US Place Names ~ Cloquet, Minnesota to Corral, California

Cloquet; town in Carlton County, Minnesota, so named from the mills there. A French word, meaning "sound of the mill."

Cloud; county in Kansas, named for William F. Cloud, colonel of the Second Regiment of Kansas.

Clover dale; township and town in Sonoma County, California, so named because of the rich growth of clover in the valley in which the town is located.

Clymer; village in Cass County, Indiana, named for George Clymer, its founder.

Clymer; town in Chautauqua County, New York, named for George Clymer, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Coahoma; county, and town in same county, in Mississippi. A Choctaw Indian word meaning "red panther."

Coal City; city in Grundy County, Illinois;

Coal Valley; township and village in Rock Island County, Illinois. Named from coal mines in the vicinity.

Coarsegold; mining town in Madera County, California, so named because of the gold nuggets found in its placer mines.

Coast; range of mountains in Oregon, so named because lying parallel with the Pacific coast.

Coatsburg; village in Adams County, Illinois, named for Robert Coats, one of the founders.

Coatesville; borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, named for Moses Coates, one of the early settlers.

Cobalt; village in Middlesex County, Connecticut, so named from mines of cobalt in the neighborhood.

Cobb; county in Georgia, named for Thomas W. Cobb, United States Senator from that State.

Cobbosseecontee; river and lake in Maine. An Indian word, meaning "place where sturgeon are taken."

Cobden; village in Union County, Illinois, named for Richard Cobden.

Cobleskill; creek and town in Schoharie County, New York, named for Cobel, an early mill owner.

Cobscook; arm of Passamaquoddy Bay, Maine. Hubbard derives it from the name of the Indian tribe Passamaquoddy, which he says signifies "falls" or "rough water." Other derivations are habassak-hige, ''sturgeon-catching place" and "small, muddy stream."

Cocalico; creek in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Corrupted from achgookwalico, "where snakes gather in holes."

Cochecalechee; tributary of the Chattahoochee, in Georgia. An Indian word meaning "broken arrow."

Cocheco; river in New Hampshire. An Indian word meaning "rapid" or "violent."

Cochecton; town in Sullivan County, New York. An Indian word meaning, according to Haines, "low ground;" others say "finished small harbor."

Cochise; county in Arizona, named for the chief of the Chiricahua Apache Indians, an enemy of all civilization.

Cochituate; village in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. An Indian word meaning "land on rapid streams."

Cochran; county in Texas, named for a man who fell at the Alamo.

Cocke; county in Tennessee, named for Gen. William Cocke, United States Senator from that State in 1796-97 and 1799-1805.

Cock Robin; island in California, settled by a man named Robin, who, because of his bragging of his fighting qualities, was nicknamed "Cock Robin."

Coconino; county in Arizona, named from a tribe of Indians.

Cocoosing; creeks in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. An Indian word meaning "owl place."

Cod; cape in Massachusetts, which received its name from Bartholomew Gosnold, who caught many codfish there.

Codington; county in South Dakota, named for Rev. R. B. Codington, legislator in 1875.

Codornices; creek in California. Derived from the Spanish codorniz, "quail."

Codorus; creek in York County, Pennsylvania. An Indian word said to mean "rapid water."

Coeur; village in Trinity County, California, named from its location in the heart of the mountains. A French word meaning "heart."

Coeur d'Alene; lake and town in Kootenai County, Idaho; named from a tribe of Indians. A French phrase, meaning "needle hearts" or "awl hearts." Some authorities say that this name was given to these Indians because the expression was used by a chief of the tribe to denote his opinion of the Canadian trappers' meanness. Rev. M. Eells says that the name was given to the tribe by members of the Hudson Bay Company, because of their sharpness in trade.

Coeyman; town in Albany County, New York, named for the patentee, Barent Peterse Coeymans.

Coffee; counties in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee.

Coffeeville; town in Yalobusha County, Mississippi. Named for Gen. John Coffee, noted Indian fighter.

Coffee; creek in Humboldt County, California, named from the circumstance of a sack of coffee having been spilled into it.

