List of Tennessee county name etymologies
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of Tennessee county name etymologies:
- Anderson County: Anderson is named in honor of U.S. Senator Joseph Anderson.
- Bedford County: Bedford is named for American Revolutionary War officer Thomas Bedford, Jr.
- Benton County: Benton is named for early settler David Benton.
- Bledsoe County: Bledsoe is named for early settler Anthony Bledsoe.
- Blount County: Blount is named for U.S. Senator William Blount.
- Bradley County: Bradley is named for Tennessee state legislator Edward Bradley.
- Campbell County: Campbell is named for Virginia House of Burgesses representative Authur Campbell.
- Cannon County: Cannon is named for Governor of Tennessee Newton Cannon.
- Carroll County: Carroll is named for Governor of Tennessee William Carroll.
- Carter County: Carter is named for the Speaker of the State of Franklin senate Landon Carter.
- Cheatham County: Cheatham is named for Tennessee state legislator Edward Cheatham.
- Chester County: Chester is named for Tennessee state legislator Robert I. Chester.
- Claiborne County: Claiborne is named for Governor of Louisiana and Governor of Mississippi Territory William C.C. Claiborne.
- Clay County: Clay is named for U.S. Speaker of the House Henry Clay.
- Cocke County: Cocke is named for William Cocke, who served in the legislatures of Virginia, North Carolina, the State of Franklin, the Southwest Territory, Tennessee, and Mississippi.
- Coffee County: Coffee is named for frontiersman John Coffee.
- Crockett County: Crockett is named for Davy Crockett, "king of the wild frontier..."
- Cumberland County: Cumberland is named after the Cumberland Mountains.
- Davidson County: Davidson is named for William Lee Davidson, a Brigadier General who died at the Battle of Cowan's Ford during the American Revolutionary War.
- Decatur County: Decatur is named for U.S. naval officer Stephen Decatur.
- DeKalb County: DeKalb is named for Johann DeKalb, a German-born baron who assisted the Continentals during the American Revolutionary War.
- Dickson County: Dickson is named for U.S. Congressman William Dickson.
- Dyer County: Dyer is named for Tennessee state legislator Robert Henry Dyer.
- Fayette County: Fayette is named for the Marquis de la Fayette.
- Fentress County: Fentress is named for Tennessee state legislator James Fentress.
- Franklin County: Franklin is named for Founding Father Benjamin Franklin.
- Gibson County: Gibson is named for John H. Gibson, a soldier of the Natchez Expedition and the Creek Wars.
- Giles County: Giles is named for U.S. Senator and Governor of Virginia William B. Giles.
- Grainger County: Grainger is named for Mary Grainger Blount, wife of William Blount, and "first lady" of the Territory South of the River Ohio, which later became the U.S. state of Tennessee.
- Greene County: Greene is named for American Revolutionary War leader Nathanael Greene.
- Grundy County: Grundy is named after U.S. Attorney General Felix Grundy.
- Hamblen County: Hamblen is named for early settler Hezekiah Hamblen.
- Hamilton County: Hamilton is named after Founding Father Alexander Hamilton.
- Hancock County: Hancock is named after president of the Continental Congress John Hancock.
- Hardeman County: Hardeman is named for Thomas Jones Hardeman, a member of the legislature of the Republic of Texas.
- Hardin County: Hardin is named for Southwest Territory legislator Joseph Hardin.
- Hawkins County: Hawkins is named for U.S. Senator Benjamin Hawkins.
- Haywood County: Haywood is named after Judge John Haywood, called "the father of Tennessee history."
- Henderson County: Henderson is named for James Henderson, an officer of the War of 1812.
- Henry County: Henry is named after Revolutionary-era patriot Patrick Henry.
- Hickman County: Hickman is named for Edwin Hickman, a longhunter killed by Native Americans near the present-day Centerville, Tennessee.
- Houston County: Houston is named for U.S. Senator Sam Houston.
- Humphreys County: Humphreys is named after U.S. Representative Parry Wayne Humphreys.
- Jackson County: Jackson is named after U.S. President Andrew Jackson.
- Jefferson County: Jefferson is named after Founding Father Thomas Jefferson.
- Johnson County: Johnson is named for Thomas Johnson an early settler of Carter County along the Doe River.
- Knox County: Knox is named for Henry Knox, the first U.S. Secretary of War.
