The Most Interesting County Name In Every US State

I'm what you may call a geography nerd. I collected maps my college library was getting rid of, I'd look up counties as we drove through them, and I asked my mom where the county I grew up in got its name when I was like seven (she didn't know but I'm fairly certain its some white manifest destiny guy).

I've been listening to a lot of true crime podcasts lately (as usual) and I've come across some truly interesting and weird county names. So, I figured, I'd find the county with the most interesting or weirdest name (in my opinion) and find out where it came from.

Before I get started, I know many of these are named after people and I mean no true disrespect. I just find it interesting how our counties got their names and how interesting they can sound sometimes. Honestly, it would be pretty badass to live in a county with a weird name.

Also, I do not just take into account the name, but the origin of the name. Some counties may have normal seeming names with a wacky backstory, so the origins and history behind the names are also considered.

Okay, let's start and go alphabetically.

Alabama: Bibb County

Located almost in the dead center of Alabama, Bibb County stands out because it just immediately made me think of a baby bib. The county is name in honor of the governor of the Alabama Territory and eventually the first governor of the state of Alabama, William W. Bibb.

Alaska: Unorganized Borough

Alaska is an interesting case because it doesn't have counties, but instead boroughs. Most of the boroughs are named after familiar city names. However, Unorganized Borough encompasses all the portions of Alaska not officially within a borough. Technically, it encompasses the majority of the state and is bigger than several states. Now, before you go check on Wikipedia, this is not technically a borough. However, it is a legal entity and since Alaska doesn't have any true counties, I'm counting it.

Arizona: Pinal County

Arizona, surprisingly, only has 15 counties. Therefore, this one was hard to choose, but I chose Pinal since pronounced incorrectly could be quite interesting and cause some laughter. The origin of the name is from Pinal Peak which actually no longer sits officially in Pinal County, but instead in neighboring Gila County. Now, the exact origin of "pinal" is not completely known, but most seem to believe it comes from a Spanish word meaning "place of pines."

Arkansas: Saline County

If it had not been for this county, Craighead County would've been the winter. However, this county name is not a last name and does not come from another language. It literally refers to salt because of salt reserves found within the county. It's actually a county named after salt and I kinda love it.

California: Yolo County

Modern slang has corrupted this county name that originally comes from the Yolan people who are a Native American tribe in the area. Overall, California's counties were pretty normal and named after large cities within them or Spanish terms. This one only causes a chuckle due to the connotations of "Yolo."

Colorado: Bent County

This one is ironic because the county is probably the most square-shaped county in Colorado. However, like many counties, Bent County was not named for the adjective, but rather for a prominent trader.

Connecticut: Tolland County

Connecticut has pretty straightforward county names. While I considered Middlesex County for this prize, it felt juvenile, especially since as someone who has watched much BBC, I know it has roots in England. Tolland County was more obscure. It also has English roots with it's namesake being a town in Somerset.

Delaware: None

Listen, I truly wanted to assign Delaware a weird county name prize. However, it has three counties with fairly good names with obvious origins. So, it felt disingenuous to pretend one stood out from the others.

Florida: Hardee County

People familiar with Florida counties are likely squinting at the screen and questioning if I am serious. Yes, yes, I am. This may seem like a fairly normal county name and in most cases, it would be. However, it just reminds me of the fast food restaurant Hardee's and I couldn't help but wonder if the name derived from the same source. To my disappointment, it does not, it comes from a former Florida governor who was in office when the county was created.

Georgia: Butts County

With the most counties of any state in the United States, Georgia had plenty of counties to choose from. Here are a few others that didn't make the cut, but were in the running: Bacon County, Coffee County, Crisp County, Oglethorpe County, and Quitman County. Ultimately, I decided to be childish this time and went with Butts County. This small county in North Central Georgia gets its name from Captain Samuel Butts, a hero from the Creek War.

Hawaii: Hawaii County

Like with Delaware, Hawaii has only a few counties and the names all obviously come from Hawaiian languages and the islands themselves or communities on them. I did choose Hawaii County though because I feel like it could've been slightly more original considering the island and state that encompass the county also carry the name. Perhaps, Hilo County?

Idaho: Oneida County

I will admit this wasn't my first choice. However, the origin of this name is astounding to me (and it is not the only county in Idaho where this occured). Oneida County gets its name from a lake in New York State where many settlers originally came from. Teton County carries a similar origin because it was randomly named after the Teton Mountain range in Wyoming.

Illinois: Jo Daviess County

In my research for this article, I have come across hundreds of counties that take the last name of someone. Jo Daviess County takes both a shortened form of the first name and the last name. The name itself comes from Joseph Daviess who was a commander at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Why they chose to give this county a first and last name, I could not find.