Coffeen; village in Montgomery County, Illinois, named for Gustavus Coffeen, one of the founders.

Coffey; county in Kansas;

Coffeyville; city in Montgomery County, Kansas. Named for A. M. Coffey, member of the first Kansas Territorial legislature.

Cohasset; town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. An Indian word, said by some to mean "fishing promontory," "place of pines," or "young pine trees."

Cohocton; town in Steuben County, New York. From an Indian word cohocta, "steam rising in a black-alder swamp with overhanging trees," or "trees in water."

Cohoes; city in Albany County, New York, named from Cohoes falls. An Indian word, meaning "shipwrecked canoe;" also said to signify "great bendings."

Cokato; village in Wright County, Minnesota. An Indian word meaning "at the middle."

Coke; county, and village in Wood County, in Texas, named for Richard Coke, governor of and United States Senator from Texas.

Cokesbury; town in Greenwood County, South Carolina. A combination of the names of two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury.

Colbert; county in Alabama, named for George and Levi Colbert.

Colby; city in Thomas County, Kansas, named for J. R. Colby, one of the old settlers.

Colby; city in Clark and Marathon counties, Wisconsin, named for Charles Colby, president of the Wisconsin Central Railroad.

Colchester; borough in New London County, Connecticut, and other places in the country, named from the town in England.

Colchester; township and city in McDonough County, Illinois, first called Chester, "Col" being prefixed to distinguish it from Chester in Randolph County.

Colchester; town in Delaware County, New York, named from Colchester, Connecticut.

Colden; town in Erie County, New York, named for Cadwalader D. Colden, of the State senate.

Cold Spring; town in Cape May County, New Jersey, and many small places in the country; named from springs near.

Coldwater; city in Comanche County, Kansas, named from the city in Michigan.

Coldwater; city in Branch County, Michigan, and town in Tate County, Mississippi, named from streams. The name is applied descriptively.

Cole; county in Missouri, named for Capt. Stephen Cole, an Indian fighter.

Colebrook; town in Coos County, New Hampshire, named for Sir George Colebrook, original grantee.

Coleman; county, and town in same county, in Texas, named for R. M. Coleman, captain of the first company of Texas rangers.

Colerain; town in Bertie County, North Carolina, named from the town in Ireland.

Coleraine; town in Franklin County, Massachusetts. The origin of the name is in doubt, but Gabriel Hanger was created Baron Coleraine in 1761, the date of the naming of the town.

Coles; county in Illinois, named for Edward Cole, governor of the State in 1823-1826. Colesville; town in Broome County, New York, named for Nathaniel Cole, one of the first settlers.

Colfax; towns in McLean County, Illinois, Clinton County, Indiana, Grant Parish, Louisiana, and Bay County, Michigan; counties in Nebraska and New Mexico; and town in Whitman County, Washington; named for Schuyler Colfax, Vice-President under President Grant.

Collar Back; ridge of limestone in the Catskill Mountains, New York. A corruption of the Dutch name Kalkberg, meaning "lime hill."

Collegeville; borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, seat of Ursinus College.

Colleton; county in South Carolina, named for Sir John Colleton, one of the eight original proprietors of Carolina.

Collettsville; town in Caldwell County, North Carolina, named for a family resident there.

Collin; county in Texas, named for Collin McKinney, an early settler.

Collingsworth; county in Texas, named for Judge James Collingsworth, secretary of state of the republic in 1836.

Collinsville; city in Madison County, Illinois, settled by four brothers named Collins, from Litchfield, Connecticut.

Collinsville; town in Dundy County, Nebraska, named for Moses Collins, an early settler.

Collinsville; village in Lewis County, New York, named for Homer Collins.

Collis; village in Fresno County, California, named for Collis P. Huntington, president of the Southern Pacific Railroad.

Coloma; town in Eldorado County, California, named from an Indian tribe.

Colony; city in Anderson County, Kansas, named for a colony from Ohio and Indiana, which settled in the neighborhood.

