I’ve brought this up in the past, but Maryland appears to have an extraordinary grasp of its own history, even when it comes to naming Maryland counties.

As Mike notes today, Maryland has the first two counties established by local representatives, and the first counties named after popular Americans. But even in Maryland, when the names come from old-world aristocracy, it’s not always easy to draw the lines from A to B. For instance, the colony of Maryland was established by Catholic settlers in what became St. Mary’s City, but the colony (and later state) name derives from Queen Henrietta Maria, the wife of King Charles I (and namesake of Charles County).

My favorite bit of trivia about Maryland counties (leave me alone, I know what that sounds like) is Anne Arundel County, named after the wife of Cecilius Calvert, whose last name actually had a second L (“Arundell”). Cecilius Calvert was the second Lord Baltimore. And now you know where Cecil County, Calvert County and Baltimore County and Baltimore City got their names.

(I list the county and city separately because they’re separate regions politically and geographically. Baltimore County surrounds the city on three sides.)

But getting back to Anne Arundel: unless I’m mistaken, and so far in my casual research, I’m not, Anne Arundel County is the only county in America that has someone’s first and last name in it. Beat that with a stick.

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