This is a list of Idaho county name etymologies.

For an analysis of the county names, see Analysis of Idaho county namesakes.

• Ada County, Idaho: Ada is named for Ada Riggs , the first pioneer child born in the area and the daughter of H.C. Riggs , a cofounder of Boise, Idaho.
• Adams County, Idaho: Adams is named for John Adams, the second president of the United States.
• Bannock County, Idaho: Bannock is named for the Bannock Native American tribe.
• Bear Lake County, Idaho: Bear Lake is named for Bear Lake, which lies partly within the county and partly within Utah.
• Benewah County, Idaho: Benewah is named for Benewah , a Coeur d'Alene leader.
• Bingham County, Idaho: Bingham is named for Henry Harrison Bingham , an U.S. congressman from Pennsylvania.
• Blaine County, Idaho: Blaine is named for James Gillespie Blaine, the United States Secretary of State and presidential candidate.
• Boise County, Idaho: Boise is named for the Boise River, which empties into the Snake River in western Canyon County. Boisé is French for wooded.
• Bonner County, Idaho: Bonner is named for Edwin L. Bonner , a pioneer ferry operator in the area.
• Bonneville County, Idaho: Bonneville is named for Benjamin Louis Eulalie de Bonneville, a French explorer of the Great Basin area.
• Boundary County, Idaho: Boundary is named for the fact that it borders Washington on the west, Montana on the east, and Canada (British Columbia) on the north.
• Butte County, Idaho: Butte is named for the buttes scattered throughout the county.
• Camas County, Idaho: Camas is named for the local camassia plant.
• Canyon County, Idaho: Canyon is named for either the Boise River or Snake River canyons.
• Caribou County, Idaho: Caribou is named for the Caribou Mountains.
• Cassia County, Idaho: Cassia is named for Cassia Creek , which flows through the center of the county into the Raft River .
• Clark County, Idaho: Clark is named for Sam K. Clark , an Idaho state legislator from the county.
• Clearwater County, Idaho: Clearwater is named for the Clearwater River, which flows into the Snake River at Lewiston, Idaho.
• Custer County, Idaho: Custer is named for the General Custer mine , in turn named after General George Armstrong Custer.
• Elmore County, Idaho: Elmore is named for the Ida Elmore mines .
• Franklin County, Idaho: Franklin is named for Franklin, Idaho, the first town in the state, in turn named for Franklin Richards , an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
• Fremont County, Idaho: Fremont is named for John Charles Frémont, the famous explorer and U.S. Senator.
• Gem County, Idaho: Gem is named for the Idaho state nickname of Gem State.
• Gooding County, Idaho: Gooding is named for Frank Robert Gooding , the seventh governor of Idaho.
• Idaho County, Idaho: Idaho is named for ee-da-how, an invented word supposedly meaning the sun comes from the mountains in the Shoshone language. Ee-da-how is also the state name's origin.
• Jefferson County, Idaho: Jefferson is named for Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States.
• Jerome County, Idaho: Jerome is named for either Jerome Hill , Jerome Kuhn or Jerome Kuhn, Jr. , three related local leaders important to the county.
• Kootenai County, Idaho: Kootenai is named for the Kutenai Native American tribe.
• Latah County, Idaho: Latah is named for Latah Creek .
• Lemhi County, Idaho: Lemhi is named for Fort Lemhi , a local mission and fort of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the future county which was abandoned after a Native American raid. Fort Lemhi was named for King Lemhi , a figure in the Book of Mormon.
• Lewis County, Idaho: Lewis is named for Meriwether Lewis, a co-leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
• Lincoln County, Idaho: Lincoln is named for Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States.
• Madison County, Idaho: Madison is named for James Madison, the fourth president of the United States.
• Minidoka County, Idaho: Minidoka is named for a Native American word of unknown meaning.
• Nez Perce County, Idaho: Nez Perce is named for the Nez Perce Native American tribe.
• Oneida County, Idaho: Oneida is named for the Oneida Lake area of New York from which many early settlers hailed.
• Owyhee County, Idaho: Owyhee is named for the Kingdom of Hawaii. Hawaiian fur trappers had explored (and had been mysteriously killed in) the area around 1820.
• Payette County, Idaho: Payette is named for the Payette River , which, in turn, is named for explorer Francois Payette .
• Power County, Idaho: Power is named for the American Falls Power Plant .
• Shoshone County, Idaho: Shoshone is named for the Shoshone Native American tribe.
• Teton County, Idaho: Teton is named for the Teton Range.
• Twin Falls County, Idaho: Twin Falls is named for twin waterfalls on the Snake River.
• Valley County, Idaho: Valley is named for the area's Long Valley .
• Washington County, Idaho: Washington is named for George Washington, the first president of the United States.

See also

• Idaho
• County (United States)
• List of Idaho counties
• Lists of U.S. county name etymologies

Source

• Access Idaho: Idaho Counties