Ohio’s 88 counties
1788 Washington: Ohio's first county and named in honor of George Washington, who was president of the Constitutional Convention at the time the county was formed.
1790 Hamilton: named for Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, 1789-1795.
1796 Wayne: named for Major General Anthony Wayne, Revolutionary War hero, later General-in-Chief of the U.S. Army.
1797 Adams: named for our second president, John Adams, during whose administration the county was organized.
1797 Jefferson: named for Thomas Jefferson who was serving as Vice President. Later President of the United States.
1798 Ross: named by Territorial Governor Arthur St. Clair for his friend and U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania James Ross.
1800 Clermont: comes from the French word meaning "clear mountain."
1800 Fairfield: Arthur St. Clair, Governor of the Northwest Territory, named this county for the beauty of its "fair fields."
1800 Trumbull: in the Connecticut Western Reserve, was named for Connecticut Governor Jonathan Trumbull, Jr.,
1801 Belmont: comes from the French words "belle monte," meaning "beautiful mountain," describing the hills of the county.
1803 Columbiana: derived from Christopher Columbus and Anna.
1803 Franklin: named for Benjamin Franklin.
1803 Gallia: is derived from Gaul, the ancient name of France.
1803 Greene: named for General Nathaniel Greene, Revolutionary War hero.
1803 Montgomery: named for General Richard Montgomery who lost his life in the assault on Quebec during the Revolutionary War.
1803 Scioto: takes its name from the Scioto River which flows through the county. Scioto comes from a Indian word "Scionto," meaning "deer."
1803 Warren: named for Gen. Joseph Warren, who was killed at the Battle of Breed's (Bunker) Hill, on June 17, 1775.
1804 Butler: named for Major General Richard Butler, killed during the disastrous defeat of General Arthur St. Clair by the Indians on Nov. 4, 1791.
1804 Muskingum: an old Delaware Indian word meaning "a town by the river."
1805 Athens: named after Athens, Greece.
1805 Champaign: French meaning "a plain," descriptive of the level land in the area.
1805 Highland: describes the county's terrain.
1805 Geauga: The name Geauga or Sheauga was one given by the Indians to the Grand River which flows through the county. It means "raccoon."
1807 Cuyahoga: named for the Cuyahoga River. Cuyahoga is an Indian word meaning "crooked," or "winding stream."
1807 Ashtabula: named after the Ashtabula River which meant "Fish River" in the local Indian dialect.
1807 Portage: name comes from the old Indian portage path, about seven miles in length, between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas rivers.
1807 Miami: named for the Miami Indians
1808 Delaware: named for the Delaware Indians who came from the Delaware River area near Philadelphia.
1808 Knox: named for General Henry Knox, the first U.S. Secretary of War.
1808 Preble: named for Capt. Edward Preble, naval commander in the Revolutionary War and the War with Tripoli.
1808 Stark: named for Gen. John Stark of Revolutionary War fame.
1808 Tuscarawas: named for the Tuscarawas River, an Indian word we think means "open mouth".
1808 Licking: derived its name from the principal stream flowing through the county. Pioneers called it the "Licking River", but it was called "Pataskala" by the Indians. The river received its name from salt licks in the area.
1809 Darke: named for Gen. William Darke, Revolutionary War hero.
1809 Huron: given by the French to the Wyandot Indian tribe who lived in this area.
1810 Clinton: named for George Clinton, who was vice-president of the United States when the county was formed.
1810 Fayette: named for Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette.
1810 Guernsey: due to the fact that many of the original settlers came from the Isle of Guernsey in the English Channel.
1810 Madison: named for James Madison, during whose administration the county was established.
1810 Pickaway: named from a misspelling of the tribe of Indians, known as Piqua, a branch of the Shawnee Tribe.
1811 Coshocton: is an anglicized version of the Indian village "Goschachgunk" or "Goschaching" meaning "Black Bear Town" or "where there is a river crossing."
1812 Medina: named for Medina in Arabia, the town to which Mohammed fled from Mecca.
1813 Monroe: named for James Monroe, sitting U.S. Secretary of State. Later the fifth President of the United States.
1813 Richland: named for the richness of its soil.
1814 Harrison: named for General William Henry Harrison, a hero of the War of 1812. later served as President of the United States.
1815 Pike: named for Brig. Gen. Zebulon Montgomery Pike, who discovered Pike's Peak in Colorado.
1816 Jackson: named for Major General Andrew Jackson, who defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans. Later President of the United States.
