This is a list of California county name etymologies. Most of California 's Counties were named by Spanish explorers, often for a Roman Catholic Saint whose Feast Day intersected with the advance into a new part of Alta California . Native American names are also represented, with a smattering of counties named for local figures from the early American era. Many counties are named after Spanish missions.
- word for an ''avenue shaded by trees'' or a '' Cottonwood grove''.
- mountains.
- , a soldier, rancher and miner. In 1848 , Amador, with several Native American s, established a successful Gold Mining camp near the present town of Amador City . In Spanish , the word ''amador means'' "one who loves."
- or Sutter Buttes .
- word meaning ''skulls'', reportedly for the bones of fighters left behind after an Indian war that were discovered by Captain Gabriel Moraga .
- word; the meaning is unknown. The word is derived from the name of a Native American tribe living on the west side of the Sacramento River .
- word meaning ''opposite coast'' or ''other coast'', from its originally being opposite San Francisco (the eventual subdivision of Alameda County out of Contra Costa made this original meaning incorrect).
- word for ''of the north'', due to its location in the northwestern corner of California.
- word for ''the gilded man''; the name for this county in Gold Country references the gold-laden El Dorado of legend.
- word meaning ''ash tree''.
- , a 19th century California agri-baron.
- , the Prussia n Explorer .
- .
- Native American tribe. The meaning of the word ''inyo'' is "dwelling place of the great spirit."
- , which is named in turn for Edward M. Kern , a Topographer who accompanied John C. Frémont on an early expedition through the state.
- .
- s in the area.
- , a miner.
- 's explorers reached what was then the Native American village of Yangna on August 2 , 1769 , the Feast Day of Nuestra Señora La Reina De Los Angeles De Porciúncula .
- word for ''wood'' or ''timber'', because of the area's thick forest.
- (the sailor), a Native American who ran a ferry in the bay for any years. El Marinero died at the Mission San Rafael in 1834.
- word for ''butterfly''; Spanish explorers named it for the swarms of butterflies that alighted in the county each fall.
- , first Viceroy Of New Spain .
- word for ''mercy'', and was named by Spanish explorers in gratitude for water of the Merced River , which was found after a dry 40-mile trek.
- Native American tribe. One historian suggests that the word ''modoc'' means "the head of the river." Another states that the word is derived from the Klamath word ''moatakni'' meaning "southerners," i.e., the people living south of the Klamath tribe.
- Native American tribe.
- , at that time Viceroy Of Mexico . ''Monterrey'', ''Monterey'' or ''Monte Rey'', as it is variously spelled means ''King's wood'' or ''King's mountain'' in Spanish .
- Native American tribe. All members of the tribe were killed by a Smallpox epidemic in 1838 . The word ''napa'' has been variously translated as ''grizzly bear'', ''house'', ''motherland'' or ''fish''. Of the many explanations of the name's origin, the most plausible seems to be that it is derived from the Patwin word ''napo'', meaning house.
- word for ''snowy''.
- , which in turn was named for the Orange groves which were once plentiful in the area.
- .
- word for ''feathers''. It derives its name from the Spanish words for the Feather River (''Rio de las Plumas''), which flows through the county.
- .
- .
- name for Saint Bernard .
- , which had been rechristened by Sebastián Vizcaíno in 1602 , in honor of the Franciscan , San Diego De Alcalá De Henares , whose name was borne by his flagship.
- , which was the first feature with this name in the region, and Mission San Francisco De Asís .
- name of Saint Joachim .
- , which in turn was named for Saint Louis, Bishop Of Tolouse .
- name for the Apostle Saint Matthew .
- , patroness of fire.
- , which was in turn named for Saint Clare Of Assisi .
- words meaning ''holy cross''.
- Shasta County : Shasta is named for an unknown, but possibly Native American, origin.
- word meaning ''saw'' or ''saw-toothed mountains''.
- word for "bob-tailed horse." Another version, given in an argument before the State Senate in 1852 , is that the French name ''Six Callieux'', meaning "six-stones," was given to a ford on the Umpqua River by Michel La Frambeau and a party of Hudson's Bay Company company Trapper s in 1832 , because six large stones or rocks lay in the river where they crossed.
- name of Francisco Solano , who became a famous missionary. The chief assisted Mariano Vallejo in wars against other natives.
- Indian name translated by some as "Valley of the Moon" and by others as "land or tribe of the Chief Nose."
- '' or for Saint Stanislaus .
- of Sutter's Mill fame.
- . Suggested possible roots are the Arabic word ''tehama'' ("hot low-lands"), the Spanish word ''tejamanil'' (shingle), or "high water" in the dialect of local Native Americans .
- which was discovered by Bruno Ezeta on Trinity Sunday in 1775.
- word for place of ''tules'' or Rushes , aka cattails.
- Tuolumne County : Tuolumne is named for a Native American word that probably means ''people of the caves''.
- .
- Native American s, a Patwin tribe. ''Yolo'' is a Native American name variously believed to be a corruption of ''Yo-loy'' meaning ''a place abounding in rushes'' or of the name of the chief, Yodo , or of the village of Yodoi .
- word ''uvas'' ( Grapes ), wild grapes having grown abundantly in the area. Alternately, it may be a Native American tribe of the Maidu people named ''Yu-ba''.
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