List of counties in California

(Redirected from List of California county name etymologies)

Counties of California
IMP SD RIV ORA SBD LA KER VEN SB SLO MON SBT FRE KIN TUL INY MNO ALP TUO MPA MAD MER SCL SCR SM SF→ ALA CC SJ STA CAL AMA ED SAC SOL YOL NAP MRN SON MEN LAK COL SUT YUB PLA NEV SIE BUT GLE TEH PLU LAS MOD SHA SIS TRI HUM DN
Location	State of California
Created	1850 (27 original counties)
Number	58 counties
Populations	Minimum: Alpine, 1,141 Maximum: Los Angeles, 9,663,345
Areas	Minimum: San Francisco, 47 square miles (120 km) Maximum: San Bernardino, 20,062 square miles (51,960 km)
Government	Local government in California
Subdivisions	Charter cities

The U.S. state of California is divided into 58 counties. The state was first divided into 27 counties on February 18, 1850. These were further sub-divided to form sixteen additional counties by 1860. Another fourteen counties were formed through further subdivision from 1861 to 1893. The most recent county to form was Imperial County, in 1907. California is home to San Bernardino County, the largest county in the contiguous United States, as well as Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the United States.

The counties of California are local arms of the State of California, described by the Supreme Court of California as agents ("the county is merely a political subdivision of state government, exercising only the powers of the state, granted by the state…'") and the property they hold is held on behalf of all the people of the state. As such, the State Legislature may delegate any of the functions of the State to the counties but likewise can reassume any delegated duties.

California counties are general law counties by default. Still, they may be chartered as provided in Article XI, Section 3 of the California Constitution. A charter county is granted limited home rule powers. Of the 58 counties in California, 14 are governed under a charter. They are Alameda, Butte, El Dorado, Fresno, Los Angeles, Orange, Placer, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Tehama.

Nine counties in California are named for saints, tied with Louisiana for the largest number. This count omits Santa Cruz ("Holy Cross") County, not named for a saint; Merced County and Los Angeles County, both of whose names refer to Saint Mary (Our Lady of Mercy (Merced) and Our Lady Queen of The Angels (Los Angeles)); and Ventura County, whose name is a shortening of the name of St. Bonaventure, the namesake of the local mission.

