List of U.S. county name etymologies (N–R) explained

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

N

County name	State	Origin
		Named for the Nacogdoche tribe of Caddo Native Americans.
		Named after Governor Albinus Nance.^[1]
		Nantucket takes its name from a word in an Eastern Algonquian language of southern New England, originally spelled variously as natocke, nantaticut, nantican, and nautican. The meaning of the term is uncertain, although it may have meant "in the midst of waters," or "far away island."^[2]
		Named for the city of Napa, California, which takes its name from a southern Nappan village.
		Named for Brigadier General Francis Nash, who had been mortally wounded at the Battle of Germantown.
		Named for the Duchy of Nassau in Germany.
		Named after an old name for Long Island, which was named Nassau after William of Nassau, Prince of Orange (who later became King William III of England.)
		Named for the Natchitoches tribe of Native Americans.
		Named for the natron (soda) deposits in the county.
		named for the Navajo.
		Named for José Antonio Navarro, a Tejano leader in the Texas Revolution who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence.
		Named for Thomas Nelson, Jr. a Virginia Governor who signed the Declaration of Independence.
		for Nelson E. Nelson, a ND legislator at the time.
		Named for Thomas Nelson, Jr. a Virginia Governor who signed the Declaration of Independence.
		Chiwere word ñí-máha 'murky water.'
		Chiwere word ñí-máha 'murky water.'
		Neosho River, from the Osage meaning 'cold, clear water' or 'main river,'
		Nashoba, a Choctaw chief, derived from the Choctaw word nashoba, means Wolf. ^[3]
		Named for Corporal Noah V. Ness of the 7th Kansas Cavalry Regiment (US Army). Ness died of wounds suffered at the Battle of Abbeyville in Mississippi in August 1864.^[4]
		The state of Nevada, which it resembles in shape.
		named after the mining town of Nevada City, a name derived from the term "Sierra Nevada." The word nevada in Spanish means "snowy" or "snowcovered."^[5]
		William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, courtier.
		Named for the House of Hanover.
		Named after its largest city and county seat, New Haven.
		The county of Kent, England.
		Named after the county seat, New London, which is named for London, England.
		Named after a district located in the region that was once under Spanish rule, Nuevo Madrid, after the city of Madrid, Spain.
		New York is named after James, Duke of York, who renamed New Amsterdam after himself shortly after the British takeover in 1664. The county name also refers to the fact that New York City was wholly contained in the county until it combined with other areas in the 1880s. New York County today is thus simply referred to as Manhattan, the island that forms almost all the area of the county.
		Derived from then name of a Chippewa chief who signed the Treaty of Saginaw or from a Algonquian word meaning "much water."
		Unknown; possibly named for Newbury, Berkshire, England.
		Descriptive, recalling Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales
		Not known with any certainty. See the "Name" section of the city's article for possibilities.
		Named for Thomas W. Newton, an Arkansas Congressman.
		Named after Sgt. John Newton of the American Revolutionary War.
	Indiana
		Named for Sir Isaac Newton, physicist.
		Named after Sgt. John Newton of the American Revolutionary War.
	Texas
		Named for the Nez Percé tribe of Native Americans.
		Derived from the Indian word Onguiaahra meaning the straight or thunder of waters.^[6]
		Named for George Nicholas, the "Father of the Kentucky Constitution".
		Named for Virginia Governor Wilson Cary Nicholas.
		Named for Joseph Nicolas Nicollet, a geographer-explorer.
		Omaha–Ponca languageIndian 'spreading water river.'
		Named for James Noble, the first U.S. Senator from Indiana.
		Named for Rep. Warren P. Noble of the Ohio House of Representatives, who was an early settler there.
		for John W. Noble, Secretary of the Interior
		Named for William H. Nobles, a member of the Territorial Legislature.
		Named for the Nodaway River, from the Chiwere Nyi At'ąwe, "jump over water."
