List of Idaho county name etymologies
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This is a list of Idaho county name etymologies.
For an analysis of the county names, see Analysis of Idaho county namesakes.
- Ada County is named for Ada Riggs, the first pioneer child born in the area and the daughter of H. C. Riggs, a cofounder of Boise.
- Adams County is named for John Adams (1735-1826), President of the United States from 1797 to 1801.
- Bannock County is named for the Bannock Native American tribe.
- Bear Lake County is named for Bear Lake, which lies partly within the county and partly within Utah.
- Benewah County is named for a Coeur d'Alene Native American leader.
- Bingham County is named for Henry Harrison Bingham, a United States Representative from Pennsylvania and a friend of Idaho Territory Governor William M. Bunn.
- Blaine County is named for James Gillespie Blaine (1830-1893), United States Secretary of State in 1881 and 1889 to 1892 and the 1884 Republican nominee for President of the United States.
- Boise County is named for the Boise River, which empties into the Snake River in western Canyon County. Boisé is French for wooded.
- Bonner County is named for Edwin L. Bonner, a pioneer ferry operator in the area.
- Bonneville County is named for Captain Benjamin Louis Eulalie de Bonneville, a French-born United States Army officer who explored the area in the 1830s.
- Boundary County is named for the fact that it borders Washington on the west, Montana on the east, and British Columbia, Canada, on the north.
- Butte County is named for the buttes that rise from the Snake River Plain, which served as landmarks to trappers and early explorers.
- Camas County is named for the camassia, a lily-like plant with an edible bulb, which is native to the area.
- Canyon County is named for a canyon in the area. Sources disagree whether the canyon is on the Boise River or the Snake River.
- Caribou County is named for the Caribou Mountains.
- Cassia County is named for Cassia Creek, which flows through the center of the county into the Raft River.
- Clark County is named for Sam K. Clark, an early member of the Idaho Legislature from the area.
- Clearwater County is named for the Clearwater River, which flows into the Snake River at Lewiston.
- Custer County is named for the General Custer mine, in turn named after General George Armstrong Custer.
- Elmore County is named for the Ida Elmore mines.
- Franklin County is named for Franklin, the first permanent town in the state, in turn named for Franklin Richards, an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
- Fremont County is named for John Charles Frémont (1813-1890), a famous explorer and U.S. Senator.
- Gem County is named for the Idaho state nickname of Gem State.
- Gooding County is named for Frank Robert Gooding (1859-1928), an Idaho governor and U.S. Senator in the early 20th Century.
- Idaho County is named for the steamer Idaho, which was launched on the Columbia River in 1860. Originally a county in Washington Territory, the county's name predates both the State of Idaho and Idaho Territory. Some sources say the name derives from ee-da-how, a word supposedly meaning the sun comes from the mountains in the Shoshone language. However, this explanation is now believed to be a hoax perpetrated by George M. Willing.
- Jefferson County is named for Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), President of the United States from 1801 to 1809.
- Jerome County is named for either Jerome Hill, Jerome Kuhn or Jerome Kuhn, Jr., three related local leaders important to the county.
- Kootenai County is named for the Kutenai Native American tribe.
- Latah County is named for Latah Creek, which in turn is named for a Nez Perce term for "the place of pine trees and sestle." An earlier county was named Lah-Toh County.
- Lemhi County is named for Fort Lemhi, a local mission and fort of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which in turn was named for King Lemhi, a figure in the Book of Mormon.
- Lewis County is named for Meriwether Lewis, a co-leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
- Lincoln County is named for Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), President of the United States from 1861 to 1865.
- Madison County is named for James Madison (1751-1836), President of the United States from 1809 to 1817.
- Minidoka County is named for a Dakota Sioux word for "a fountain or spring of water" [link]
- Nez Perce County is named for the Nez Perce Native American tribe.
- Oneida County is named for the Oneida Lake area of New York from which many early settlers hailed.
- Owyhee County is named for the Kingdom of Hawaii. Hawaiian fur trappers had explored (and had been mysteriously killed in) the area around 1820.
- Payette County is named for the Payette River, which, in turn, is named for explorer Francois Payette.
- Power County is named for the American Falls Power Plant.
- Shoshone County is named for the Shoshone Native American tribe.
- Teton County is named for the Teton Range.
- Twin Falls County is named for a waterfall on the Snake River.
- Valley County is named for the area's Long Valley.
- Washington County is named for George Washington (1732-1799), President of the United States from 1789 to 1797.
See also
Source
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