List of Pennsylvania county name etymologies
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of Pennsylvania county name etymologies:
- Adams County, Pennsylvania: Adams is named for U.S. President John Adams.
- Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: Allegheny is named for the Allegheny River.
- Armstrong County, Pennsylvania: Armstrong is named for American Revolutionary War general and Continental Congressman John Armstrong.
- Beaver County, Pennsylvania: Beaver is named for the Beaver River.
- Bedford County, Pennsylvania: Bedford is named for Fort Bedford, which was named in turn for the Duke of Bedford.
- Berks County, Pennsylvania: Berks is named for the English county of Berkshire.
- Blair County, Pennsylvania: Blair is named for local leader John Blair.
- Bradford County, Pennsylvania: Bradford is named for U.S. Attorney General William Bradford.
- Bucks County, Pennsylvania: Bucks is named for the English county of Buckinghamshire.
- Butler County, Pennsylvania: Butler is named for American Revolutionary War general Richard Butler, who was killed at the Battle of Fallen Timbers.
- Cambria County: Cambria is so named because it was originally Cambria Township of Somerset County. Cambria is an ancient name for Wales.
- Cameron County, Pennsylvania: Cameron is named for U.S. Senator Simon Cameron.
- Carbon County, Pennsylvania: Carbon is named for the coal deposits found within its borders.
- Centre County, Pennsylvania: Centre is named for its location in the center of the state of Pennsylvania.
- Chester County, Pennsylvania: Chester is named for the English county of Cheshire, or Chester-shire.
- Clarion County, Pennsylvania: Clarion is named for the Clarion River.
- Clearfield County, Pennsylvania: Clearfield is named for the many clearings that were once within the county's forests.
- Clinton County: Clinton was probably named for DeWitt Clinton, a Governor of New York who agitated for the construction of the Erie Canal.
- Columbia County, Pennsylvania: Columbia is named for the mythic Columbia.
- Crawford County, Pennsylvania: Crawford is named for Colonel William Crawford, a soldier of the American Revolutionary War.
- Cumberland County, Pennsylvania: Cumberland is named for the English county of Cumberland.
- Dauphin County, Pennsylvania: Dauphin is named for the Dauphin, the title traditionally given to the oldest son of the King of France.
- Delaware County, Pennsylvania: Delaware is named for the Delaware River.
- Elk County, Pennsylvania: Elk is named for the elk once common to the area.
- Erie County, Pennsylvania: Erie is named for its location on Lake Erie.
- Fayette County, Pennsylvania: Fayette is named in honor of the Marquis de la Fayette.
- Forest County, Pennsylvania: Forest is named for the woodland within the county.
- Franklin County, Pennsylvania: Franklin is named for Founding Father Benjamin Franklin.
- Fulton County, Pennsylvania: Fulton is named for steamboat inventor Robert Fulton.
- Greene County, Pennsylvania: Greene is named for U.S. general Nathanael Greene.
- Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania: Huntingdon is named for Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.
- Indiana County, Pennsylvania: Indiana is probably named for Indiana Territory.
- Jefferson County, Pennsylvania: Jefferson is named for U.S. President Thomas Jefferson.
- Juniata County: Juniata is named after the Juniata River; Juniata is a Native American word which translated as people of the standing stone.
- Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania: Lackawanna is named for the Lackawanna River. Lackawanna is a Native American name meaning stream that forks.
- Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: Lancaster is named for the English county of Lancaster.
- Lawrence County, Pennsylvania: Lawrence is named for the USS Brig Lawrence, Oliver Hazard Perry's first flagship, which was in turn named for naval hero James Lawrence.
- Lebanon County, Pennsylvania: Lebanon is named for a Lebanon Township; Lebanon is a Biblical term meaning White Mountain.
- Lehigh County, Pennsylvania: Lehigh is named for the Lehigh River.
- Luzerne County, Pennsylvania: Luzerne is named for the French ambassador to the U.S. in 1786, Chevalier de la Luzerne.
- Lycoming County, Pennsylvania: Lycoming is named for Lycoming Creek. Lycoming was a Delaware word meaning sandy or gravelly creek.
- McKean County, Pennsylvania: McKean is named for Governor of Pennsylvania Thomas McKean.
- Mercer County, Pennsylvania: Mercer is named for American Revolutionary War general Hugh Mercer.
- Mifflin County, Pennsylvania: Mifflin is named for Governor of Pennsylvania Thomas Mifflin.
- Monroe County, Pennsylvania: Monroe is named for U.S. President James Monroe.
- Montgomery County, Pennsylvania: Montgomery is named for either U.S. general Richard Montgomery, two state legislators with the last named Montgomery who worked for its establishment, or for Montgomeryshire in Wales.
- Montour County, Pennsylvania: Montour is named for Madame Montour, a French-Indian woman involved in Native American affairs.
- Northampton County, Pennsylvania: Northampton is named for Northamptonshire in England, the home of the Earl of Pomfret, father-in-law to Thomas Penn.
- Northumberland County, Pennsylvania: Northumberland was probably named for the English county of Northumberland.
- Perry County, Pennsylvania: Perry is named for naval commander Oliver Hazard Perry.
- Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia was created by William Penn and named after a city called Philadelphus, meaning city of brotherly love, located in Asia Minor.
- Pike County, Pennsylvania: Pike is named for explorer Zebulon Pike.
- Potter County, Pennsylvania: Potter is named for French and Indian Wars and American Revolutionary War general James Potter.
- Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania: Schuylkill is named for the Schuylkill River; Schuylkill is Dutch for hidden stream.
- Snyder County, Pennsylvania: Snyder is named for Governor of Pennsylvania Simon Snyder.
- Somerset County, Pennsylvania: Somerset is named for the English county of Somerset.
- Sullivan County, Pennsylvania: Sullivan is named for Pennsylvania state legislator Charles C. Sullivan.
- Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania: Susquehanna is named for the Susquehanna River.
- Tioga County, Pennsylvania: Tioga is named for the Tioga River; Tioga is a Native American word meaning the forks of a stream.
- Union County, Pennsylvania: Union is named for the Union which was threatened by the American Civil War.
- Venango County: Venango's name is taken from the Native American name for French Creek.
- Warren County, Pennsylvania: Warren is named for Joseph Warren, likely the first military officer to die for the Continentals in the American Revolutionary War.
- Washington County, Pennsylvania: Washington is named for U.S. President George Washington.
- Wayne County, Pennsylvania: Wayne is named for Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne.
- Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania: Westmoreland is named for the English county of Westmorland.
- Wyoming County, Pennsylvania: Wyoming is a Delaware word meaning meadows.
- York County, Pennsylvania: York is named the Duke of York or for the city and shire of York in England.