List


County	FIPS code	County seat	Est.	Formed from	Etymology	General Law or Charter	Population (2023)	Area
Alameda County	001	Oakland	1853	Contra Costa and Santa Clara	The oak and other trees, once abundant in the region; alameda is Spanish for "avenue shaded by trees" or "cottonwood grove".	Charter	1,622,188	738 sq mi (1,911 km)
Alpine County	003	Markleeville	1864	Amador, El Dorado, Calaveras, Mono and Tuolumne	Location high in the Sierra Nevada; alpine refers to the Alps or other mountains.	General Law	1,141	739 sq mi (1,914 km)
Amador County	005	Jackson	1854	Calaveras	Jose Maria Amador (1794–1883), a soldier, rancher, and miner who, along with several Native Americans, established a successful gold mining camp near present-day Amador City in 1848	General Law	41,811	606 sq mi (1,570 km)
Butte County	007	Oroville	1850	original	Sutter Buttes, which were mistakenly thought to be in the county at the time of its establishment	Charter	207,172	1,640 sq mi (4,248 km)
Calaveras County	009	San Andreas	1850	original	Calaveras River; calaveras is Spanish for "skulls".	General Law	46,565	1,020 sq mi (2,642 km)
Colusa County	011	Colusa	1850	original	Rancho Colus land grant from Mexico	General Law	22,037	1,151 sq mi (2,981 km)
Contra Costa County	013	Martinez	1850	original	Location across San Francisco Bay from San Francisco; contra costa is Spanish for "opposite coast".	General Law	1,155,025	720 sq mi (1,865 km)
Del Norte County	015	Crescent City	1857	Klamath	Location along California's northern border; del norte is Spanish for "northern".	General Law	26,589	1,008 sq mi (2,611 km)
El Dorado County	017	Placerville	1850	original	El Dorado, a mythical city of gold, owing to the area's significance in the California Gold Rush	Charter	192,215	1,712 sq mi (4,434 km)
Fresno County	019	Fresno	1856	Mariposa, Merced and Tulare	The city of Fresno; fresno is Spanish for "ash tree".	Charter	1,017,162	5,963 sq mi (15,444 km)
Glenn County	021	Willows	1891	Colusa	Hugh J. Glenn, a California businessman and politician	General Law	28,129	1,315 sq mi (3,406 km)
Humboldt County	023	Eureka	1853	Trinity	Alexander von Humboldt, a German naturalist and explorer	General Law	133,985	3,573 sq mi (9,254 km)
Imperial County	025	El Centro	1907	San Diego	Imperial Valley, named after the Imperial Land Company	General Law	179,057	4,175 sq mi (10,813 km)
Inyo County	027	Independence	1866	Mono and Tulare	Exact etymology disputed; early settlers believed Inyo to be the native name for area mountains, but it may be the name of a Mono Indian leader.	General Law	18,527	10,192 sq mi (26,397 km)
Kern County	029	Bakersfield	1866	Los Angeles and Tulare	Edward Kern, cartographer for John C. Fremont's 1845 expedition	General Law	913,820	8,142 sq mi (21,088 km)
Kings County	031	Hanford	1893	Tulare	Kings River; original Spanish name Rio de los Santos Reyes ("River of the Holy Kings")	General Law	152,682	1,390 sq mi (3,600 km)
Lake County	033	Lakeport	1861	Napa	Clear Lake	General Law	67,878	1,258 sq mi (3,258 km)
Lassen County	035	Susanville	1864	Plumas and Shasta, and now defunct Lake County, Nevada	Peter Lassen, a Danish naturalist and explorer	General Law	28,861	4,558 sq mi (11,805 km)
Los Angeles County	037	Los Angeles	1850	original	The city of Los Angeles, derived from the original Spanish name El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles del Río de Porciúncula ("The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of the River of Porziuncola")	Charter	9,663,345	4,060 sq mi (10,515 km)
Madera County	039	Madera	1893	Fresno	The city of Madera, which was named for the lumber industry it was created for; madera is Spanish for "wood" or "timber".	General Law	162,858	2,138 sq mi (5,537 km)
Marin County	041	San Rafael	1850	original	Chief Marin, "great chief of the tribe Licatiut" (a branch of the Coast Miwok people)	General Law	254,407	520 sq mi (1,347 km)
Mariposa County	043	Mariposa	1850	original	The city of Mariposa; mariposa is Spanish for "butterfly".	General Law	16,919	1,451 sq mi (3,758 km)
Mendocino County	045	Ukiah	1850	original	Antonio de Mendoza, first viceroy of New Spain	General Law	89,108	3,509 sq mi (9,088 km)
Merced County	047	Merced	1855	Mariposa	The city of Merced, derived from the original Spanish name El Río de Nuestra Señora de la Merced ("River of Our Lady of Mercy")	General Law	291,920	1,929 sq mi (4,996 km)
Modoc County	049	Alturas	1874	Siskiyou	The Modoc people	General Law	8,500	3,944 sq mi (10,215 km)
Mono County	051	Bridgeport	1861	Calaveras, Fresno and Mariposa	Mono Lake; derived from Monachi, a Yokuts name for native peoples of the Sierra Nevada	General Law	13,066	3,044 sq mi (7,884 km)
Monterey County	053	Salinas	1850	original	Derived from Monterey Bay, which was named for a Viceroy of New Spain, Gaspar de Zúñiga, 5th Count of Monterrey	General Law	430,723	3,322 sq mi (8,604 km)
Napa County	055	Napa	1850	original	Disputed origin; possibly derived from the Patwin word napo, meaning "home"	General Law	133,216	754 sq mi (1,953 km)
Nevada County	057	Nevada City	1851	Yuba	The phrase Sierra Nevada; nevada is Spanish for "snow-covered", referencing the area's high elevation. The neighboring state was named after the county, which was named after Nevada City.	General Law	102,037	958 sq mi (2,481 km)