		Named for Philip Nolan, one of the first American traders to visit Texas.
		Named for Nome, Alaska.
		Named for the county of Norfolk, England.
	Massachusetts
		In honor of the large number of Norwegians (endonym nordmenn), who settled in this county.
		Named for the Alaska North Slope, a region on the northern slope of the Brooks Range.
		Named for James Compton, 5th Earl of Northampton.
		Northamptonshire, England,
		for Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton
		Named for the county of Northumberland, England.
		Named for its location in the northwest Arctic region of Alaska.
		Named in 1890 after Eckstein Norton, then president of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad.
		Named for Orloff Norton.
		From the Nottoway people.
		From the Lenape word nuwita, meaning "friendly" or "welcome."
		Derived from the Choctaw word nakshobi, meaning to stink.
		Named after Stephen F. Nuckolls, an early pioneer in this area.^[7]
		Named for the Nueces River, whose name comes from the Spanish word for walnuts or pecans.
		Named in honor of James W. Nye, first governor of the Nevada Territory and later U.S. Senator from the state.

O

County name	State	Origin
		For William Smith O'Brien, Irish leader
		Named for the numerous oak openings in the county.
		From the Obion River, named either from an Indian word meaning 'many forks' or from an Irish-French trapper named O'Brien.
		Location on the Atlantic Ocean^[8]
		Named "Oceana" because it borders Lake Michigan, the freshwater "ocean."
		For Col. William Beck Ochiltree, Republic of Texas secretary of the treasury.
		For the Oconee River, which is named after a Muskogean people.
		For the Oconto River, said to mean "plenty of fish."
		Named after Ofu island.
		From the Anishinaabemowin word ogimaa, meaning "chief".
		For the Oglala Lakota people.
		For Lt. Joseph Ogle, first Methodist layman in Illinois and captain of the territorial militia.
		For Gen. James Edward Oglethorpe, founder of Georgia and first governor
		Named for the Ohio River (Seneca Ohi:yo', "Good River"), which it borders.|-| Ohio County || Kentucky || Named for the Ohio River (Seneca Ohi:yo', "Good River"), which it used to border until Daviess County and Hancock County were carved out of it in 1829.
		Named for the Ohio River (Seneca Ohi:yo', "Good River"), which it borders.|-| Okaloosa County || Florida || From Choctaw oka lusa, "black water."|-| Okanogan County || Washington ||From the Syilx (Okanogan, ukʷnaqín) people. |-| Okfuskee County || Oklahoma || Named for the Okfuskee, a Muscogee people.|-| Oklahoma County || Oklahoma || From the Choctaw phrase okla humma, meaning "red people", invented by Allen Wright and applied to the Oklahoma Territory. |-| Okmulgee County || Oklahoma || From the Creek okimulgi meaning "boiling water."|-| Oktibbeha County || Mississippi || From Choctaw okti abeha, "ice therein."|-| Oldham County || Kentucky || Named in honor of Col. William Oldham of Jefferson County, a Revolutionary War officer.|-| Oldham County || Texas || named for William Simpson Oldham Sr., Texas pioneer and Confederate Senator.|-| Oliver County || North Dakota || Harry S. Oliver, Republican politician and member of the Dakota Territory House of Representatives|-| Olmsted County || Minnesota || David Olmsted, first mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota.|-| Olosega County || American Samoa || Named after Olosega island (Samoan ʻOlosega, "fortress of parakeets.")|-| Oneida County || Idaho || Named for Oneida Lake, from which most of the early settlers had migrated.|-| Oneida County || New York || rowspan="2"|Named for the Oneida people.|-| Oneida County || Wisconsin |-| Onondaga County || New York || From the Onondaga (Onöñda’gaga’, "Hill Place") people |-| Onslow County || North Carolina || Named for Arthur Onslow, longtime Speaker of the House of Commons.|-| Ontario County || New York || Named for Lake Ontario (Huron Ontarí'io, "great lake.")|-| Ontonagon County || Michigan || Named for the Ontonagon River, from Ojibwe Nondon-organ ("hunting river") or Ontonagori ("lost bowl").|-| Orange County || California || Named for the orange, so the county would sound like a semi-tropical, Mediterranean region to people from the east coast.