List of U.S. counties named after animals

This is a list of U.S. counties named after animals, either directly or indirectly.

Antelope County, Nebraska
Antelope County, Nebraska
Antelope County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska, and was formed in 1871. As of 2010, the population estimate was 6,685. Its county seat is Neligh...

: Antelope is named for the pronghorn antelope
Pronghorn
The pronghorn is a species of artiodactyl mammal endemic to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the prong buck, pronghorn antelope, or simply antelope, as it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and...

in the area.
Bear Lake County, Idaho
Bear Lake County, Idaho
Bear Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2000 Census the county had a population of 6,411 . The county seat is Paris, and Montpelier is the largest city....

: Bear Lake is named after Bear Lake
Bear Lake (Idaho-Utah)
Bear Lake is a natural freshwater lake on the Utah-Idaho border in the Western United States. It is the second largest natural freshwater lake in Utah and has been called the "Caribbean of the Rockies" for its unique turquoise-blue color, the result of suspended limestone deposits in the water...

.
Beaver County, Oklahoma
Beaver County, Oklahoma
Beaver County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,636. The county seat is Beaver....

: Beaver is named for its county seat of Beaver, Oklahoma
Beaver, Oklahoma
Beaver is a town in and the county seat of Beaver County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,515. The town is host to the annual World Cow Chip Throwing Championship.-History:...

and the Beaver River
Beaver River (Oklahoma)
The Beaver River is the historic name for an intermittent river in Oklahoma that drains most of the Oklahoma Panhandle. It is also known as the North Canadian River. Both names are in common use. By one convention the headwaters of the Beaver River are at the convergence of the Corrumpa, Rafael,...

, which flows through the county.
Beaver County, Pennsylvania
Beaver County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 181,412 people, 72,576 households, and 50,512 families residing in the county. The population density was 418 people per square mile . There were 77,765 housing units at an average density of 179 per square mile...

: Beaver is named for the Beaver River
Beaver River (Pennsylvania)
The Beaver River is a tributary of the Ohio River in Western Pennsylvania in the United States with a length of approximately 21 mi . It flows through a historically important coal-producing region north of Pittsburgh...

.
Beaver County, Utah
Beaver County, Utah
As of the census of 2010, there were 6,629 people, 2,265 households, and 1,697 families residing in the county. The population density was 2.56 people per square mile . There were 2,908 housing units at an average density of 1.12 per square mile...

: Beaver is named for the area's many beaver
American Beaver
The North American Beaver is the only species of beaver in the Americas, native to North America and introduced to South America. In the United States and Canada, where no other species of beaver occurs, it is usually simply referred to as "beaver"...

s.
Beaverhead County, Montana
Beaverhead County, Montana
-National protected areas:* Beaverhead National Forest * Big Hole National Battlefield* Nez Perce National Historical Park * Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge-History:...

: Beaverhead is named for a rock in the Jefferson River
Jefferson River
The Jefferson River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of Montana. The Jefferson River and the Madison River form the official beginning of the Missouri at Missouri Headwaters State Park near Three Forks...

shaped like a beaver's head.
Big Horn County, Wyoming: Big Horn is named for the bighorn sheep
Bighorn Sheep
The bighorn sheep is a species of sheep in North America named for its large horns. These horns can weigh up to , while the sheep themselves weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates that there are three distinct subspecies of Ovis canadensis, one of which is endangered: Ovis canadensis sierrae...

in the area.
Buffalo County, Nebraska
Buffalo County, Nebraska
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 42,259 people, 15,930 households, and 10,227 families residing in the county. The population density was 44 people per square mile . There were 16,830 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile...

: Buffalo is named for the buffalo (properly American Bison
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...

) which once roamed the present county.
Buffalo County, Wisconsin
Buffalo County, Wisconsin
Buffalo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 13,804. Its county seat is Alma.-Geography:According to the U.S...

: Buffalo is named for the Buffalo River
Buffalo River (Wisconsin)
The Buffalo River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, 45 mi long, in western Wisconsin in the United States.-Course:The Buffalo River is formed at Osseo in northeastern Trempealeau County by the confluence of its North and South Forks, both of which are about 10 mi long and rise in...

.
Conecuh County, Alabama
Conecuh County, Alabama
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*51.3% White*46.5% Black*0.3% Native American*0.1% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.0% Two or more races*1.2% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

: Conecuh is a Muscogee
Creek language
The Creek language, also known as Muskogee or Muscogee , is a Muskogean language spoken by Muscogee and Seminole people primarily in the U.S. states of Oklahoma and Florida....

word meaning either land of cane or polecat's head.
Conejos County, Colorado
Conejos County, Colorado
Conejos County is one of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado in the United States. The county population was 8,400 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is the unincorporated town of Conejos.-History:...

