The Origins of NC County Names

The earliest counties in North Carolina date all the way back to 1668. In the very northeast part of the state (and all still around today), they include Chowan, Currituck, Pasquotank, and Perquimans.

The last ones created – Avery and Hoke – date back to a little more than 100 years ago, in 
1911. And that leaves the Tar Heel State with exactly 100 counties today.

With all that history, it’s not surprising there are some interesting stories as to how these counties came to be named. In fact, there are some definite themes that emerge as well. 

Below is a map of the state’s counties reflecting those themes. And here’s a key for that map:

• Red – royal and colonial
• Blue – revolutionary 
• Purple – Brits who sided with the colonies
• Grey – Civil War era
• Orange – NC folks not covered above
• Green – Native American
• Black – everything else

A couple of notes:

Green (10)

Rather interestingly, some of those earliest counties trace their names back to Native American origins. Currituck, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Chowan and Pamlico are all in the far eastern part of the state. 

Seems, though, that those fell out of favor. You have to go all the way to the western part of the state to find any more – Yadkin, Allegheny, Watauga, Catawaba, and Cherokee.

Red (28)

Not too surprisingly, these tend to cluster in the eastern part of the state. The furthest west is Mecklenburg, home to Charlotte and named after that particular queen’s royal house. Other royal houses are memorialized in Brunswick, New Hanover (Wilmington), and Orange (Chapel Hill) counties. 

The Lords Proprietors, the original owners of the Carolinas, are remembered with several counties – Carteret, Bertie, Craven, Tyrrell, Beaufort, and Granville. Some colonial governors are honored in Hyde, Johnston, Martin and Rowan counties. 

Interestingly, Wake County (Raleigh) is named for the wife of a colonial governor, William Tryon, who was, however, not so honored himself. Same goes for Surry, named after Tryon’s home county back in Britain.

The rest are almost all British politicos, famous or involved with the Board of Trade – Bladen, Guilford (Winston-Salem), Onslow, Duplin, Edgecombe, Halifax, Hertford and Northampton.

Purple (5)

There are only five of these, with one guy accounting for two of them (William Pitt, Earl of Chatham). The rest are for Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden; Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond; and Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham. Interestingly, these counties date from as early as 1760 to as late as 1785.

Blue (31)

These tend to cluster in the central part of the state, reflecting when these counties were created. They range from Washington in the east (after the father of our country) to Buncombe in the west (after Edward Buncombe, a colonel from what is now Washington County). 

These are mostly militarily, with the majority named after local folk, mostly military types, and none of whom are really famous outside of North Carolina. There are also some national figures – Washington, Greene (Nathaniel), Wayne (Mad Anthony), Gates (Horation) and Madison.

Interestingly, Polk was for William Polk, and not James Knox. They were definitely related though. A distinguished officer in the Revolutionary War, William went on to serve his native state for over 30 years in a number of different positions.

Grey (4)

Seeing as most counties had been created before the Civil War, it’s a little surprising that there are four of these. Turns out all four were carved from existing counties – Pender from New Hanover, Hoke from Cumberland and Robeson, Lee from Chatham and Moore, and Vance from three different ones. You’re probably familiar with Robert E. Lee and Zebulon Vance (the very popular wartime governor). Dorsey Pender and Robert Hoke were generals from NC, with the former a casualty at Gettysburg, 

Orange (14)

A lot of counties were created between NC becoming a state and the Civil War. Not too surprisingly, politicians in this period tended to be pretty popular sources for names for these counties. 

Wilson is the furthest east of these, was named after a Mexican American War colonel (and casualty), and was actually formed from three existing counties. The rest include one military figure (Forsyth), a local landowner (Durham), a UNC professor (Mitchell), and the rest all local politicians. With but two exceptions, they are all west of the I-77 corridor.

Black (6)

Okay, here are your outliers. Honestly, this is just a grab-bag. So, you’ve got your famous figures from outside the state (Columbus, Jackson, and Clay), another country (Scotland), an abstract noun (Union), and a little Latin (Transylvania, meaning “across the forest”).