|-| Orange County || Florida || Named for the orange, its main crop.|-| Orange County || Indiana || The first settlers were from Orange County, North Carolina. |-| Orange County || New York || Named for William, Prince of Orange, later King William III.|-| Orange County || North Carolina || Named for the ruling House of Orange-Nassau.|-| Orange County || Texas || Named for the orange, formerly its main crop.|-| Orange County || Vermont || Named for William, Prince of Orange, later King William III.|-| Orange County || Virginia || Named for William, Prince of Orange, later King William III.|-| Orangeburg County || South Carolina || Named for Orangeburg, South Carolina, which was named for William, Prince of Orange, later King William III.|-| Oregon County || Missouri || Named for the Oregon Territory.|-| Orleans County || New York || Uncertain; either to honor the Louis Philippe, Duc d'Orléans, or in reference to the 1815 Battle of New Orleans.|-| Orleans County || Vermont || Uncertain, believed to be named after Orléans, France.|-| Orleans County || Louisiana || Named for Philippe II, Duke of Orléans.|-| Osage County || Kansas || Named for the Osage Nation.|-| Osage County || Missouri || Named for the Osage River.|-| Osage County || Oklahoma || Named for the Osage Nation.|-| Osborne County || Kansas || Named for Captain Vincent B. Osborne, a Civil War soldier in the 2nd Kansas Volunteer Infantry Regiment on the Union side.|-| Osceola County || Florida ||rowspan="3"| Named for the Seminole chief Osceola.|-| Osceola County || Iowa |-| Osceola County || Michigan |-| Oscoda County || Michigan || Believed to be a combination of two Ojibwa words, ossin (stone) and muskoda (prairie).|-| Oswego County || New York || Named for the Oswego River, from Mohawk for "small water flowing into that which is large."|-| Otero County || Colorado ||rowspan="2"| Named for Miguel Antonio Otero, a prominent politician from the New Mexico Territory.|-| Otero County || New Mexico |-| Otoe County || Nebraska || Named for the Otoe people.|-| Otsego County || Michigan || Derived from the Mohawk word that meant either "clear water" or "meeting place."|-| Otsego County || New York || Named for Otsego Lake, from a Mohawk or Oneida word meaning "place of the rock", referring to the large boulder near the lake's outlet, today known as "Council Rock".|-| Ottawa County || Kansas || rowspan="4"|Named for the native Odawa people.|-| Ottawa County || Michigan |-| Ottawa County || Ohio |-| Ottawa County || Oklahoma |-| Otter Tail County || Minnesota || Named for the Otter Tail River.|-| Ouachita County || Arkansas || rowspan="2"|Named for the Ouachita River, named in turn for the Ouachita people, from the French transliteration of the Caddo word washita, meaning "good hunting ground."|-| Ouachita County || Louisiana |-| Ouray County || Colorado || Named for Chief Ouray, leader of the Uncompahgre Ute tribe and a noted statesman.|-| Outagamie County || Wisconsin || A French transliteration of Utagami, the Ojibwe term for the Meskwaki (Fox) Indians, meaning "dwellers on the other side of the stream," referring to their historic habitation along the St. Lawrence River |-| Overton County || Tennessee || Named for John Overton, judge, planter, politician and banker.|-| Owen County || Indiana || rowspan="2"| Named for Abraham Owen, soldier, surveyor and politician.|-| Owen County || Kentucky |-| Owsley County || Kentucky ||Named for William Owsley, 16th Governor of Kentucky.|-| Owyhee County || Idaho || Named for some Native Hawaiian ("Owyhee") trappers who disappeared in the winter of 1819–20.|-| Oxford County || Maine || Possibly named for Oxford, Massachusetts.|-| Ozark County || Missouri || Named for the Ozarks (from the French abbreviation aux Arcs, aux Arkansas, "of/at Arkansas").|-| Ozaukee County || Wisconsin || From Ozaagii, the Ojibwe name for the Sauk people.