Colorado; State of the Union, river in Texas, and river in Utah and Arizona; Colorado City; town in El Paso County, Colorado; Colorado Springs; city in El Paso County,

Colorado. A Spanish word meaning "ruddy" or "blood red;" in a secondary sense, "colored."

Colorado; county in Texas, named from the river.

Colquitt; county, and town in Miller County, in Georgia, named for Walter T. Colquitt, United States Senator.

Colter; peak in Yellowstone Park, named for John Colter, a guide with the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Colton; town in St. Lawrence County, New York, named, for Jesse Colton Higley, an early settler.

Colton; township and city in San Bernardino County^ California, named for Col. David Colton, an early and prominent citizen.

Coltsneck; town in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The name is probably derived from an innkeeper's sign upon which was printed the old seal of New Jersey, a horse's head with a wreath around the neck.

Columbia; counties in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin, and river in Oregon and Washington. The river was named by Captain Gray for the vessel in which he entered its mouth.

Columbiana; county, and village in same county, in Ohio;

Columbus; county in North Carolina, and 26 places in the country. Named for Christopher Columbus.

Columbus Grove; village in Putnam County, Ohio, so named by the first settlers from the city of Columbus.

Colusa; county, and town in same county, in California, named from the Korusi tribe of Indians.

Colville; town in Stevens County, Washington, named from the old Hudson Bay Company's fort near the Columbia River.

Colwich; city in Sedgwick County, Kansas. The name is a compound of Colorado and Wichita, with reference to the Colorado and Wichita Railroad.

Comal; county in Texas which, takes its nam© from the river. A Spanish word meaning "flat earthen pan."

Comanche; counties in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, named from the Indian tribe.

Cometa; village in San Joaquin County, California. The Spanish form of "comet."

Commack; village in Suffolk County, New York. From an Indian word, winne-comae, "beautiful place."

Commencement; bay in Washington, named by Vancouver, because he thought it the beginning of the arm of an inlet.

Commerce; village in Scott County, Missouri, so named because it was a trading post as early as 1803.

Communipaw; village in Bergen County, New Jersey, named for the original grantee, Michael Pauw, director of the Dutch West India Company. The word is of Indian origin.

Como; town in Park County, Colorado, so named by the early miners because of a lake in the neighborhood, referring to Lake Como, Italy.

Como; town in Panola County, Mississippi, named from a highland pond upon the place of Dr. G .G. Tate, who settled it.

Compton; village in Lee County, Illinois, named for Joel Compton, its founder. Comstock; famous silver and lead bearing lode in Nevada, named for Henry Page Comstock.

Conant; creek in Yellowstone Park, named for Al Conant, who nearly lost his life in it.

Concho; county and river in Texas. A Spanish word meaning a "shell."

Concord; towns in Contra Costa County, California, and Essex County, Vermont, named from the town in Massachusetts.

Concord; town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, so called either from the Christian concord among the first company, or "from the peaceful manner of its acquisition," it having been purchased from the Indians.

Concord; city in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, named from the battle of Concord.

Concordia; city in Cloud County, Kansas, named so because there was a controversy for years over a permanent seat of county government, which was finally settled with unanimity.

Cone; peak in Siskiyou County, California, so named because of its regular conical shape.

Conecuh; county and river in Alabama, from the Creek Indian word conata, meaning "crooked," probably given with reference to the winding course of the river.

Conedogwinit; stream in Pennsylvania. An Indian word meaning "for a long way nothing but bends."

Conejo; town in Fresno County, California.

Conejoe; county, and town in same county, in Colorado, named from the Rio de los Conejos. A Spanish term meaning "rabbit," and applied to these localities on account of the great numbers of these animals.

Conemaugh; river and town in Cambria County, Pennsylvania. An Indian word meaning "otter creek."

Conequonessing; creek in Pennsylvania. A Delaware Indian word meaning "for a long time straight."

Conestoga; creek and village in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, named from an Indian tribe. The word is interpreted to mean "great maize land," or "crooked stream."

Conesus; lake and town in Livingston County, New York. The name is derived from the Indian word ganeasos, "place of many berries," or, according to Morgan, "place of nanny-berries."

