List of U.S. county name etymologies (E–I)

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This is a list of U.S. county name etymologies, covering the letters E to I.

E

County name State Origin
Eagle County Colorado The Eagle River, which runs through the county.
Early County Georgia Peter Early, Governor of Georgia from 1813 to 1815, Superior Court Judge, and U.S. Congressman.
East Baton Rouge Parish Louisiana Named for the largest city therein and the state capitol, Baton Rouge. The name Baton Rouge is French for "red stick". Records of d'Iberville describe large reddened poles erected by Indians with fish and bear heads attached in sacrifice. These may have designated boundaries at a point separating the hunting grounds of the Bayou Goula and the Houma tribes.
East Carroll Parish Louisiana Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the last surviving signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence
East Feliciana Parish Louisiana Feliciana is Spanish for "Happy Land" and the name is said to have its origin from "Felicite", the wife of Bernardo de Galvez, the governor of Spanish Louisiana.
Eastland County Texas William Mosby Eastland, a soldier during the Texas Revolution and the only officer to die as a result of the Black Bean executions
Eaton County Michigan John Eaton (1790–1856): Secretary of War in the Jackson Administration
Eau Claire County Wisconsin French for "Clearwater", the original name of the main town in the county.
Echols County Georgia Robert Milner Echols, a member of the Georgia General Assembly for 24 years and a Georgia State Senate President, who died serving as a Brigadier General during the Mexican-American War.
Ector County Texas Mathew Ector, a Confederate general in the American Civil War.
Eddy County New Mexico Charles B. Eddy, the first cattleman in the area
Eddy County North Dakota Ezra B. Eddy, a Fargo banker
Edgar County Illinois John Edgar (c. 1750–1832), Illinois delegate to the Northwest Territory legislature; at time, the wealthiest man in Illinois
Edgecombe County North Carolina Richard Edgcumbe, a Member of Parliament who became 1st Baron Edgcumbe in 1742.
Edgefield County South Carolina Probably a fanciful or contrived name
Edmonson County Kentucky John Edmonson (1764–1813), military captain killed at the Battle of River Raisin
Edmunds County South Dakota Governor of Dakota territory Newton Edmunds
Edwards County Illinois Ninian Edwards (1775–1833), third Governor of the State of Illinois and only governor of the Illinois Territory
Edwards County Kansas John H. Edwards
Edwards County Texas Haden Harrison Edwards, an early settler
Effingham County Georgia Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Effingham (1746–1791), who was sympathetic to the independence movement and who refused to take up arms against the revolutionaries
Effingham County Illinois Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Effingham (1746–1791), who was sympathetic to the independence movement and who refused to take up arms against the revolutionaries; or for a local surveyor whose last name was Effingham
El Dorado County California From the mythical El Dorado, The Gilded One, in relation to the county's importance in the California Gold Rush
El Paso County Colorado Ute Pass (known to early Spanish settlers as El Paso or "The Pass"), an important mountain pass through the Front Range.
El Paso County Texas
Elbert County Colorado Samuel Hitt Elbert, the 6th Territorial Governor of Colorado.
Elbert County Colorado Samuel Elbert, a Revolutionary War hero and an early governor of Georgia.
Elk County Kansas The Elk River
Elk County Pennsylvania The Eastern Elk, formerly native to Pennsylvania, but extinct since 1877.
Elkhart County Indiana The Elkhart Native American people.
Elko County Nevada Shoshone Indian word for "white woman"
Elliott County Kentucky John Lisle Elliott or John Milton Elliott (1820–1885), legislators
Ellis County Kansas George Ellis
Ellis County Oklahoma Abraham H. Ellis, member of the Constitutional Convention
Ellis County Texas Richard Ellis, president of the convention that produced the Texas Declaration of Independence.
Ellsworth County Kansas Fort Ellsworth
Elmore County Alabama John Archer Elmore (1762–1834), Revolutionary War veteran.
Elmore County Idaho The Ida Elmore mines, locally noted for gold and silver production in the 1860s
Emanuel County Georgia In honor of David Emanuel, Georgia governor.
Emery County Utah George W. Emery, governor of the Utah Territory
Emmett County Iowa Robert Emmet (1778–1803), Irish nationalist and rebel leader
Emmet County Michigan Robert Emmet (1778–1803), Irish nationalist and rebel leader
Emmons County North Dakota James Emmons, a steamboat operator and early Bismarck merchant and entrepreneur.
City of Emporia Virginia
Erath County Texas George Bernard Erath, an early surveyor and a soldier at the Battle of San Jacinto.
Erie County New York
Erie County Ohio
Erie County Pennsylvania
Escambia County Alabama Escambia Creek, a tributary of the Conecuh River
Escambia County Florida Unknown; most likely taken from a Native American word
Esmeralda County Nevada An early Nevada miner, J. M. Corey, named the Esmeralda Mining District after the gypsy dancer, Esmeralda, from Victor Hugo's novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Esmeralda is Spanish for "emerald"
Essex County Massachusetts The English county of Essex
Essex County New Jersey The English county of Essex
Essex County New York The English county of Essex
Essex County Vermont The English county of Essex, or Essex County, New York
Essex County Virginia The English county of Essex
Estill County Kentucky James Estill (1750–1782), military captain killed at the Battle of Little Mountain
Etowah County Alabama The Etowah Indian Mounds
Eureka County Nevada From the Greek word that means "I have found it"
Evangeline Parish Louisiana Acadian heroine of the poem "Evangeline" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Evans County Georgia Confederate General Clement A. Evans, who led the last charge of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox.