|} P County name State Origin Named for the Pacific Ocean. Named for Captain John Page, soldier killed in the Mexican–American War. Named for John Page, a governor of Virginia. Named for Palm Beach, Florida, named for its palm trees. Named for the Battle of Palo Alto. Named for the Palo Pinto Creek (Spanish palo pinto, "painted stick"). Named for the Pamlico people. From panolo, Choctaw and Chickasaw word for cotton. Named for the South Park region. Named for its proximity to Yellowstone National Park. Named for Benjamin Parke, political figure. Named for Isaac Parker, a Texas state representative. Named for Martin Parmer, signatory to the Texas Declaration of Independence. Named for Samuel Pasco, a United States senator. Pasquotank River, from Algonquian pashetanki, "where the current forks." Pasaeck, a Lenape word for "valley." Named for Founding Father Patrick Henry. Named for Revolutionary War fighter John Paulding. Named for the Pawnee people. Named for Francois Payette, fur trader. Named for David L. Payne, soldier and pioneer. Named for the peach, a major crop. Named for the Pearl River. Named for the Pecos River, from the Keresan term for the Pecos Pueblo. From a Chippewa term for "stabbing." Named for the local bayou, taken from the Fox word, pem-eskaw, meaning "liquid mud." Named for the Pend d'Oreilles (French "hangs from ear") people, so called because of their shell earrings. Named for William Dorsey Pender, Confederate general. Named for Edmund Pendleton, planter and politician. Named for Edmund Pennington, President of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad. Named for John L. Pennington, fifth Governor of Dakota Territory. Named for the Penobscot people. Named for the Peoria people. Named for Lake Pepin, named in turn after explorers Pierre and Jean Pepin du Chardonnets. Named for Charles Elliott Perkins, president of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. Named for Sturgis, South Dakota official Henry E. Perkins. Named for the Perquimans (Perkiomen, Perkimen), an Algonquian people. Named for naval officer Oliver Hazard Perry. Named for General John J. Pershing. Named for Revolutionary War fighter Thomas Person. Named for Petersburg, Alaska, named for Saint Petersburg, Russia. Named for 17th-century soldier Peter Jones, who commanded a fort near the city's current location and opened a trading post known as Peter's Point where the city was eventually founded. Named for its petroleum fields; it was the first place in Montana where petroleum was discovered. Named for Spencer Darwin Pettis, politician; died in a famous duel. Named for John S. Phelps, Civil War general (U.S. Army) and 23rd Governor of Missouri. Named for William Phelps, an early settler. Named for Philadelphia, named by the city's founder William Penn from the Greek Φιλαδέλφεια, meaning "brotherly love" (from philos, "love", and adelphos, "brother"). Sylvanus Phillips, area's first known white settler and representative to the first legislature of the Arkansas Territory. R. O. Phillips, a secretary of the Lincoln Land Company. Named for William A. Phillips, journalist, soldier and politician. Named for Benjamin D. Phillips, rancher and state senator. Named for James A. Piatt, an early settler. Named for the Pekowi band of the Shawnee. Named for Andrew Pickens, militia leader in the Revolutionary War. Named for Howard L. Pickett, state legislator. Named for Franklin Pierce, U.S. President 1853–1857. Named for Gilbert A. Pierce, author, journalist, playwright and politician. Named for Franklin Pierce, U.S. President 1853–1857. Named for soldier and explorer Zebulon Pike. Named for the Pima people. Named for the Pinal Mountains, named for their pine trees. Named for its pine trees. From Spanish Punta Piñal, "point of pines." Named for the presence of pipestone (catlinite) in its rocks. The Piscataquis River, from an Abenaki word meaning "branch of the river." Named for Frederick Walker Pitkin, who was Governor of Colorado at the time of the county's formation. Named for William Pitt the Elder, then Secretary of State for the Southern Department and Leader of the House of Commons, later Prime Minister of Great Britain. Named because its coal production rivaled Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Named for William Pitt the Elder, then Prime Minister of Great Britain. Named for the Southern Paiute people. Named for the practice of placer mining. From a Louisiana French word for the persimmon, derived from the Atakapa piakimin. Named for the