Conewago; creek and village in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. An Indian word meaning "long reach," or " long strip."

Conewango; river in New York. The name is derived from the Indian word ganowungo, "rapids," or, according to some other authorities, "they have been gone a long time."

Coney; island at the extremity of Long Island, New York, which is said by some to have been so named because of the numbers of rabbits there. Another theory ascribes it to the winds having driven the sand into truncated cones. It appears, however, to have been originally called Congu, which suggests another derivation.

Confluence; borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, so named because situated near the confluence of three streams.

Congaree; river, and town in Richmond County, in South Carolina, named from a tribe of Indians.

Conklin; town in Broome County, New York, named for Judge John Conklin.

Conly; creek in Humboldt County, California, named for an old settler.

Conneaut; townships in Crawford and Erie counties, Pennsylvania, and village and creek in Ashtabula County, Ohio;

Conneaut Lake; borough in Crawford County, Pennsylvania;

Conneautville; borough in Crawford County, Pennsylvania. Heckewelder says it is a corruption of the Indian, gunniate, meaning "it is a long time since they are gone." According to other authorities it is a Seneca Indian word, signifying "many fish." A third authority gives "snow place."

Connecticut; State of the Union and river in New England. An Indian name, derived from quonoktacut, meaning, according to some authorities "river whose water is driven in waves by tides or winds." Haines says, "land on the long tidal river." Other interpretations are, "on long river," "long river," and "the long (without end) river."

Connellsville; borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, named for Zachariah Connell, who laid it out.

Connersville; city in Fayette County, Indiana, named for John Conner, who laid out the place in 1817.

Connersville; village in Harrison County, Kentucky, named for Lewis Conner.

Conness; mount in California, named for John Conness, Senator from California in 1863-1869.

Cononodaw; creek in Pennsylvania. The name is corrupted from the Indian word gunniada, "he tarries long."

Conoquenessing; borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania. The name is corrupted from the Delaware Indian word gunachquene sink, meaning "for a long way straight."

Coney; creek and village in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. A corruption of a tribal name, said to mean "long."

Conquest; town in Cayuga County, New York, so named to commemorate the conquest achieved by those who favored a division of the old town of Cato.

Conshohocken; borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. An Indian word meaning "pleasant valley."

Constable; village in Franklin County, New York, named for William Constable, agent and part proprietor.

Constableville; village in Lewis County, New York, named for William Constable, son of the original proprietor.

Constantine; township and village in Saint Joseph County, Michigan, named for the Roman emperor.

Constitution; island in the Hudson River, New York, named from the fort.

Contoocook; river in New Hampshire. An Indian word meaning "crow river."

Contra Costa; county in California. A Spanish term meaning "coast opposite another."

Converse; county in Wyoming, probably named for A. R. Converse, territorial treasurer.

Conway; county, and town in Faulkner County, in Arkansas, named for Henry W. Conway, Territorial delegate in Congress.

Conway; town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, named for Henry Seymour Conway, secretary of state of England. Some authorities claim that the name was derived from the town in Wales.

Conway; town in Horry County, South Carolina, named for Gen. Robert Conway, an early resident.

Cook; inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of Alaska, named for Captain Cook, the navigator.

Cook; county in Illinois, named for Daniel P. Cook, member of Congress.

Cook; county in Minnesota, named for Maj. Michael Cook, who was killed in the civil war.

Cooke; county in Texas, named for William G. Cooke, captain of New Orleans Grays at the storming of Bexar.

Cooksburg; village in Albany County, New York, named for Thomas B. Cook, an early landholder.

Coolidge; city in Hamilton County, Kansas, named for Thomas Jefferson Coolidge, former president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad.

Cooper; township in Washington County, Maine, named for Gen. John Cooper, an early and esteemed settler.

Cooper; county in Missouri, named for Capt. Sanshell Cooper, an early settler.

Cooper; river in South Carolina, named for the Earl of Shaftsbury, Lord Ashley Cooper, one of the proprietors.

Cooper; point in Washington, named for a man who took up a claim there, which he afterwards deserted.

Coopersburg; village in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, named for a family of early settlers.