: Conejos is the Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

word for rabbits, as cottontail rabbit
Cottontail rabbit
The cottontail rabbits are among the 16 lagomorph species in the genus Sylvilagus, found in the Americas.In appearance, most cottontail rabbits closely resemble the wild European Rabbit...

s are abundant in the area.
Crow Wing County, Minnesota
Crow Wing County, Minnesota
Crow Wing County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 62,500. Its county seat is Brainerd.-Geography:...

: Crow Wing is named after an island shaped like a raven
Raven
Raven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...

's wing at the junction of the Crow Wing River
Crow Wing River
The Crow Wing River is a tributary of the Mississippi River approximately in length. The river arises in a chain of 11 lakes in southern Hubbard County, Minnesota and flows generally southeast, entering the Mississippi at Crow Wing State Park, northwest of Little Falls, Minnesota. Its name is a...

and Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

.
Eagle County, Colorado
Eagle County, Colorado
Eagle County is the thirteenth most populous of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado in the United States. The county is named for the Eagle River. The county population was 41,659 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is the Town of Eagle...

: Eagle is named for the Eagle River
Eagle River (Colorado)
The Eagle River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in west central Colorado in the United States.It rises in southeastern Eagle County, at the continental divide, and flows northwest past Gilman, Minturn, Avon...

.
Elk County, Kansas
Elk County, Kansas
Elk County is a county located in Southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 2,882...

: Elk is named for the Elk River
Elk River (Kansas)
The Elk River is a tributary of the Verdigris River in southeastern Kansas in the United States. Via the Verdigris and Arkansas rivers, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed.-Description and course:...

.
Elko County, Nevada
Elko County, Nevada
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 45,291 people, 15,638 households, and 11,493 families residing in the county. The population density was 3/sq mi . There were 18,456 housing units at an average density of 1/sq mi...

: Elko is named for the county seat of Elko, Nevada
Elko, Nevada
Elko is a city in Elko County, Nevada, United States. The population was 18,297 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Elko County. The city straddles the Humboldt River....

, named in turn for the herds of elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...

in the area.
Manatee County, Florida
Manatee County, Florida
Manatee County is a county in the state of Florida. According to the 2010 census by the U.S. Census Bureau there are 322,833 people living in Manatee Country.Manatee County is part of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota Metropolitan Statistical Area...

: Manatee is named after the manatee
Manatee
Manatees are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows...

, an endangered
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...

sea mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...

indigenous
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...

to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

.
Musselshell County, Montana
Musselshell County, Montana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there are 4,497 people, 1,878 households, and 1,235 families residing in the county. The population density is 2 people per square mile . There are 2,317 housing units at an average density of -Demographics:...

: Musselshell is named for the Musselshell River
Musselshell River
The Musselshell River is a tributary of the Missouri River, long from its origins at the confluence of its North and South Forks near Martinsdale, Montana to its mouth on the Missouri River. It is located east of the Continental divide entirely within Montana in the United States...

, named in turn by the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...

presumably due to mussel
Mussel
The common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalvia mollusca, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.The...

s found on its banks.
Otter Tail County, Minnesota
Otter Tail County, Minnesota
Otter Tail County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 57,303. Its county seat is Fergus Falls.-History:...

: Otter Tail is named after the Otter Tail Lake
Otter Tail Lake
Otter Tail Lake is a lake in the west-central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the largest lake in Otter Tail County.- Geography :Adjoining the city of Ottertail, it is a part of the Otter Tail River chain of lakes. Upstream from the lake are Big Pine, Little Pine and Rush lakes, while...

and Otter Tail River
Otter Tail River
The Otter Tail River is a river in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It begins in Clearwater County, southwest of Bemidji...

. The river was named by the Ojibwa
Ojibwa
The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...

for its long sandbar shaped like an otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....

's tail.
Sequatchie County, Tennessee: Sequatchie's name is derived from Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...

word believed to mean, opossum, he grins or runs.
Waukesha County, Wisconsin
Waukesha County, Wisconsin
Waukesha County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2008, the population was 380,629. Its county seat is Waukesha.-History:The part of Wisconsin that Waukesha County now occupies was a part of Michigan when Milwaukee County was organized in September 1834. On July 4, 1836, the...

: Waukesha is named for a Potawatomi
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...

word meaning little foxes.
Yalobusha County, Mississippi
Yalobusha County, Mississippi
Yalobusha County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of 2010, the population was 12,678. Its county seats are Water Valley and Coffeeville.-History:...

: Yalobusha is a Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

word meaning tadpole place.

Possibly

Leon County, Texas: Leon is named for either Martin De Leon
Martín De León
Martín De León was a rancher and wealthy Mexican empresario descended from Spanish aristocracy. He was the patriarch of one of the prominent founding families of early Texas. De León and his wife Patricia de la Garza established De León's Colony, the only predominantly Mexican colony in Texas...

, the founder of Victoria, Texas
Victoria, Texas
Victoria is a city in and the seat of Victoria County, Texas, United States. The population was 60,603 at the 2000 census. The three counties of the Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 111,163 at the 2000 census,...

, or a yellow wolf which lived in the area and was nicknamed "lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...

" (leon in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

).

Possibly

See also