Platte River (probably from the French plate, "flat"), or the Platte Purchase. Named for the Platte River (probably from the French plate, "flat"). Named for the North Platte River. Named for James Pleasants, 22nd Governor of Virginia. From the Spanish name of the Feather River (Río de las Plumas). Named for the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, named in turn for Plymouth, England, from where the Mayflower sailed to America. Named for the Powhatan princess Pocahontas. Named for Joel Roberts Poinsett, physician, diplomat and Secretary of War. From French Pointe-Coupée, "point of the cutoff." Named for James K. Polk, President of the United States 1845–49. Named for William Polk, a colonel in the American Revolution and a member of that state's House of Commons. Named for James K. Polk, President of the United States 1845–49. Named for James K. Polk before he became President; he was governor of Tennessee at the time the county was established. Named for James K. Polk, President of the United States 1845–49. Named for the Pend d'Oreilles people, whose name is French for "ear pendant." From a Chickasaw word for the region meaning either "cattail prairie" or"land of hanging grapes." Named for John Pope, 3rd Governor of Arkansas Territory. Named for Nathaniel Pope, Secretary of the Illinois Territory. Named for John Pope, Union general in the Civil War. From pocosin, an Algonquian word meaning "a low, marshy, woody place covered by water in the winter, but dry in the summer." Named for the portage between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas Rivers Named for the portage between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers Named for David Porter, a notable Commodore for the Americans during the War of 1812. Named for Portsmouth, England. Named for Thomas Posey, a governor of Indiana Territory. Named for the Potawatomi people. Named for James Potter, 4th Vice-President of Pennsylvania. Named for Joel A. Potter, territorial legislator. Named for Robert Potter, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and Texas Secretary of the Navy. Named for the Powder River. Named for Lazarus W. Powell, 19th Governor of Kentucky. Named for Mount Powell, which was named in turn for John Wesley Powell. Named for the power plant at American Falls Dam. Named for Poweshiek, a Meskwaki chief. Named for the Powhatan people. Named for the Grand Prairie. Named for its prairie landscape. Named for Caleb S. Pratt, U.S. Army soldier in the Bleeding Kansas conflict. Named for Edward Preble, naval officer. Named for Seargent Smith Prentiss, orator and politician. Named for Presidio del Norte ("Presidio of the North"), a border settlement established around 1760. Derived from a French term for "peninsula," literally "nearly an island." Named for James Patton Preston, 20th Governor of Virginia. Named for William T. Price, politician. Named for Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany, son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, who was son of King George II. Named for Prince George of Denmark, husband of Queen Anne. Named for Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, son of King George II. Named for Prince of Wales Island and Hyder, Alaska, named in turn after George, Prince of Wales (later George IV) and mining engineer Frederick Hyder respectively. Named for Providence Plantations, named in turn for Divine Providence. Named for pioneer John W. Prowers. Pueblo County is named for El Pueblo, an adobe trading post located at the confluence of the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek. Named for Casimir Pulaski (Kazimierz Pułaski), Polish count who fought in the Revolutionary War. Kentucky Named for Benjamin A. Putnam, soldier and politician. Named for Revolutionary War general Israel Putnam. Ohio Q County name State Origin Named for Pennsylvania senator Matthew Quay, who supported New Mexican statehood.