Indiana: Miami County

I chose Miami County because this confused me for years because of the better known Florida city. The name actually comes from a Native American tribe from the area. When I looked into the origin of Miami, Florida, it also has Native American origins, but not the Miami tribe from Indiana. This revelation ultimately made Miami County one of the weirdest county names of Indiana.

Iowa: Louisa County

On the surface, this county name seems quite pleasant. Yet, it is the disputed origin and story behind this county that makes it the weirdest name. There are two possible origins of the name of Louisa County. First, it may be named after Louisa County, Virginia. Secondly, and much more interestingly is that it may be named for Louisa Massey who avenged her brother's murder by shooting his murderer herself.

Kansas: Bourbon County

Kansas has fairly straightforward names. The majority of their county names fall into neat categories: war heroes/abolitionists, Native American tribes, rivers, and founding fathers. Like a couple of other counties on this list, Bourbon County earned its name due to migration. It is named after Bourbon County, Kentucky where many of the first white settlers in the area were from.

Kentucky: Union County

Let me explain myself. I fully intended to choose Jessamine County cause it sounds fun and probably gets rampantly mispronounced. That was before I came across Union County. Now, Union County is a perfectly normal county name. However, in the explanation of how the county got its name, it said something along the lines of "the residents of the county came together and decided to make a county." I found NOTHING else on this. I want to know more about the politics of this 1811 decision in Kentucky.

Louisiana: Ascension Parish & Assumption Parish

These two--while two separate counties--go together and you will soon see why. So, first, yes, Louisiana calls counties "parishes" because states can call them and denote their governance any way they want. I also assume this might have to do with initial missionaries and potential French influence.

Now, the two counties in question, are both named after religious references pertaining to the Catholic Church, specifically. Both are part of the original parishes and thus were named a long time ago. I think it safe to say these regions historically had Catholic majorities and influence.

Maine: Aroostook County

I'm hesitant to call this one "weird" as I really like the origin. However, I do wonder how accurate this word is. Aroostook comes from a Mi'kmaq word meaning, "beautiful river." Maine actually has a few counties named using Native American languages and I quite like that. Pronounced in English, this one could probably illicit laughter in a classroom. Though, I am sure this word has been corrupted and Anglicized into its current form.

Maryland: Anne Arundel County

The most astounding thing I have discovered in my research for this article is that there are multiple counties in the United States where the first and last name of a person is used. Anyway, she is the daughter of the man who founded the colony of Maryland.

Massachusetts: Barnstable County

This county name feels like it should be somewhere in Iowa instead of bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the first three colonies of Massachusetts (which makes sense considering its location) and is named after Barnstaple, England.

Michigan: Ionia County

If I could choose the name of the county I live in, it would absolutely be Ionia County. It comes from a province in Ancient Greece which is now part of Western Turkey. I am a big Ancient Greece fan, so this might be one of my favorite county names in all of the US.

A few more interesting things I came across looking through Michigan counties: there are several that share their name with counties in Ireland (Roscommon, Clare, Antrim) and there appears to be much more French influence in early Michigan than I realized. Finally, pretty much all of the names derived from Native American languages were created by Henry Schoolcraft who combined phonemes from Native languages and other languages such as Latin. He liked to create new words. This is all well and good if you're writing a fantasy novel, but unfortunately, it led to previous county names of six counties named after Native American chiefs to be lost to history and erased.

Minnesota: Otter Tail County

Like many of Minnesota's counties, this county is named after a lake. I could not find the origin of the name of the lake itself. Even though the origin is unknown, this is definitely a county name that will illicit a small smile and head tilt from those who hear it for the first time. A few runner-ups: Lac qui Parle County and Blue Earth County.

Mississippi: Noxubee County

The reason this is the weirdest county name is that it is derived from the Choctaw word for "stinking water" or "to stink." This--since I was able to easily find this information--means that this was recorded and known to be the origin. Yet, this was STILL the Choctaw word used to name the county. My guess is that the area earned its name due to swamps or similar stinky bodies of water in the area.

Missouri: Gasconade County

The county itself is named after the Gasconade River. However, the word "gasconade" is believed to be derived from the French word "gascon" which essentially refers to someone who brags excessively. It may be a satirical name given to the river because of people who brag about their adventures in the West after returning to St. Louis.

Montana: Golden Valley County

Montana surprisingly has quite a few county names that have interesting or weird origins/names. With counties such as Bighorn County, Petroleum County, and Musselshell County, you may be wondering why I've chosen what seems like a fairly normal county name. The answer has to do with the supposed origin of the name. The name "Golden Valley" was likely a marketing ploy to try and get settlers to come to the area. Though, I'm not sure it worked considering now the county is the third least populous in the state.