Orange County	059	Santa Ana	1889	Los Angeles	Oranges, to illustrate a perception of a region with a semi-tropical atmosphere to those from the eastern parts of the United States	Charter	3,135,755	948 sq mi (2,455 km)
Placer County	061	Auburn	1851	Sacramento	Placer mining, a reference to the area being a center of the California Gold Rush	Charter	423,561	1,407 sq mi (3,644 km)
Plumas County	063	Quincy	1854	Butte	The Feather River; plumas is Spanish for "feathers".	General Law	19,131	2,554 sq mi (6,615 km)
Riverside County	065	Riverside	1893	San Bernardino and San Diego	The city of Riverside, named for its location on the Santa Ana River	General Law	2,492,442	7,208 sq mi (18,669 km)
Sacramento County	067	Sacramento	1850	original	The city of Sacramento, named after the Santísimo Sacramento (Spanish for "Most Holy Sacrament")	Charter	1,584,288	966 sq mi (2,502 km)
San Benito County	069	Hollister	1874	Monterey	Saint Benedict (Benito is a Spanish diminutive of Benedict).	General Law	68,175	1,389 sq mi (3,597 km)
San Bernardino County	071	San Bernardino	1853	Los Angeles	The city of San Bernardino, named after Saint Bernardino of Siena (Spanish for Saint Bernardine)	Charter	2,195,611	20,062 sq mi (51,960 km)
San Diego County	073	San Diego	1850	original	The city of San Diego, from Mission San Diego (Spanish for Saint Didacus)	Charter	3,269,973	4,204 sq mi (10,888 km)
City and County of San Francisco	075	San Francisco	1850	original	The city of San Francisco, from Presidio of San Francisco and Mission San Francisco de Asís, named after Saint Francis of Assisi (Spanish for Saint Francis)	Charter	808,988	47 sq mi (122 km)
San Joaquin County	077	Stockton	1850	original	Spanish for Saint Joachim, father of the Virgin Mary	General Law	800,965	1,399 sq mi (3,623 km)
San Luis Obispo County	079	San Luis Obispo	1850	original	The city of San Luis Obispo, from Mission San Luis Obispo, named after Saint Louis of Toulouse (Spanish for Saint Louis, the Bishop)	General Law	281,639	3,304 sq mi (8,557 km)
San Mateo County	081	Redwood City	1856	San Francisco and Santa Cruz	Spanish for Saint Matthew	Charter	726,353	449 sq mi (1,163 km)
Santa Barbara County	083	Santa Barbara	1850	original	The city of Santa Barbara, from Mission Santa Barbara, (Spanish for Saint Barbara)	General Law	441,257	2,738 sq mi (7,091 km)
Santa Clara County	085	San Jose	1850	original	City of Santa Clara, from Mission Santa Clara de Asís, named for Saint Clare of Assisi (Spanish for Saint Clare)	Charter	1,877,592	1,291 sq mi (3,344 km)
Santa Cruz County	087	Santa Cruz	1850	original	The city of Santa Cruz, from Mission Santa Cruz (Spanish for "holy cross")	General Law	261,547	446 sq mi (1,155 km)
Shasta County	089	Redding	1850	original	Mount Shasta; the indigenous Shasta people	General Law (becoming Charter as of 1 January 2025)	180,366	3,786 sq mi (9,806 km)
Sierra County	091	Downieville	1852	Yuba	Sierra is Spanish for "mountain range", a reference to the area's topography	General Law	3,200	953 sq mi (2,468 km)
Siskiyou County	093	Yreka	1852	Shasta and Klamath	Siskiyou Mountains; exact etymology of Siskiyou is disputed.	General Law	42,905	6,287 sq mi (16,283 km)
Solano County	095	Fairfield	1850	original	Chief Solano of the Suisunes	General Law	449,218	828 sq mi (2,145 km)
Sonoma County	097	Santa Rosa	1850	original	Exact etymology disputed; probably a Pomo term meaning "valley of the moon", which references a native legend about spiritual activity in the area	General Law	481,812	1,576 sq mi (4,082 km)
Stanislaus County	099	Modesto	1854	Tuolumne	Stanislaus River, named after Estanislao, a native of the area when California was under Spanish and Mexican rule	General Law	551,430	1,495 sq mi (3,872 km)
Sutter County	101	Yuba City	1850	original	John Sutter, a Swiss pioneer of California associated with the California Gold Rush	General Law	97,948	603 sq mi (1,562 km)
Tehama County	103	Red Bluff	1856	Butte, Colusa and Shasta	The city of Tehama, probably a native term describing its location	Charter	64,896	2,951 sq mi (7,643 km)
Trinity County	105	Weaverville	1850	original	The city of Trinidad, Spanish for "trinity"	General Law	15,670	3,179 sq mi (8,234 km)
Tulare County	107	Visalia	1852	Mariposa	Tulare Lake, which is named after the tule rush (Schoenoplectus acutus) that grew in the marshes and sloughs along its shores	General Law	479,468	4,824 sq mi (12,494 km)
Tuolumne County	109	Sonora	1850	original	Exact etymology disputed; probably a corruption of the native term talmalamne, which means "cluster of stone wigwams", a reference to local cave dwelling tribes	General Law	54,204	2,236 sq mi (5,791 km)
Ventura County	111	Ventura	1872	Santa Barbara	The city of Ventura, derived from Mission San Buenaventura (Spanish for St. Bonaventure)	General Law	829,590	1,846 sq mi (4,781 km)
Yolo County	113	Woodland	1850	original	The Yolan people, a local Native American tribe	General Law	220,544	1,012 sq mi (2,621 km)
Yuba County	115	Marysville	1850	original	Named either by the Maidu people, a local Native American tribe who live on the banks of the Feather and Yuba Rivers, for one of their villages, or by Gabriel Moraga for the wild grapes (Vitis californica) that grow abundantly at the edge of the rivers (uva being Spanish for "grape")	General Law	85,722	630 sq mi (1,632 km)