- Lake County: Lake is named after Reelfoot Lake.
- Lauderdale County: Lauderdale is named for James Lauderdale, who was killed in the War of 1812.
- Lawrence County: Lawrence is named for U.S. naval officer James Lawrence.
- Lewis County: Lewis is named for explorer Meriwether Lewis.
- Lincoln County: Lincoln is named for U.S. Secretary of War Benjamin Lincoln.
- Loudon County: Loudon is named for the Earl of Loudon who leave Anglo-American forces during the French and Indian War.
- Macon County: Macon is named for U.S. Senator Nathaniel Macon.
- Madison County: Madison is named for U.S. President James Madison.
- Marion County: Marion is named for Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox" of the American Revolutionary War.
- Marshall County: Marshall is named for U.S. Chief Justice John Marshall.
- Maury County: Maury is named for Tennessee state legislator Abram Poindexter Maury.
- McMinn County: McMinn is named for Governor of Tennessee Joseph McMinn.
- McNairy County: McNairy is named for John McNairy, judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Tennessee.
- Meigs County: Meigs is named for Return J. Meigs, Sr., an officer in the Continental Army.
- Monroe County: Monroe is named for U.S. President James Monroe.
- Montgomery County: Montgomery is named for John Montgomery, leader of the Nickajack Expeidtion.
- Moore County: Moore is named for Tennessee state legislator William Moore.
- Morgan County: Morgan is named for American Revolutionary War officer Daniel Morgan.
- Obion County: Obion is named for the Obion River.
- Overton County: Overton is named John Overton, one of the cofounders of Memphis, Tennessee.
- Perry County: Perry is named for U.S. naval officer Oliver Hazard Perry.
- Pickett County: Picket is named for Tennessee state legislator Howell L. Pickett.
- Polk County: Polk is named for U.S. President James K. Polk.
- Putnam County: Putnam is named for American Revolutionary War officer Israel Putnam.
- Rhea County: Rhea is named for U.S. Representative John Rhea.
- Roane County: Roane is named for Governor of Tennessee Archibald Roane.
- Robertson County: Robertson is named for Tennessee state legislator and founder of the Watauga Settlements James Robertson.
- Rutherford County: Rutherford is named for Griffin Rutherford, chairman of the legislature of the Southwest Territory.
- Scott County: Scott is named for U.S. army officer Winfield Scott.
- Sequatchie County: Sequatchie's name is derived from Cherokee word believed to mean, opossum, he grins or runs.
- Sevier County: Sevier is named for John Sevier, governor of the State of Franklin and first Governor of Tennessee.
- Shelby County: Shelby is named for first Governor of Kentucky Isaac Shelby.
- Smith County: Smith is named for American Revolutionary War officer and U.S. Senator Daniel Smith.
- Stewart County: Stewart is named for Tennessee state legislator and lieutenant governor of Mississippi Territory Duncan Stewart.
- Sullivan County: Sullivan is named for Governor of New Hampshire John Sullivan.
- Sumner County: Sumner is named for Jethro Sumner, an American colonist who defended North Carolina against the British in 1780.
- Tipton County: Tipton is named for Jacob Tipton who was killed by Native Americans in a conflict over the Northwest Territory.
- Trousdale County: Trousdale is named for Governor of Tennessee William Trousdale.
- Unicoi County: Unicoi is a Native American word for the southern Appalachian Mountains, probably meaning white or fog-draped.
- Union County: Union is named either for the Union threatened by the American Civil War or for its creation from parts of Grainger, Claiborne, Campbell, Anderson and Knox counties.
- Van Buren County: Van Buren is named for U.S. President Martin Van Buren.
- Warren County: Warren is named for American Revolutionary War officer Joseph Warren.
- Washington County: Washington is named for U.S. President George Washington.
- Wayne County: Wayne is named for "Mad" Anthony Wayne.
- Weakley County: Weakley is named for U.S. Representative Robert Weakley.
- White County: White is named for American Revolutionary War soldier John White, also the first European-American settler of the county.
- Williamson County: Williamson is named for U.S. Representative Hugh Williamson.
- Wilson County: Wilson is named for David Wilson, a member of the legislatures of North Carolina and the Southwest Territory.
[edit] Source
| Lists of county name etymologies in the United States (parishes in Louisiana; boroughs and census areas in Alaska) |
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