springs" or
"Water Eyes of the Hills".
Saluda- From the Indian word for "Corn River".
SOUTH DAKOTA
Brule- For a Sioux band. From the Pawnee word "Sicangu"
meaning "Burned Thighs". Later translated to
"Brule" which means "Burned" in French. The name
came from when the Pawnees set the prairies on fire, burning a Sioux
raiding party.
Fall River- From a literal translation of an Indian name.
Minnehaha- From the Sioux word for "Waterfall Where the Water
Laughs".
Yankton- After the tribe, a corruption of the Sioux word "Ihanktonwan"
for "End Village".
TENNESSEE
Obion- From the Indian word for "Many Prongs".
Sequatchie- from the Indian word for "Hog Trough".
Unicoi- From the Indian word "Unaka" for
"White".
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TEXAS
Cherokee- After the tribe, Chickasaw word for "Cave
People".
Comanche- For the tribe, possibly from Spanish "Camino Ancho"
for "Broad Trail" referring to their travelling spread out
rather than in single file.
Nocogdoches- After the tribe.
Panola- From the Indian word for "Cotton".
Pecos- After the tribe.
Wichita- After the tribe, also known as Ouachita.
UTAH
Juab- From the Indian word "Yoab" for "Thirsty
Plain".
Piute- After the tribe, from "Pai" for "Water"
and "Ute" the tribe's name.
Toole- For Tuilla, an Indian chief.
Uintah- After the Ute tribe, known as "Yugwintats" said to
mean "Pinelands".
Utah- After the tribe. The Apaches and Navajos nicknamed them "Utes"
meaning "The Hill Dwelleres" or "Upper People".
Wasatch- From the Ute word meaning "Mountain Pass".
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VIRGINIA
Accomack- After the tribe, means "Land On the Other Side."
Alleghany- From the Indian word "Oolikhanna" meaning
"Beautiful Stream". Or possibly after the Allegewi tribe.
Appomattox- From the Algonquin word for "Sinuous Tidal
Estuary".
Nottoway- After the tribe, means "Rattlesnake".
Meant in the sense of an untrustworthy enemy.
Powhatan- For the chief of the Powhatan tribe, means "Falls In
a Current of Water".
Rappahannock- After the tribe, means "Alternating River"
(affected by tides).
Roanoke- From the Indian word for "A Shell Used for
Money".
Shenandoah- From the Indian word for "Sprucy Stream".
WASHINGTON
Asotin- From the Indian word for "Eel Creek".
Chelan- From the Indian word for "Deep Water".
Clallam- From the Indian word for "Brave People".
Cowlitz- After the tribe, meaning unknown.
Kitsap- After an Indian chief, means "Brave".
Kittitas- From the Indian word for "Grey Gravel Bank".
Klickitat- After the tribe, means "Robber".
Okanogan- From the Indian word for "Rendezvous".
Pend Oreille- After the tribe, French word for "Ear
Pendant".
Skagit- After the Indian tribe, meaning unknown.
Skamania- From the Indian word for "Swift River"'.
Snohomish- After the Indian tribe, means "Union".
Spokane- From the Indian word for "Chief of the Sun" or
"Child of the Moon".
Wahkiakum- For a Chinook chief, meaning unknown.
Walla Walla- From the Indian word for "Many Waters".
Whatcom- From the Indian word "Whuks-Qua-Toos-Ta-Qua"
meaning "Creek With the Rumbling Noise" or "Noisy
Water".
Yakima- After the Indian tribe, means "Black Bear".
WEST VIRGINIA
Kanawha- After the tribe, has been said to mean
"Hurricane".
Logan- For Chief Logan.
Mingo- After the tribe, from Algonquin "Mingwe" meaning
"Stealthy" or "Treacherous".
Monongalia- From the Indian word "Monongahela" for
"Falling in River Bank".
Ohio- From the Indian word for "Beautiful River".
Pocahontas- For the daughter of Chief Powhatan.
Wyoming- After the tribe, means "Upon the Great Plains".
WISCONSIN
Calumet- From the Indian word for "Pipe".
Chippewa- After the tribe, means "To Pucker Up", referring
to puckered toe moccasins.
Iowa- After the tribe, means "Sleepy Ones" or "Drowsy
Ones".
Kenosha- From the Indian word for "Pickerel".
Kewaunee- From Chippewa word "Prairie Hen/Wild Duck".
Manitowoc- From the Indian word for "Spirit Land".
Marinette- For Marinette Chevalier, a French/Chippewa mixed blood.
Menominee- After the tribe, means "Wild Rice Eaters".
Milwaukee- From the Indian word "Mahn-A-Waukee Seepee" for
"Gathering Place By the River".
Oconto- From the Indian word for "Place of the Pickerel"
or "Red River".
Oneida- After the tribe, means "Standing Stone People".
Outagamie- From the Ojibway word "O-Dug-Am-Eeg" meaning
"Dwellers On the Other Side". What they called the Fox
Tribe.
Ozaukee- For what the Chippewas called the Sauk Indians, means
"People of the Outlet".
Portage- For old Indian portages between the Fox and Wisconsin
rivers.
Sauk- After the tribe, also called Sac.
Shawano- From the Chippewa word for "South".
Sheboygan- From the Indian word for "A Noise
Underground"'.
Waukesha- From the Pottawotami word for "Fox".
Waupaca- From the Indian word for "White Sand Bottom".
Waushara- From the Indian word for "Good Land River".
Winnebago- After the tribe, means "People of Stinking
Water".
WYOMING
Niobrara- After the tribe, from the Omaha-Poca word "Ni-Obthan
Tha-Ko" meaning "Spreading Water River".
Teton- After the tribe, from "Tee-Win-Oh" for "Three
Pinacles".
Uinta- After the tribe, said to mean "Pineland".
Washakie- For a Shoshoni chief who ruled 60 years, means
"Rawhide Rattle".
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The meanings of the
county names were taken from the book : The American Counties, by Joseph
Nathan Kane, and other reference works.
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