Nebraska: Scotts Bluff County

Determining the county I was going to pick for Nebraska came down to two: Scotts Bluff County and Box Butte County. I chose Scotts Bluff due to a story associated with the name. The name Scotts Bluff comes from a bluff that served as a landmark for pioneers on the Oregon Trail. Today, it is a National Monument. The bluff got its name from Hiram Scott, a fur trapper who died at the foot of the bluff. The exact circumstances of his death are unknown, but it is widely believed he contracted some sort of illness and was abandoned by his travel companions.

Nevada: Esmeralda County

Despite being a fairly large state, Nevada only has a handful of counties. I would actually go as far to say that Nevada has some of the best county names in the country. Not overly common and overused, but not unpronounceable. Out of the options, Esmeralda County probably wouldn't stand out as much as for example Storey County or Washoe County. I chose Esmeralda County--Esmeralda being the Spanish and Portuguese word for "emerald"--because it was named after a legend that says a large amount of emeralds were buried in the county.

Another origin story is that a miner in the area named the "Esmeralda Mining District" after the character from The Hunckback of Notre Dame and thus the county got its name. The county is also the least populous in Nevada with under 1,000 residents.

New Hampshire: Coös County

Once again, with few counties to choose from, this one was chosen purely because it is the only county name so far with umlauts. The name comes from a Native American word for "small pines." Considering this county is sparsely populated and the forestry industry is still a major part of the economy. It seems appropriate.

New Jersey: Ocean County

Like many of the states that were part of the original thirteen colonies, most of the county names in New Jersey are unremarkable in their origin and come from various places in Britain (Sussex, Middlesex, Monmouth, etc.) I chose Ocean County because of the sheer lack of creativity in naming this county. It--obviously enough--borders the Atlantic Ocean from which it takes its name.

New Mexico: Cibola County

This western New Mexico County is named for seven mythical cities of gold that led conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado on an expedition north from present-day Mexico and up through much of Arizona and New Mexico. There was a specific city and settlement he was looking for and reached, but he never found the grand cities of wealth he was looking for.

New York: Chautauqua County

While another county in New York translates from a local Native American language as "bad smelling banks" I found this one more tragic and worth bringing attention to. The word "chautauqua" was a loan word from the Erie people who inhabited the area in Ohio, Pennslyvania, and New York around Lake Erie.

Unfortunately, the word is completely untranslatable now because the tribe essentially became extinct with much of the population assimilating and dispersing into other nearby tribes. The reason for this is because the Iroquois people declared war on them. The Erie people had few firearms and eventually surrendered.

The Erie people had few direct encounters with the new European settlers who mainly kept to the Eastern side of the state at that time. The word from which the county took this name somehow survived, but anyone who could translate it is long gone.

North Carolina: Dare County

A personal favorite of mine, this county was named after Virginia Dare, the first child born to English parents in the United States. She would eventually go missing with the rest of the colony of Roanoke, an enduring mystery in the Virginia and North Carolina areas.

North Dakota: Golden Valley County

First off, North Dakota has a couple interesting origin stories such as a county that is named for the father-in-law of a congressman and one simple named Divide County because it was divided out of another county. I chose Golden Valley County because either of the origins is interesting. It could have been a marketing ploy like some other Western states pulled to attract settlers. It also may have been named after the Golden Valley Land & Cattle Company which I can only assume must have been very influential if it's the possible origin for a county name.

As I am editing this article, I notice this is the same as the Montana county I chose. Still, I find both of them interesting, especially since they may have completely independent origins.

Ohio: Pickaway County

This is a county name based on a misspelling of the Native American Piqua tribe. The worst part is that Piqua was already a romanization of the Native American term considering they likely did not use Latin characters. Therefore, the people who named the county misspelled their own spelling for the people whose land they are taking over and claiming as their own.

Oklahoma: Nowata County

I chose this one for the pure agony one of the theories behind the origin of this name caused me. The first theory is that railroad surveyors designated the area "noweta" using Delaware word for "welcome." The second theory is that there was a sign posted referring to the local springs having no water or "no wata."

The second theory sounds like something my grandpa would've told me to pull my leg when I was seven. I refuse to believe this is the true story, especially when the first one makes sense. I did a bit of research and from what I can find, "water" was never correctly "wata." Of course, it may have been misspelled, but I truly believe this is more of a legend than the true origin.

Oregon: Malheur County

This county gained its name from the Malheur River which was originally named "Riviere au Malheur" which translates to "Unfortunate River." It was named by French trappers who came to the area and had their furs and other items stolen from their camp.

