List of Colorado county name etymologies

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This is a list of Colorado county name etymologies. Colorado counties tend to be named after U.S. and state politicians, geographic and other locations in the counties, Native American tribes and early settlers, with many of the geographic terms resulting from early Spanish exploration of the area.

Adams County, Colorado: Adams is named after Alva Adams, the fifth governor of Colorado.
Alamosa County, Colorado: Alamosa is named from a Spanish word meaning cottonwood grove.
Arapahoe County, Colorado: Arapahoe is named after the Arapaho Native American tribe. Much of eastern Colorado was once part of Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory.
Archuleta County, Colorado: Archuleta is named after Antonio D. Archuleta, a state senator.
Baca County, Colorado: Baca is named after the prominent Baca family of Trinidad, Colorado, a member of which had settled early in the area.
Bent County, Colorado: Bent is named after Bent's Fort which was located on the north bank of the Arkansas River, near present day La Junta, and from the Bent brothers who founded the fort in 1828-1832.
Boulder County, Colorado: Boulder is named from the abundance of boulders in the area.
Broomfield County, Colorado: Broomfield is named after the city of Broomfield, Colorado, which was named from the quantity of broom corn which was grown nearby.
Chaffee County, Colorado: Chaffee is named after Jerome Bunty Chaffee, a United States senator from Colorado.
Cheyenne County, Colorado: Cheyenne is named after the Cheyenne Native American tribe.
Clear Creek County, Colorado: Clear Creek is named after Clear Creek, which runs through the county.
Conejos County, Colorado: Conejos is named from the Spanish word for rabbits, as cottontail rabbits are abundant in the area.
Costilla County, Colorado: Costilla is named after the Costilla River.
Crowley County, Colorado: Crowley is named after John H. Crowley, a state senator.
Custer County, Colorado: Custer is named after George Armstrong Custer, the U.S. Army general famous for his death at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
Delta County, Colorado: Delta is named after Delta, Colorado, located at the Uncompahgre River delta.
Denver County, Colorado: Denver is named after James William Denver, a governor of the Kansas Territory.
Dolores County, Colorado: Dolores is named after the Dolores River, originally Rio de Nuestra Senora de los Dolores, or, in English, "River of our Lady of Sorrows".
Douglas County, Colorado: Douglas is named after Stephen Arnold Douglas, the United States statesman.
Eagle County, Colorado: Eagle is named after the Eagle River.
El Paso County, Colorado: El Paso is named after Ute Pass. El paso is Spanish for "the pass".
Elbert County, Colorado: Elbert is named after Samuel Hitt Elbert, a governor of the Colorado Territory.
Fremont County, Colorado: Fremont is named after John Charles Frémont, the explorer and U.S. Senator.
Garfield County, Colorado: Garfield is named after James Abram Garfield, the twentieth president of the United States.
Gilpin County, Colorado: Gilpin is named after William Gilpin, the first governor of the Colorado Territory.
Grand County, Colorado: Grand is named after the Grand River, later renamed the Colorado River.
Gunnison County, Colorado: Gunnison is named after John Williams Gunnison, an explorer of the area around the Great Lakes and Great Salt Lake.
Hinsdale County, Colorado: Hinsdale is named after George A. Hinsdale, a lieutenant governor of Colorado (his middle name may be "Aaron").
Huerfano County, Colorado: Huerfano is named after the Huerfano River. Huerfano is orphan in Spanish.
Jackson County, Colorado: Jackson was probably named after Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States.
Jefferson County, Colorado: Jefferson was named after the Territory of Jefferson, which extralegally governed the area before the United States Congress established the Colorado Territory.
Kiowa County, Colorado: Kiowa is named after the Kiowa Native American tribe.
Kit Carson County, Colorado: Kit Carson is named after Christopher Houston (Kit) Carson, the famous frontier scout and soldier.
La Plata County, Colorado: La Plata is named from the Spanish word for silver. Deposits of that mineral were found in the area during the 18th century.
Lake County, Colorado: Lake is named after the Twin Lakes within the county.
Larimer County, Colorado: Larimer is named after William Larimer, a pioneer.
Las Animas County, Colorado: Las Animas is named after the Las Animas River, originally El Rio delos Animas Perdidas en Purgatorio, or, in English, "River of the Souls Lost in Purgatory".
Lincoln County, Colorado: Lincoln is named after Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States.
Logan County, Colorado: Logan is named after John Alexander Logan, a general in the American Civil War and United States senator.
Mesa County, Colorado: Mesa is named for the mesas which are widespread in the county.
Mineral County, Colorado: Mineral is named from the significant mineral deposits found within the county.
Moffat County, Colorado: Moffat was named after David H. Moffat, a pioneer.
Montezuma County, Colorado: Montezuma is named after Moctezuma II, the famous Aztec leader at the time of Spain's conquest of the Aztec Empire. Local ruins were originally thought to have been of Aztec origin.
Montrose County, Colorado: Montrose is named after the town of Montrose, Colorado, which in turn was named probably from the novel The Legend of Montrose, published in 1819 by Sir Walter Scott.
Morgan County, Colorado: Morgan is named after Fort Morgan, located in the present-day county.
Otero County, Colorado: Otero is named after Miguel A. Otero of the prominent Otero family of the Southwest.
Ouray County, Colorado: Ouray is named after Ouray, an Ute Native American leader.
Park County, Colorado: Park was named from the fact that the general region was called South Park by early explorers and fur trappers.
Phillips County, Colorado: Phillips is named after R.O. Phillips, secretary of the Lincoln Land Company.
Pitkin County, Colorado: Pitkin is named after Frederick Walter Pitkin, the second governor of Colorado.
Prowers County, Colorado: Prowers is named after John W. Prowers, a pioneer of the lower Arkansas River valley.
Pueblo County, Colorado: Pueblo is named after "the pueblo" (pueblo is Spanish for "town" or "village") located on the site of the current town of Pueblo, Colorado.
Rio Blanco County, Colorado: Rio Blanco is named after Rio Blanco, or, in English, the White River.
Rio Grande County, Colorado: Rio Grande is named after the Rio Grande, which runs through the county.
Routt County, Colorado: Routt is named after John Long Routt, the first and seventh governor of Colorado.
Saguache County, Colorado: Saguache is named from a Ute word meaning "blue earth" or "water at blue earth".
San Juan County, Colorado: San Juan is named after the San Juan River and San Juan Mountains.
San Miguel County, Colorado: San Miguel is named after the San Miguel River.
Sedgwick County, Colorado: Sedgwick is named after Fort Sedgwick, which, in turn, was named after General John Sedgwick.
Summit County, Colorado: Summit is named from the county's many mountains.
Teller County, Colorado: Teller is named after Henry Moore Teller, an United States Secretary of the Interior from Colorado.
Washington County, Colorado: Washington is named after George Washington, the first president of the United States.
Weld County, Colorado: Weld is named after Lewis Ledyard Weld, the first secretary of Colorado Territory.
Yuma County, Colorado: Yuma is named after the Yuma Native American tribe.

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List of Colorado county name etymologies

See also

Sources