1816 Lawrence: named for Captain James Lawrence, commander of the U.S. Frigate Chesapeake during the War of 1812.
1817 Brown: named for Gen. Jacob Brown, a hero of the War of 1812.
1817 Clark: named for Brigadier General George Rogers Clark who defeated the Shawnee Indians in a battle near Springfield, on August 8, 1780.
1817 Logan: named for Gen. Benjamin Logan, who destroyed the Shawnee Indians Mac-o-chee Villages in the area in 1796.
1817 Perry: named in honor of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, who defeated the British in the naval Battle of Lake Erie.
1817 Hocking: derived its name from the Indian word "Hoch-Hoch-ing" which meant "a bottle."
1817 Morgan: named in honor of Gen. Daniel Morgan, who won a brilliant victory against the British at Cowpens, South Carolina,
1819 Meigs: named for Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr., Ohio Governor 1810-1814 and Postmaster General 1814-1823 who lived in Marietta.
1819 Shelby: named for Isaac Shelby, Revolutionary War hero and first Governor of Kentucky.
1820 Allen: probably named for either Ethan Allen, a hero of the Revolutionary War or John L. Allen, a hero of the War of 1812. Both men were colonels.
1820 Crawford: named in honor of Col. William Crawford who was burned at the stake in 1782 by Indians.
1820 Hancock: named for John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress and first signer of the Declaration of Independence.
1820 Hardin: named for Colonel John Hardin who was executed by the Indians while on a peace mission in 1792.
1820 Henry: named for Patrick Henry, celebrated orator of the Revolutionary War period.
1820 Mercer: named in honor of Gen. Hugh Mercer, who was killed at the Battle of Princeton in 1777.
1820 Paulding: named for John Paulding, one of three soldiers who captured Major John Andre, British spy in the Revolutionary War.
1820 Putnam: Named for Revolutionary War General Israel Putnam, brother of early settler Rufus Putnam.
1820 Seneca: named for the Seneca Indians.
1820 Sandusky: is a derivative of an Wyandot and Huron Indian word meaning "cold water."
1820 Union: named because it was formed from parts of Delaware, Franklin, Madison, and Logan counties.
1820 Van Wert: named for Isaac Van Wert, one of the three captors of British spy, Major John Andre. Actual spelling of Van Wert's name was "Van Wart." The spelling was changed due to an illegible entry in Congressional records.
1820 Williams: named for David Williams, one of three captors of Major John Andre.
1820 Wood: named after Major Eleazer D. Wood, U.S. Army-Engineers, who built Fort Meigs in 1813.
1822 Lorain: named after the Province of Lorraine, France.
1824 Holmes: named for Major Andrew H. Holmes, who was killed during Major George Croghan's unsuccessful attack on Fort Mackinac (Michigan) on August 4, 1814.
1824 Marion: named in honor of Revolutionary War Gen. Francis Marion known as “The Swamp Fox.”
1833 Carroll: named for Charles Carroll, the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, who died in Baltimore on November 14, 1832, at the age of 96.
1835 Lucas: named for Robert Lucas, Ohio Governor 1832-1836, who personally commanded Ohio troops in the 1835 boundary dispute with Michigan.
1838 Erie: named for the Erie Indian tribe. In their Indian dialect the word "erie" meant "cat" or "wildcat."
1840 Summit: derived its name for having the highest land on the line of the Ohio and Erie Canal, known as "Portage Summit."
1840 Lake: named because it borders on Lake Erie; Ohio's smallest county in land area.
1840 Ottawa: named for the Ottawa Indian tribe. The name in their language meant "trader."
1845 Defiance: named for Fort Defiance built in 1794 by General Anthony Wayne.
1845 Wyandot: named for the Wyandot Indians, the last Indian tribe in Ohio to cede their reservations.
1846 Ashland: named after "Ashland," home of the Whig candidate for President, Henry Clay,
1846 Mahoning: derives its name from the Mahoning River. Mahoning is from the Indian word "Mahoni," meaning a "lick" or "Mahonink," meaning "at the lick."
1848 Auglaize: named for the Auglaize River. "Auglaize" is a Shawnee Indian word meaning "fallen timbers."
1848 Morrow: named for Jeremiah Morrow, Congressman; U.S. Senator; Governor.
1850 Fulton: named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat.
1850 Vinton: named for Samuel Finley Vinton, an Ohio Statesman and U.S. Congressman, known as the "Father of the Department of Interior."
1851 Noble: named for James Noble, a pioneer settler who first bought land in the county in 1814.