This is a list of Ohio county name etymologies. To make it easier to use, the list has been subdivided into two lists:

• List of Ohio county name etymologies, A-K
• List of Ohio county name etymologies, L-Z

Analysis of Names

Below are categorized the names of counties by their sources. Each county is counted only one in the main entries. Those listed under "plus" appeared in previous categories, e.g. "Washington" is counted under Presidents of the United States, but also listed under Revolutionary War figures for completeness.

Of Ohio's 88 counties:

• Seven are named for Presidents: Adams, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and Washington

• One is named for a Vice President: Clinton

• Plus: Adams and Jefferson

• Three are named for Governors of Ohio: Lucas, Meigs, and Morrow

• One is named for a Governor of another state: Trumbull

• Plus Clinton, Henry, Jefferson, Monroe, Shelby

• Two are named for a member of Congress: Ross and Vinton

• Plus Carroll, Harrison, Jackson, Madison, Monroe

• One is named for a cabinet member: Hamilton

• Plus Jefferson, Knox, Madison, Meigs, Monroe

• Twenty are named for American Revolutionary War soldiers and officers: Allen, Butler, Clark, Darke, Fayette, Greene, Knox, Logan, Marion, Mercer, Montgomery, Morgan, Paulding, Preble, Putnam, Shelby, Stark, Van Wert, Warren, and Williams

• Plus Monroe, Washington

• Four are named for American Revolutionary War figures who did not fight: Carroll, Franklin, Henry, Hancock

• Three are named for Indian fighters: Crawford, Hardin and Wayne

• Plus Clark

• Six are named for officers and soldiers in the War of 1812: Brown, Holmes, Lawrence, Perry, Pike, Wood

• Plus Harrison and Jackson

• Six are named for places elsewhere: Ashland, Athens, Clermont, Gallia, Guernsey, Lorain, and Medina

• Seven are named after geographic features: Belmont, Champaign, Fairfield, Highland, Lake, Portage, Richland, Summit

• One is named for a U.S. Army fort: Defiance

• One is named for an explorer: Columbiana

• Plus Pike

• One is named for an inventor: Fulton

• One is named for the circumstances of its creation: Union

• One is named for an early settler there: Noble

• One is named for a naval officer: Preble

• Nineteen are named for Indian words: Ashtabula, Auglaize, Coshocton, Cuyahoga, Delaware, Erie, Geauga, Hocking, Huron, Mahoning, Miami, Muskingum, Ottawa, Pickaway, Sandusky, Scioto, Seneca, Tuscarawas, and Wyandot