Defunct counties

Branciforte County was the original name of Santa Cruz County in 1850. The reference was to the 1797 town of Branciforte.
Klamath County was created in 1851 from the northern half of Trinity County. Part of the county's territory went to Del Norte County in 1857, and in 1874 the remainder was divided between Humboldt and Siskiyou counties.
Pautah County, California was created in 1852 out of territory which, the state of California assumed, was to be ceded to it by the United States Congress from territory in what is now the state of Nevada. When the cession never occurred, the California State Legislature officially abolished the never-organized county in 1859.
Buena Vista County was created in 1855 by the California State Legislature out of the southeastern territory of Tulare County on the west of the Sierra Nevada but was never officially organized. The south of Tulare County was later organized as Kern County in 1866, with additions from Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.
Coso County was created in 1864 by the California State Legislature out of territory of Mono County and Tulare County on the east slope of the Sierra Nevada but was never officially organized. The region was later organized in 1866 as Inyo County with additions from Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.
Roop County, Nevada encompassed much of Lassen County, including the Honey Lake Valley and the community of Susanville, California; ambiguous organic legislation of Nevada Territory led to confusion about the geographic extent of Nevada's western border. This was later clarified, with the portions of Roop County in California being assigned to Lassen County; the remaining, sparsely portions of Roop County were eventually combined with Washoe County, Nevada.

Proposed counties

Mojave County, proposed in 1988 that would have split the northern and eastern 90% of San Bernardino County
Cahuilla County, proposed in the 1980's by the residents of eastern Riverside County
Corona County, proposed in 2002 by residents of Corona and surrounding communities in Riverside County
High Desert County, proposed in the 1970's, 80's, and 90's to split from portions of Los Angeles, Kern and San Bernardino counties
Los Padres County, proposed in 1978 to split the northern portion of Santa Barbara County
Mission County, proposed in 2006 to split the northern portion of Santa Barbara County
Sequoia County, proposed in the 1990s, split from parts of southern Humboldt and Northern Mendocino counties

References

"Regions | CA Census".
Eigerman, Jared (January 1, 1999). "California Counties: Second-Rate Localities or Ready-Made Regional Governments?" (PDF). Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly. 26 (3): 8. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
Supreme Court of California (February 16, 1960). County of Marin v. Superior Court (Report). Vol. 53 Cal.2d 633. 22592. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
^ "An Introduction to California Counties" (PDF). California State Association of Counties. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
"California Constitution, Article XI Local Government [sec. 1 – Sec. 15] Sec. 3". California Legislative Information. State of California. June 2, 1970. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
^ "County Structure & Powers". California State Association of Counties. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
Kane, Joseph Nathan; Aiken, Charles Curry (2005). The American Counties: Origins of County Names, Dates of Creation, and Population Data, 1950–2000. Scarecrow Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-8108-5036-1.
"EPA County FIPS Code Listing". U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
^ National Association of Counties. "NACo – Find a county". Archived from the original on June 5, 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
Sanchez, Nellie Van de Grift (1914). Spanish and Indian Place Names of California: Their Meaning and Their Romance. San Francisco: A. M. Robertson. ISBN 9781404750845. OCLC 4268886.
"US Census Bureau". United States Census Bureau, Population Division. March 2024.

External links

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