List of Pennsylvania county name etymologies

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This is a list of Pennsylvania county name etymologies:

Adams County, Pennsylvania: Adams is named for U.S. President John Adams.
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: Allegheny is named for the Allegheny River.
Armstrong County, Pennsylvania: Armstrong is named for American Revolutionary War general and Continental Congressman John Armstrong.
Beaver County, Pennsylvania: Beaver is named for the Beaver River.
Bedford County, Pennsylvania: Bedford is named for Fort Bedford, which was named in turn for the Duke of Bedford.
Berks County, Pennsylvania: Berks is named for the English county of Berkshire.
Blair County, Pennsylvania: Blair is named for local leader John Blair.
Bradford County, Pennsylvania: Bradford is named for U.S. Attorney General William Bradford.
Bucks County, Pennsylvania: Bucks is named for the English county of Buckinghamshire.
Butler County, Pennsylvania: Butler is named for American Revolutionary War general Richard Butler, who was killed at the Battle of Fallen Timbers.
Cambria County: Cambria is so named because it was originally Cambria Township of Somerset County. Cambria is an ancient name for Wales.
Cameron County, Pennsylvania: Cameron is named for U.S. Senator Simon Cameron.
Carbon County, Pennsylvania: Carbon is named for the coal deposits found within its borders.
Centre County, Pennsylvania: Centre is named for its location in the center of the state of Pennsylvania.
Chester County, Pennsylvania: Chester is named for the English county of Cheshire, or Chester-shire.
Clarion County, Pennsylvania: Clarion is named for the Clarion River.
Clearfield County, Pennsylvania: Clearfield is named for the many clearings that were once within the county's forests.
Clinton County: Clinton was probably named for DeWitt Clinton, a Governor of New York who agitated for the construction of the Erie Canal.
Columbia County, Pennsylvania: Columbia is named for the mythic Columbia.
Crawford County, Pennsylvania: Crawford is named for Colonel William Crawford, a soldier of the American Revolutionary War.
Cumberland County, Pennsylvania: Cumberland is named for the English county of Cumberland.
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania: Dauphin is named for the Dauphin, the title traditionally given to the oldest son of the King of France.
Delaware County, Pennsylvania: Delaware is named for the Delaware River.
Elk County, Pennsylvania: Elk is named for the elk once common to the area.
Erie County, Pennsylvania: Erie is named for its location on Lake Erie.
Fayette County, Pennsylvania: Fayette is named in honor of the Marquis de la Fayette.
Forest County, Pennsylvania: Forest is named for the woodland within the county.
Franklin County, Pennsylvania: Franklin is named for Founding Father Benjamin Franklin.
Fulton County, Pennsylvania: Fulton is named for steamboat inventor Robert Fulton.
Greene County, Pennsylvania: Greene is named for U.S. general Nathanael Greene.
Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania: Huntingdon is named for Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.
Indiana County, Pennsylvania: Indiana is probably named for Indiana Territory.
Jefferson County, Pennsylvania: Jefferson is named for U.S. President Thomas Jefferson.
Juniata County: Juniata is named after the Juniata River; Juniata is a Native American word which translated as people of the standing stone.
Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania: Lackawanna is named for the Lackawanna River. Lackawanna is a Native American name meaning stream that forks.
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: Lancaster is named for the English county of Lancaster.
Lawrence County, Pennsylvania: Lawrence is named for the USS Brig Lawrence, Oliver Hazard Perry's first flagship, which was in turn named for naval hero James Lawrence.
Lebanon County, Pennsylvania: Lebanon is named for a Lebanon Township; Lebanon is a Biblical term meaning White Mountain.
Lehigh County, Pennsylvania: Lehigh is named for the Lehigh River.
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania: Luzerne is named for the French ambassador to the U.S. in 1786, Chevalier de la Luzerne.
Lycoming County, Pennsylvania: Lycoming is named for Lycoming Creek. Lycoming was a Delaware word meaning sandy or gravelly creek.
McKean County, Pennsylvania: McKean is named for Governor of Pennsylvania Thomas McKean.
Mercer County, Pennsylvania: Mercer is named for American Revolutionary War general Hugh Mercer.
Mifflin County, Pennsylvania: Mifflin is named for Governor of Pennsylvania Thomas Mifflin.
Monroe County, Pennsylvania: Monroe is named for U.S. President James Monroe.
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania: Montgomery is named for either U.S. general Richard Montgomery, two state legislators with the last named Montgomery who worked for its establishment, or for Montgomeryshire in Wales.
Montour County, Pennsylvania: Montour is named for Madame Montour, a French-Indian woman involved in Native American affairs.
Northampton County, Pennsylvania: Northampton is named for Northamptonshire in England, the home of the Earl of Pomfret, father-in-law to Thomas Penn.
Northumberland County, Pennsylvania: Northumberland was probably named for the English county of Northumberland.
Perry County, Pennsylvania: Perry is named for naval commander Oliver Hazard Perry.
Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia was created by William Penn and named after a city called Philadelphus, meaning city of brotherly love, located in Asia Minor.
Pike County, Pennsylvania: Pike is named for explorer Zebulon Pike.
Potter County, Pennsylvania: Potter is named for French and Indian Wars and American Revolutionary War general James Potter.
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania: Schuylkill is named for the Schuylkill River; Schuylkill is Dutch for hidden stream.
Snyder County, Pennsylvania: Snyder is named for Governor of Pennsylvania Simon Snyder.
Somerset County, Pennsylvania: Somerset is named for the English county of Somerset.
Sullivan County, Pennsylvania: Sullivan is named for Pennsylvania state legislator Charles C. Sullivan.
Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania: Susquehanna is named for the Susquehanna River.
Tioga County, Pennsylvania: Tioga is named for the Tioga River; Tioga is a Native American word meaning the forks of a stream.
Union County, Pennsylvania: Union is named for the Union which was threatened by the American Civil War.
Venango County: Venango's name is taken from the Native American name for French Creek.
Warren County, Pennsylvania: Warren is named for Joseph Warren, likely the first military officer to die for the Continentals in the American Revolutionary War.
Washington County, Pennsylvania: Washington is named for U.S. President George Washington.
Wayne County, Pennsylvania: Wayne is named for Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne.
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania: Westmoreland is named for the English county of Westmorland.
Wyoming County, Pennsylvania: Wyoming is a Delaware word meaning meadows.
York County, Pennsylvania: York is named the Duke of York or for the city and shire of York in England.

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[Counties of Pennsylvania]

List of Pennsylvania county name etymologies

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See also