County Names

Allen (1820)
Named for Ethan Allen, Revolutionary War hero.

Ashland (1846)
Named for "Ashland," home of Henry Clay near Lexington, KY

Ashtabula (1806)
Named for the Ashtabula River. "Ashtabula" is an American Indian word meaning "Fish River".

Athens (1805)
Site of the first institution of higher learning west of the Allegheny Mountains and named for Athens, Greece.

Auglaize (1848)
Named for the Auglaize River. "Auglaize" is an American Indian word meaning "fallen timbers."

Belmont (1801)
Comes from the French words "belle monte," meaning beautiful mountain. It is descriptive of the high, rugged hills.

Brown (1818)
Named for General Jacob Brown, who defeated the British in the Battle of Lundy's Lane.

Butler (1803)
Named in honor of General Richard Butler, who was killed when forces led by Gen. St. Clair were massacred by Indians.

Carroll (1833)
Named for Charles Carroll, last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Champaign (1805)
Comes from the French word meaning "a plain," and so called because of the level terrain.

Clark (1818)
Named for General George Rogers Clark., who defeated the Indians near Springfield, the county seat.

Clermont (1800)
Comes from the French words meaning "clear mountain."

Clinton (1810)
Named for George Clinton, who was vice president of the United States when it was organized.

Columbiana (1803)
Named for Christopher Columbus and the Santa Anna.

Coshocton (1810)
Is an American Indian word meaning "Black Bear Town."

Crawford (1820)
Named in honor of Colonel William Crawford, who was burned at the stake by the Indians.

Cuyahoga (1810)
Named for the Cuyahoga River. Cuyahoga is an Indian word meaning "crooked."

Darke (1809)
Named for Gen. William Darke, Revolutionary War hero.

Defiance (1845)
Named for Fort Defiance, built by General Anthony Wayne

Delaware (1808)
Named after the Delaware Indians.

Erie (1838)
Named for the Erie Indians who at one time inhabited the region.

Fairfield (1800)
Was given this name because of the terrain of the county.

Fayette (1810)
Was named in honor of Gen. La Fayette

Franklin (1803)
Named for Benjamin Franklin

Fulton (1850)
Was named for the inventor of the steamboat, Robert Fulton.

Gallia (1803)
Was settled by the French and go its name from Gaul, the early name of what is now France.

Geauga (1805)
Geauga is the native word for racoon.

Greene (1803)
Named for General Nathaniel Greene, Revolutionary War hero.

Guernsey (1810)
Named for the Isle of Guernsey by early settlers who came from there.

Hamilton (1790)
Named for Alexander Hamilton, who was Secretary of the Treasury when the county was organized.

Hancock (1820)
Named for John Hancock, signer of the Declaration of Independence and president of the Continental Congress.

Hardin (1820)
Named for General John Hardin, an officer in the Revolutionary War, who was killed there by Indians while on a peace mission.

Harrison (1813)
Named in honor of General William Henry Harrison, hero of the War of 1812.

Henry (1820)
Named for Patrick Henry, statesman of the Revolutionary War period.

Highland (1805)
Gets its name from the county's terrain.

Hocking (1818)
Is a short form of Hockhocking, meaning bottle river, a name given by American Indians to the river which flows through the county.

Holmes (1824)
Named for Major Holmes, who was killed while attacking the British at Mackinac during the War of 1812.

Huron (1809)
Named for the Huron Indians who lived in that region.

Jackson (1816)
Named for General Andrew Jackson, who won a great victory over the British at New Orleans the year before the county was organized.

Jefferson (1797)
Named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, who was president when the county was formed.

Knox (1808)
Named for General Henry Knox, Secretary of War under President George Washington.

Lake (1840)
Named Lake because of its location on Lake Erie.

Lawrence (1815)
Named for Captain James Lawrence, a U.S. Naval hero.

Licking (1808)
Got its name from the early salt licks in the county.

Logan (1818)
Named for General Benjamin Logan, famous Indian fighter.

Lorain (1829)
Named after the Province of Lorraine, France.

