Florida Homes Vacation
County Name Origins
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q
R S T U V W X Y Z
The Atlas of Florida is our source for Florida city and county names. If your community is not included here, it may be listed in the other sources cited below.
Alachua (1824) -- Alachua is either a Muskogee or Timucua word for sinkhole. Right: an 1883 map showing townships, railroads and county roads in Alachua and surrounding counties.
Baker (1861) -- James McNair Baker, Fourth Municipal District, Confederate Senator.
Bay (1913) -- Named after St. Andrews Bay.
Bradford (1861) -- (was New River, 1858-1861) Captain Richard Bradford, killed at Battle of Santa Rosa Island during Civil War.
Brevard (1855) -- (was St. Lucia 1844-1855) Doctor Ephriam Brevard, writer of the so-called Mecklenberg (N.C.) Declaration of Independence, or Theodore Washington Brevard, state comptroller, 1854, 1855-1860.
Broward (1915) -- Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, governor 1905-1909.
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Charlotte (1921) -- The Bay of Charlotte Harbor.
| .Citrus (1887) -- Citrus trees. Left: a 1950's citrus worker fills his bag with oranges in an attempt to beat a mid-February cold snap. |
Clay (1858) -- Henry Clay, U.S. Senator from Kentucky.
Collier (1923) -- Barron Collier, landowner and developer.
Columbia (1832) -- Christopher Columbus.
-top-Dade (1836) -- Major Francis L. Dade, killed at the Dade Battlefield, 1835.
De Soto (1887) -- Hernando de Soto, Spanish explorer.
| Dixie (1921) -- Lyric term for the South. Right: when this photo was taken in 1923, turpentine stills like this one were a regular sight in Dixie County. |
Duval (1822) -- William P. DuVal, territorial governor, 1822-1834.
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Flagler (1917) -- Henry M. Flagler, East Coast railroad builder.
Franklin (1832) -- Benjamin Franklin, scientist and author.
-top-Gadsden (1823) -- James Gadsden of South Carolina, aide-de-camp of Jackson in Florida campaign of 1818.
Gilchrist (1925) -- Albert W. Gilchrist, governor, 1909-1913.
| Glades (1921) -- Everglades. Right: clockwise from left Edward Frank, credited with inventing the swamp buggy, George Espenlaub, who operated one of the first Everglades guide services, and Henry Espenlaub camping in the Everglades. |
| Gulf (1925) -- Gulf of Mexico. Left: this map shows the Gulf of Mexico as charted by Cortes in the 1500's. |
Hamilton (1827) -- Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of U.S. Treasury.
Hardee (1921) -- Cary A. Hardee, governor, 1921-1925.
Hendry (1923) -- Captain Francis A. Hendry, one of the first settlers.
Hernando (1843) -- (was Benton, 1844-1850) Hernando de Soto, Spanish explorer.
Highlands (1921) -- Highland terrain.
| Hillsborough (1834) -- Wills Hill, Viscount Hillsborough of England. Right: a map of Tampa Bay from the Real Cedula concediendo nuevas gracias para formento del comercio de la Luisiana, ca. 1782. |
Holmes (1848) -- Thomas J. Holmes of North Carolina who settled in the area about 1830.
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| Jefferson (1827) -- Thomas Jefferson, President, U.S., 1801-1809. The lithograph at left is an 1885 depiction Monticello, the County Seat of Jefferson County. |
Lafayette (1856) -- Marquis de Lafayette, French officer who served with Washington in the American Revolution.
Lake (1887) -- The large number of lakes in the area.
Lee (1887) -- General Robert E. Lee.
Leon (1824) -- Juan Ponce de Leon, first European to reach Florida.
Levy (1845) -- David Levy (Yulee), U.S. Senator, 1845-1851, 1855-1861.
Liberty (1855) -- Name applied to common objective of American people.
-top-Madison (1827) -- James Madison, President, U.S., 1809-1817.
| Manatee (1855) -- The sea cow, or manatee. Right: an 1871 drawing of a manatee in Florida from Harper's Monthly magazine (vol. XLII). |
| Marion (1844) -- General Francis Marion, Revolutionary War Hero. Left: General Francis Marion, "The Swamp Fox" of the Revolutionary War. |
Martin (1925) -- John W. Martin, governor, 1925-1929.
Monroe (1823) -- James Monroe, President, U.S., 1817-1825.
-top-Nassau (1824) -- Duchy of Nassau, Germany.
-top-Okaloosa (1915) -- Choctaw Indian words oka (water) and lusa (black).
Orange (1845) -- (was Mosquito, 1824-1845) Oranges.
Osceola (1887) -- The Indian leader Osceola ("Singer of the Black Drink").
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Pinellas (1911) -- Pinta Pinal or Point of Pines.
Polk (1861) -- James K. Polk, President, U.S., 1845-1849.
Putnam (1849) -- Either for Israel Putnam, Revolutionary hero, or Benjamin A. Putnam, officer in Seminole War and unsuccessful candidate, U.S. House of Representatives, 1815.
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| St. Lucie (1844) -- St. Lucie of Syracuse, Roman Catholic Saint. Lucie was Born in Sicily and was executed in 304 AD for being a Christian. |
Santa Rosa (1842) -- Rosa de Viterbo, Roman Catholic Saint.
Sarasota (1921) -- from Calusa Indian language, meaning not known, but perhaps "Point of Rocks".
Seminole (1913) -- Seminole Indians, thought to be derived from Spanish word cimarron, meaning "wild" or "runaway."
Sumter (1853) -- General Thomas Sumter, Revolutionary War hero.
| Suwannee (1858) -- is either Cherokee sawani, meaning "echo river", or corruption of Spanish San Juan. Left: this 1907 painting is by Edwin Lamasure and it shows a ferry on the Suwanee River outside of the city of Branford. |
Taylor (1856) -- Zachary Taylor, President, U.S., 1849-1851.
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Volusia (1854) -- An English settler, Volus.
-top-| Wakulla (1843) -- Probably Timucuan Indian word for "spring of water." Right: how times have changed . . . this photograph shows the Wakulla County "Highway" in 1926. |
Walton (1824) -- George Walton, Secretary, Territorial Florida, 1821- 1826.
Washington (1825) -- George Washington, President, U.S., 1789-1797.
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