^[9] Named for Anne, Queen of Great Britain, who reigned when the county was established in 1706. Named for the then-queen consort, Catherine of Braganza, the Catholic wife of Charles II. Named after General John A. Quitman, leader in the Mexican War, and two-time Governor of Mississippi. Mississippi R County name State Origin Named for William Rabun, 29th Governor of Georgia. Named for the city of Racine, Wisconsin, itself named after the Root River, racine being French for "root." Named for Dr. John B. Radford, early inhabitant. Named for Emory Rains, politician in the Republic of Texas. Named for Walter Raleigh, English writer, soldier, politician, spy and explorer. Named for Daniel Ralls, Missouri state legislator. Named for Alexander Ramsey, first territorial governor of Minnesota and second governor after statehood, and United States Secretary of War 1879–81. Named for Horace Randal (sic), Confederate soldier. Named for John Randolph of Roanoke, planter and politician. Named for Edmund Randolph, first Attorney General of the United States. Named for Randolph County, North Carolina. Named for John Randolph of Roanoke, planter and politician. Named for Peyton Randolph, first President of the Continental Congress. Named for Edmund Randolph, seventh Governor of Virginia and first U.S. Attorney General. Named for Christopher Rankin, politician. Named for Fort Ransom, named in turn for Thomas E.G. Ransom. Named for the rapids (French rapides) on the Red River of the South. Named for the Rappahannock River, from the Algonquian lappihanne, meaning "river of quick, rising water" or "where the tide ebbs and flows." Named for Antonio Ravalli, Italian Jesuit missionary. Named for John Aaron Rawlins, Civil War Union general and Secretary of War in 1869. Named for John Ray, Missouri state legislator. Named for John Henninger Reagan, Confederate cabinet member. Named for Julius Real, member of the Texas State Senate. Named for the Red Lake River. Named for the Red River of the South. Named for the Red Willow Creek, a mistranslation of the Dakota name Chanshasha Wakpala, "Red Dogwood Creek." Named for the Redwood River, named for the dogwoods with reddish bark. Named for George R. Reeves, Speaker of the House of the State of Texas and Confederate colonel. Named for the city of Refugio, Texas, itself named for the Rancho Nuestra Señora del Refugio. Named for Jesse L. Reno, soldier. Named for Kiliaen van Rensselaer, Dutch merchant and founder of New Netherland. Named for Joseph Renville, interpreter, translator and soldier. Named for the Republican River, which was named after a band of Pawnee nicknamed "the republicans." Named for Thomas Reynolds, 7th Governor of Missouri. Named for John Rhea, Irish-American Revolutionary War soldier and Congressman. Named for Samuel Allen Rice, Civil War colonel. Named for Henry Mower Rice, fur trader and politician. Named for Charles C. Rich, early Latter Day Saints leader, one of the Council of Fifty and a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles 1849–83. Named for William Alexander Richardson, 5th Governor of Nebraska Territory. Named for Richland County, Ohio, where many of the county's influential settlers came from. Named for the richness of its soil, in order to attract settlers. Named for Morgan T. Rich, early settler. Named for the richness of its soil. South Carolina Louisiana Named for Richmond, Surrey, England, because the view of the James River was supposedly similar to the view of the River Thames from Richmond Hill. Named for Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond, British politician; Secretary of State for the Southern Department and a supporter of the colonists during the Revolutionary War. Named for Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, illegitimate son of King Charles II. Named for Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond, British politician; Secretary of State for the Southern Department and a supporter of the colonists during the Revolutionary War. Named for Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, illegitimate son of King Charles II. Named for Bennet C. Riley, 7th Military Governor of California. Named for Samuel Ringgold, artillery officer. Named for its location on the upper Rio Grande (río arriba means "upriver" in Spanish) Named for the White River (known in Spanish as the Río Blanco), which runs through the county. Named for the Rio Grande, which runs through the county. Named for Eleazer Wheelock Ripley, an officer