Lucas (1835)
Named for Governor Robert Lucas, who was in office during the Ohio-Michigan boundary dispute. He sent the militia there to support Ohio's claims.

Madison (1810)
Named for President James Madison, who was in office when the county was organized.

Mahoning (1846)
Is an American Indian word meaning "at the licks."

Marion (1820)
Named in honor of General Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox," of Revolutionary War fame.

Medina (1812)
Named for Medina in Arabia, the town to which Mohammed fled from Mecca.

Meigs (1819)
Named for a two-term governor from neighboring Washington county, Return Jonathan Meigs (1810-1814). He was Postmaster General when the county was organized.

Mercer (1820)
Named for General Hugh Mercer who was killed during the Battle of Princeton in 1777.

Miami (1807)
Is the name of an early American Indian tribe.

Monroe (1813)
Named for James Monroe, fifth President of the United States, who was a candidate for this office at the time the county was organized.

Montgomery (1803)
Named for General Richard Montgomery who lost his life in the attack on Quebec during the Revolutionary War.

Morgan (1817)
Named in honor of General Daniel Morgan of Revolutionary War fame.

Morrow (1848)
Named for Governor Jeremiah Morrow (1822-1826); also a Congressman and U.S. senator. (1813-1819).

Muskingum (1804)
Is an American Indian word meaning "by the side of river."

Noble (1851)
Last county to be organized and named for Warren P. Noble, chairman of the legislative committee on new counties.

Ottawa (1840)
Named for the Ottawa tribe of Indians.

Paulding (1820)
Named for John Paulding, one of the captors of Major John Andre, British spy in the Revolutionary War.

Perry (1818)
Named for Commodore Perry, who defeated the British in the naval Battle of Lake Erie.

Pickaway (1810)
Is a variation in spelling of the Indian word "Piqua."

Pike (1815)
Named in honor of Brig. General Zebulon Montgiomery Pike, who discovered and explored Pike's Peak. He was killed in the War of 1812.

Portage (1807)
Named because of the Indian portage in the area.

Preble (1808)
Named for Captain Edward Preble, naval commander in the Revolutionary War and the War with Tripoli.

Putnam (1820)
Named for General Israel Putnam, who fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill and served in the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War.

Richland (1808)
So called because of its rich soil.

Ross (1798)
Named for James Ross of Pennsylvania, who was a candidate for governor of that state in the year Ross county was formed.

Sandusky (1820)
Sandusky is a derivative of an Indian word meaning "cold water." In Wyandot and Huron languages it is "Sa-un-dos-tee" meaning "water within water pools."

Scioto (1803)
Named for the Scioto River which flows through it. Scioto came from an Indian word, meaning deer.

Seneca (1820)
Named for the Seneca Indians, who had a reservation there at one time.

Shelby (1819)
Named for Isaac Shelby, an officer in the Revolutionary War, who later became the first governor of Kentucky.

Stark (1808)
Named for General John Stark of Revolutionary War fame.

Summit (1840)
Got its name from the fact that it was the highest point on the old Ohio Canal.

Trumbull (1800)
Part of the old Connecticut Western Reserve, was named for Jonathan Trumbull, who was governor of Connecticut when the county was organized.

Tuscarawas (1803)
Got its name from the Tuscarawas River. This is an American Indian name meaning "open mouth."

Union (1820)
So called because parts of four other counties were united to form it.

Van Wert (1820)
Named for Isaac Van Wert, one of the captors of the British spy, Major John Andre.

Vinton (1850)
Named for S. F. Vinton, Whig candidate for governor of Ohio at the time the county was formed.

Warren (1803)
Named for General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Washington (1788)
Ohio's first county, named for George Washington, who was president of the Constitutional Convention when the county was organized.

Wayne (1808)
Named for General Anthony Wayne, a hero of the Revolutionary War and campaigns against the Indians in Ohio.

Williams (1820)
Named for David Williams, one of the captors of Major Andre, a British spy.

Wood (1820)
Named for Captain Wood, the engineer who built Fort Meigs in that county.

Wyandot (1845)
Is named for the Wyandot Indians who lived there.