Area Population Valuation
Name Origin and Meaning of Name
Sq. Mi. 1920 1910 of Property County Seat

Alameda Sp., Shaded promenade
764 344,127 246,131 128,681,766 Oakland
Alpine
710 243 309 422,063 Markleeville
Amador Sp., Sweetheart
632 7,793 9,086 4,918,908 Jackson
Butte Fr., Rounded, detached hill
1,660 30,030 27,301 16,057,766 Oroville
Calaveras Sp., Skul’s (from Indian battle ground)
1,080 6,183 9,171 6,177,285 San Andreas
Colusa Ind.
1,088 9,290 7,732 12,188,096 Colusa
Contra Costa Sp., Opposite coast
728 53,889 31,674 21,753,956 Martinez
Del Norte Sp., Of the North
992 2,759 2,417 2,882,445 Crescent City
Eldorado Sp., The gilded (name given to fabled land of gold)
1,796 6,426 7,492 4,668,840 Placerville
Fresno Sp., Ash tree
6,152 128,779 75,657 34,302,205 Fresno
Glenn
1,270 11,853 7,172 10,645,524 Willow
Humboldt (named for Baron von Humboldt)
3,496 37,413 33,857 24,911,492 Eureka
Imperial
4,200 43,383 13,591 El Centro
Inyo
10,294 7,031 6,974 2,316,319 Independence
Kern
8,050 54,843 37,715 24,050,871 Bakersfield
Kings
1,176 22,032 16,230 7,883,009 Hanford
Lake
1,328 5,402 5,526 3,258,020 Lakeport
Lassen
4,520 8,507 4,802 4,590,748 Susanville
Los Angeles Sp., The angels
4,200 936,438 504,132 169,268,166 Los Angeles
Madera Sp., Timber
2,062 12,203 8,368 6,732,495 Madera
Marin Ind.
549 27,342 25,114 14,489,582 San Rafael
Mariposa Sp., Butterfly
1,510 2,775 3,956 2,270,246 Mariposa
Mendocino Sp., (from Mendoza, viceroy of Mexico)
3,626 24,116 23,929 13,131,995 Ukiah
Merced Sp., Mercy
1,932 24,579 15,148 14,877,086 Merced
Modoc Ind.
3,741 5,425 6,191 4,076,680 Alturas
Mono Sp., Monkey, or pretty
3,020 960 2,042 1,151,109 Bridgeport
Monterey Sp., King’s forest
3,340 27,980 24,146 18,962,554 Salinas
Napa Ind.
780 20,678 19,800 13,840,291 Napa
Nevada Sp., Heavy fall of snow
972 10,850 14,955 7,203,349 Nevada City
Orange (named for its chief product)
750 61,375 34,436 13,812 Santa Ana
Placer Sp., Loose (from placer mines)
1,365 18,584 18,237 9,677,724 Auburn
Plumas Sp., Feathers
2,694 5,681 5,259 2,792,091 Quincy
Riverside
7,323 50,297 34,696 16,373,296 Riverside
Sacramento Sp., The Sacrament
1,000 90,978 67,806 41,333,337 Sacramento
San Benito Sp., St. Benedict
1,388 8,995 8,041 6,499,068 Hollister
San Bernardino Sp., St. Bernard
19,947 73,401 56,706 21,392,228 San Bernardino
San Diego Sp., St. James
4,278 112,248 61,665 20,807,594 San Diego
San Francisco Sp., St. Francis (of Assisi)
47 506,676 416,912 564,070,301 San Francisco
San Joaquin Sp., name of a saint
1,396 79,905 50,732 34,740,353 Stockton
San Luis Obispo Sp., St. Louis the Bishop
3,310 21,893 19,383 13,680,235 San Luis Obispo
San Mateo Sp., St. Matthew
434 36,781 26,585 18,999,564 Redwood City
Santa Barbara Sp., St. Barbara
2,632 41,097 27,738 18,849,976 Santa Barbara
Santa Clara Sp., name of a saint
1,286 100,588 83,539 61,390,817 San Jose
Santa Cruz Sp., Holy Cross
424 26,269 26,240 12,560,071 Santa Cruz
Shasta Fr., Chaste, pure
3,876 13,311 18,920 10,902,036 Redding
Sierra Sp., Sawtoothed Ridge
960 1,783 4,098 1,844,560 Downieville
Siskiyou
5,991 13,545 18,801 10,560,650 Treks
Solano Sp., name of a mission
900 40,602 27,559 20,195,481 Fairfield
Sonoma Ind., Valley of the Moon
1,620 51,990 48,394 30,380,419 Santa Rosa
Stanislaus
1,456 43,557 22,522 12,834,108 Modesto
Sutter (named for J. A. Sutter)
622 10,115 6,328 6,621,047 Yuba City
Tehama
3,008 12,882 11,401 11,674,562 Red Bluff
Trinity
3,282 2,552 3,301 1,651,362 Weaverville
Tulare Sp., Reed-covered
4,952 59,032 35,440 17,447,042 Visalia
Tuolumne Ind., Stone wigwams
2,208 7,768 9,979 7,089,725 Sonora
Ventura Sp.
1,722 28,724 18,347 11,171,219 Ventura
Yolo Ind., Rushes
996 17,105 13,926 17,640,436 Woodland
Yuba Sp., Uba, wild grapes
636 10,375 10,042 5,898,350 Marysville