of the War of 1812. Named for writer and publisher Thomas Ritchie. Named for Riverside, California, the county seat, which in turn was named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. Named for Archibald Roane, second Governor of Tennessee. Named for Spencer Roane, politician and judge. Named for Roanoke County, Virginia. Named for the Roanoke River, named from rawrenok, an Algonquian word for wampum. Named for S. G. Roberts, fur trader. Named for Oran Milo Roberts, 17th Governor of Texas. Named for George Robertson, judge and politician. Named for James Robertson, explorer, soldier and Indian agent. Named for Sterling C. Robertson, empresario during Mexican Texas. Named for Thomas Robeson, Revolutionary War soldier. Named for the Rock River. Named for Rock Creek, which flows in the county; or the rocky condition of the soil in the area. Named for the Rock River. Named for Rock Island (now Arsenal Island) in the Mississippi River. Named for the Natural Bridge. Named for the Rockcastle River. Named for Rockdale Baptist Church in Conyers, Georgia. Named for Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, Prime Minister of Great Britain 1765–66 (and 1782). Named for its rocky land. Named for Rockwall, Texas, which was named after rock walls thought to be man-made but later found to be natural clastic dikes. Named for Roger Q. Mills, Confederate officer and Texas politician. Named for Clement Vann Rogers, Cherokee settler and rancher. Named for Joseph Rolette, fur trader and politician. Named for John C. Rooks, soldier in the U.S. Army during the Civil War. Named for Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States 1901–1909. Named for County Roscommon, Ireland; itself named for Roscommon (Irish Ros Comáin, "Coman's wooded height.") Named for Roseau Lake and Roseau River (from the French roseau, "reed", a translation of the Ojibwe Ga-shashagunushkokawi-sibi, "place of rushes river"). Named for the Rosebud River, a tributary of the Stillwater River, named for its wild roses. Named for James Ross, Pennsylvania Senator. Named for John Long Routt, the last Territorial and first State Governor of Colorado. Named for John Rowan, politician. Named for Matthew Rowan, acting governor of North Carolina 1753–54. Named for Hiram Runnels, Mississippi politician. Named for Founding Father Benjamin Rush. Named for Alexander Rush, Union Army captain and Civil War hero. Named for Thomas Jefferson Rusk, political and military leader of the Republic of Texas. Named for Jeremiah McLain Rusk, 15th Governor of Wisconsin. Named for Gilbert C. Russell, soldier. Named for Avra P. Russell, Union captain and Civil War hero. Named for William Russell, soldier, pioneer, and politician. Named for William Russell, Revolutionary War soldier and settler. Named for Griffith Rutherford, Revolutionary War soldier. Named for Rutland, Massachusetts, named in turn for the county of Rutland, England. See also Lists of U.S. county name etymologies for links to the remainder of the list. References ]

Notes and References

1. http://www.nacone.org/webpages/counties/countywebs/nance.htm "Nance County".
2. Huden, John C. (1962). Indian Place Names of New England. New York: Museum of the American Indian. Cited in: Bright, William (2004). Native American Place Names in the United States. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, pg. 312
3. Book: Byington , Cyrus . Choctaw Language Dictionary . 1909 . Global Bible Society.
4. Kansas Place-Names, John Rydjord, University of Oklahoma Press, 1972,
5. Web site: Nevada County History . US Gen Web Project in California. 2010-05-25.
6. http://www.ongiaracollege.ca/webpages/ongiara_region.shtml Retrieved 2010-05-25
7. Web site: Nuckolls County . 2010-05-25 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110716102640/http://www.nacone.org/webpages/counties/countywebs/nuckolls.htm . 2011-07-16 . Retrieved 2010-05-25.
8. Web site: History of Ocean County. 2007-05-09. Ocean County Cultural and Heritage Commission. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070310215236/http://www.ocean.nj.us/museums/history.htm. 2007-03-10.
9. http://www.vivanewmexico.com/ghosts/hscounty.html Historical Sidebar: New Mexico Counties