US Place Names ~ Xenia, Ohio to Zwingle, Iowa

Xenia; city in Green County, Ohio. A Greek word meaning "friendly hospitality."

Yadkin; county in North Carolina. A corruption of the Indian word "reatkin."

Yager; creek in Humboldt County, California.

Yagerville; town in Humboldt County, California. Named for an early settler.

Yahara; tributary of Bock River, Wisconsin. An Indian word meaning "catfish river."

Yakima; county, city in same county, and river in Washington, said to have been named for a tribe of Indians, the name meaning "black bear," or, according to other authorities, "coward."

Yale; university in New Haven, Connecticut, named for Elihu Yale, of London, England.

Yale; mountain in Colorado, and many cities, towns, and villages, named from the university.

Yalobusha; county in Mississippi. An Indian word meaning "tadpole place."

Yamhill; county and river in Oregon, named for the Yamel Indians.

Yancey; county in North Carolina, named for Bartlett Yancey, prominent politician of the State.

Yankee; this name, with various suffixes, forms the name of many places in the United States. The name is a corruption of the Massachusetts Indian pronunciation of the word "English" (Yengeese), and was bestowed upon the inhabitants of New England by the people of Virginia when they refused to aid them in a war with the Cherokees, it meaning to them "cowards." After the battle of Bunker Hill the people of New England, having established a reputation for bravery, accepted the name.

Yankton; county, and city in same county, in South Dakota. A corruption of the Sioux Indian name Ihanktonwan, meaning "end village."

Yantic; river in Connecticut. An Indian word, meaning "extending to the tidal river."

Yaquina; bay and town in Lincoln County, Oregon, probably named for Yaquina, a female Indian chief.

Yardley; borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, named for a family of early settlers.

Yarmouth, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, named from the seaport town of England.

Yates; township in McLean County, Illinois, named for Gov. Richard Yates.

Yates; county in New York, named for Joseph C. Yates, an early governor of the State.

Yates Center; town in Woodson County, Kansas, named for Abner Yates, the former owner.

Yates City; village in Knox County, Illinois, named from Yates County, New York.

Yavapai; county in Arizona, named for a small tribe of Indians, now nearly extinct, which formerly resided in the vicinity.

Yell; county in Arkansas, named for Col. Archibald Yell, former governor of the State.

Yellow Jacket; pass in Colorado, so named because infested with these insects.

Yellow Medicine; county and river in Minnesota; a translation of the Dakota (Sioux) name of the river, referring to the long, slender, bitter, yellow root of the moonseed (Menispermum canadense) which abounds there, and was used by the Dakotas as a medicine.

Yellowstone; county in Montana, and river in Montana and Wyoming. The name is a translation of the original French name, roche jaunt, meaning "yellow rock." Another authority states it is from the Indian, mi-tsi-a-da-zi, "rock yellow river."

Yellowstone; national park lying mostly in Wyoming, but includes a small part of Montana, and is about 65 miles long and 55 miles wide; lake in Yellowstone National Park, 7,788 feet above sea level. Its outlet is Yellowstone River. Named from the river.

Yellville; town in Marion County, Arkansas, named for Col. Archibald Yell, former governor of the State.

Yemassee; village in Hampton County, South Carolina, named for a former noted Indian tribe.

Yerba; town in Los Angeles County, California. A Spanish word meaning "herb.''

Yoakum; county in Texas, named for H. Yoakum, the Texan historian.

Yokuns Seat; mountain in the town of Lenox, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, named for an Indian chief.

Yolo; county in California. From the Indian, meaning "place abounding with rushes," or according to another authority, "possession of royal blood."

Yonkers; city in Winchester County, New York, named for a manor house built by the Dutch, the word meaning "young lord," and first applied in this country to Adrien Van der Douck, a patentee.

York; county, and town in same county, in Maine, named for the Duke of York, James II, of England.

York; county, and city in same county, in Nebraska, named for a resident family.

York; counties in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia.

Yorktown; town in York County, Virginia. Named from the county in England, or for the Duke of York, Charles I, of England.

Yorkville; village in Kendall County, Illinois, named from New York, the native State of most of the settlers.

Yorkville; town in York County, South Carolina, named from the city in Pennsylvania.

Yosemite; valley in California. From uzumaiti, meaning "grizzly bear," the name applied by other tribes to the Awani tribe of Indians.

Youghiogheny; river in Maryland and Pennsylvania. An Indian word meaning "stream flowing in an opposite direction."

Young:; county in Texas, named for William Cooke Young.

Youngs; bay and river in Washington, named for Sir Charles Young, of the royal navy.

Youngstown; village in Niagara County, New York, named for John Young, a merchant of the place.

Youngstown; city in Mahoning County, Ohio, named for John Young, an early resident.

Youngsville; town in Franklin County, North Carolina, named for a prominent family.

Yount; peak in the Yellowstone Park, named for Harry Yount, an early hunter and guide.

Ypsilanti; township and city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, named for Dimitrius Ypsilanti, a Greek patriot.

Yreka; county seat of Siskiyou County, California. The name was made by a transposition of the letters in "bakery."

Yreka; town in Siskiyou County, California, named for an Indian tribe.

Yuba; river and county in California. Derived from the original Spanish name of the river, el Rio de las Uvas, " the river of the grapes."

Yucca; station in San Bernardino County, and town in Yuba County, named from the abundant growths of the yucca plant.

Yuma; county, and city in same county, in Arizona, and county, and town in same county, in Colorado, named for an Indian tribe, the name meaning "sons of the river."

Zanesfield; village in Logan County, Ohio, named for Col. Isaac Zane.

Zanesville; city in Ohio, named for Ebenezer Zane, who, with John McIntire, founded the city.

Zapata; county in Texas, named for a Mexican colonel who led a force of Mexicans and Texans against Mexico in 1839.

Zavalla; county in Texas, named for Gen. Lorenzo de Zavala, a Mexican who espoused the cause of Texan independence and was vice-president of the Republic.

Zearing; village in Bureau County, Illinois, named for a resident family.

Zebulon; town in Pike County, Georgia, named for Col. Zebulon M. Pike.

Zion; village in Carroll County, Illinois, named from Mount Zion in Palestine.

Zionsville; town in Boone County, Indiana, named for William Zion, a pioneer.

Zuni; river in New Mexico, named for an Indian tribe.

Zwingle; village in Jackson County, Iowa, named for Ulrich Zwingle, a Swiss reformer.

US Place Names

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