F

G

H

I

County name State Origin
Iberia Parish Louisiana Named for the Iberian Peninsula.
Iberville Parish Louisiana Named for Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, who founded the French colony of Louisiana.
Ida County Iowa Probably named after Ida Smith, the first child of European immigrants to be born in this region.
Idaho County Idaho Named for a steamer called Idaho that was launched on the Columbia River in 1860.
Imperial County California Named for the Imperial Land Company, a subsidiary of the California Development Company.
Independence County Arkansas Named to honor the Declaration of Independence.
Indian River County Florida Named for the Indian River Lagoon.
Indiana County Pennsylvania Probably named for the Indiana Territory.
Ingham County Michigan Named for Samuel D. Ingham, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under President Andrew Jackson.
Inyo County California The meaning of the word inyo is "dwelling place of the great spirit" in the Mono language.
Ionia County Michigan Named after Ionia, an ancient region on the west coast of Asia Minor, in present-day Turkey.
Iosco County Michigan Pseudo-Native American name created by Henry Schoolcraft, meaning "water of light".
Iowa County Iowa Named for the Iowa River, which flows through the county.[4]
Iowa County Wisconsin Named for the Iowa Indian tribe
Iredell County North Carolina James Iredell, one of the first Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. He became governor of North Carolina.
Irion County Texas Named for Robert Anderson Irion, a secretary of state of the Republic of Texas.
Iron County Michigan For the abundance of iron ore found in the county
Iron County Missouri For the abundance of iron ore found in the county
Iron County Utah Named for the iron mines west of Cedar City.
Iron County Wisconsin For the abundant iron ore deposits
Iroquois County Illinois Named for the Iroquois people.
Irwin County Georgia Jared Irwin (1751–1818), governor who rescinded the Yazoo Act in 1796
Isabella County Michigan Named after Queen Isabella I of Castile.[5]
Isanti County Minnesota Named for the Santee Sioux (Izatys) people, meaning "[those that] dwell at Knife Lake"
Island County Washington The name reflects the fact that the county consists of two large islands, Whidbey and Camano, and seven smaller islands (Baby, Ben Ure, Deception, Kalamut, Minor, Smith, and Strawberry).
Isle of Wight County Virginia After the island off the south coast of England of the same name.
Issaquena County Mississippi Native American word which means Deer River.
Itasca County Minnesota Named for Lake Itasca, source of the Mississippi River; the name was coined by Henry Schoolcraft from a combination of the Latin words veritas ("truth") and caput ("head")
Itawamba County Mississippi Named for the Chickasaw leader Levi Colbert, who was also known as Itawamba.
Izard County Arkansas Named for War of 1812 General and Arkansas Territorial Governor George Izard.

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ http://www.hoke-raeford.com/his.htm History of Hoke County
  4. ↑ History of Iowa County, Iowa Accessed 2010-05-25
  5. ↑ Isabella County History and Information, Genealogy Inc., accessed 2010-05-25
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