Cooperstown; village in Otsego County, New York, named for the father of James Fenimore Cooper.

Cooperstown; borough in Venango County, Pennsylvania, named for its founder, William Cooper.

Cooperstown; town in Robertson County, Tennessee, so named because a great many barrels were made there for the Red River mills.

Coopersville; village in Clinton County, New York, named for Ebenezer Cooper, a mill owner.

Coos; county in New Hampshire;

Coos; bay, river, and county in Oregon. An Indian word meaning "place of pines."

Coosa; river and county in Alabama, named from a tribe of Indians, the Kusa.

Coosawhatchie; river, and town in Beaufort County, in South Carolina. An Indian word meaning "river of the Coosas," a former Indian tribe.

Cope; town in Arapahoe County, Colorado, named for Jonathan Cope, who laid it out.

Cope; town in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, named for J. Martin Cope, its founder.

Copemish; village in Manistee County, Michigan. An Indian word meaning "beech tree."

Copenhagen; village in Lewis County, New York, named from the city in Denmark. Copiah; county in Mississippi; Copiah Creek; village in Copiah County, Mississippi. An Indian word meaning "calling panther."

Coplay; creek and borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. An Indian word meaning "that which runs evenly" or "fine-running stream."

Copley; township in Summit County, Ohio, named for the wife of Gardner Green, a land proprietor.

Copper; harbor in Michigan, so called from the copper mines near.

Copperopolis; town in Calaveras County, California, named from the extensive copper mines in the vicinity.

Coquille; river and town in Coos County, in Oregon. A French word meaning "shell."

Coralville; town in Johnson County, Iowa, so named from the coral formation under-lying the town.

Coram; village in Suffolk County, New York, named for an Indian chief.

Coraopolis; borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, named for Cora Watson, the wife of one of the proprietors.

Corapechen; creek in Maryland. An Indian word said to mean "fierce-running stream."

Corbett; post-office in Multnomah County, Oregon, named for H. W. Corbett, United States Senator from the State.

Corbin; town in Jefferson County, Montana, named for Daniel Corbin, at one time a resident of Helena, afterwards of New York.

Corcoran; mount in California, named for W. W. Corcoran, of Washington, D. C.

Cordero; village in San Diego County, California. A Spanish word meaning "lamb."

Cordova; thirteen places in the country, named from the city in Spain.

Corfu; village in Genesee County, New York, named for the ancient city of the Ionian Islands.

Corinna; town in Penobscot County, Maine, named for the Greek poetess of Boeotia.

Corinth; city in Alcorn County, Mississippi, named from the ancient city in Greece.

Cork; villages in Butts County, Georgia, Fulton County, New York, Ashtabula County, Ohio, and Tyler County, West Virginia; named from the city in Ireland.

Cornelius; town in Washington County, Oregon, named for Col. T. R. Cornelius, volunteer in Cayuse war.

Cornell; village in. Livingston County, Illinois, named for a family of first settlers.

Cornell; mount in New York, named for Ezra Cornell, founder of Cornell University.

Cornettsville; village in Daviess County, Indiana, named for Myer and Samuel Cornett, who laid it out.

Corning; town in Adams County, Iowa, and cities in Steuben County, New York, and Nemaha County, Nebraska, named for Erastus Coming.

Cornplanter; township in Venango County and Indian reservation in Warren County, Pennsylvania, named for a Seneca Indian chief.

Cornville; town in Somerset County, Maine, so named from an unusually good yield of corn.

Coronaca; town in Greenwood County, South Carolina, which derived its name from the plantation of Joseph Salvador, a wealthy Jewish landowner of Charleston.

Coronado; cities in San Diego County, California, and Wichita County, Kansas, named for the Spanish explorer, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado.

Corpus Christi; city in Nueces County, and bay in Texas, named with reference to a festival of the Roman Catholic Church.

Corral; village in Santa Barbara County, California. A Spanish word meaning "inclosure" or "cattle pen."

US Place Names

Source: The Origin of Certain Place Names the United States, Second Edition, Henry Gannett, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1906.