Pennslyvania: Montour County

There are not many counties named after women. However, not only is this a county named after a woman, but a woman of color. Madame Montour (her first name is highly debated and not fully known) was born to a French Candian father and an Algonquin mother. She served as an interpreter between colonists and Native Americans. Her diplomacy was well known and respected and her son and other descendants also took on similar positions.

Rhode Island: Providence County

Providence County is the only county in Rhode Island that does not have a name derived from another British place. Instead, this name was chosen to reflect the founder's religious values.

South Carolina: Edgefield County

The origin of this county name--like many others on this list--is disputed. My favorite possible origin is that it sits at the "edge" of the state. Though, it could also come from a town in England with the same name which is probably more likely but not as much fun.

South Dakota: Bon Homme County

The name of this county translates to "good man" in French. South Dakota also has a few county names derived from monarchs who are outside of Britain and France where the majority of monarch derived county names come from. For example, Haakon County comes from King Haakon of Norway. An honorable mention goes to Aurora County named after the goddess of dawn.

Tennessee: Carter County

Named after Landon Carter, speaker of "the Lost State of Franklin." The state of Franklin was a proposed state made up of what is now the Northeastern tip of Tennessee that borders North Carolina. North Carolina ceded this land to Congress to pay back debts from the Revolutionary War. This area was at one point poised to become the fourteenth state after the original thirteen colonies.

When it was never made a state, a small succession movement occurred where it formally succeeded from North Carolina. However, after a few years, North Carolina eventually took control of the area again.

Texas: Deaf Smith County

Yeah, this one wouldn't hold up today. However, this county was named for a scout during the Texan Revolution named Erastus "Deaf" Smith. He earned his nickname after suffering hearing loss in childhood. Also, his nickname was pronounced, "Deef." The county name is pronounced as the word "deaf." I would argue pronouncing it as he did would not only be kinder, but better for the legacy he left.

Utah: Cache County

The small county in Northern Utah got its name from the cache of furs made by the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. I like that this is not an obvious origin or county name.

Vermont: Lamoille County

Originally named "La Mouette" which means "seagull" in French, the name was mistranscribed and corrupted several times until it came to its final and current spelling.

Virginia: Fluvanna County

The Latin name of this county translates to "Annie's or Anne's River" in honor of Queen Anne. This was also the original name of the James River in the region.

Washington: Whitman County

As a Washingtonian, this one was hard for me. Many of our county names are derived from Native American words and have profound meanings such as Clallam County which is a Klallam word for "brave people" or "strong people," or Whatcom County that is a Nooksack word for "noisy waters."

From someone outside of Washington though, the most interesting origin story would likely come from Whitman County. The Whitmans were missionaries who settled in what is today Walla Walla. Unknowingly, they spread diseases to the local Cayuse people who already held resentment for the new white settlers and missionaries in the area. While the Whitmans cared for sick white and Cayuse children, more Native Americans died of these illnesses, including nearly all the children.

Today, we know this likely occurred not from lack of care or malice, but because the Native American people and children did not have the same immunity to Eurasian originating diseases. Thus, the death rates were higher among their populations. Now, this was somewhat known at the time because throughout America's early history white settlers have knowingly spread diseases to Native Americans as a form of biological warfare and terrorism. However, there is no evidence the Whitmans or anyone in their settlement spread the measles which would prove deadly to the Native populations.

After this measles outbreak, the Whitmans and several other white settlers were massacred. This is now known as the Whitman massacre. With this said, the measles outbreak was not the only reason for this massacre. Colonialism, racism, discrimination, and cultural differences all contributed. There is also a theory that Catholic priests--who were rival missionaries against the Methodist Whitmans--had helped incite the Cayuse people into attacking the Whitman settlement. This has never been conclusively proven.

West Virginia: Pocahontas County

Named after the famous Powhatan Native American enslaved by early white settlers. I personally am conflicted about this name. On one hand, it could be a way of helping to right a wrong (though it is certainly not enough), or it is further playing into the romanticization of her tragic and awful story.

Wisconsin: Door County

This name may seem like it could come from a last name, but it actually has a secretly dark meaning. The county encompasses the Door Peninsula which was known as "Porte des Morts" by the French, or Door of the Dead. There are several reasons for this name from Native American battles to an abundance of shipwrecks.

Wyoming: Goshen County

Purportedly named after Goshen Hole, a valley within the county. The valley likely got its name from the Land of Goshen, a Biblical paradise.

A note about sources: Most of the information for this article came from hundreds of different Wikipedia articles listing the counties, the pages for the counties themselves, and pages related to the origins. I also did perform some outside research, mainly for linguistics or purposes not pertinent to the article. I have done my best to link the non-county Wikipedia pages and all outside sources.