| Missaukee | | Named for the river "Nantounagon; Ojibwa "onagon" means "dish" or "bowl" |
| Newago | | From an Iroquoian word "je-nis-hi-yeh" this county's name means "beautiful valley." |
| Oscoda | | Combination of two Ojibwa words, "ossin" (stone) and "muskoda" (prairie) |
| Genesee | | "He who wears puckered shoes." Named for the largest of the Algonquin tribes the ______ also called Ojibwa. |
| Muskegon | | From "sace-nong" or "Sak-e-nong" (Sauk Town) because the Sauk once lived there |
| Sanilac | | Named for the Seminole Indian chief, Osceola |
| Lenawee | | Named for the river that runs through it, thought to be "Ke-Ken-a-ma-zoo" in Native American. Widely accepted translation is "boiling water." |
| Keweenaw | | Named for the river, its meaning is not positive; ideas include "green river" and "it runs backward and forward" |
| Huron | | "chief" or "boss" in Ottawa or Ojibwa is "ogima" This county was named after a prominent Saginaw Valley Indian chief who signed the Treaty of 1819. |
| Shiawassee | | Named after chief Sanilac, according to Huron traditions |
| Ontonagon | | Originally "Michilimackinaw" |
| Washtenaw | | Named for the tribe which lived there, means "rice men" or "rice gatherers" |
| Kalamazoo | | Native American meaning "man" Possibly from the Shawnee "lenawai" |
| Ottawa | | From the Mohawk Iroquuoian work that means either "clear water" or "meeting place" |
| Otsego | | Probably comes from the Chippewa "bic" which means "rock" |
| Menominee | | Meaning "a place of ore", this county may have originally been "Chabwegan" |
| Mecosta | | Named for the Indian chief, Mecosta |
| Saginaw | | From the Chippewa word "mashkig" meaning swamp or marsh |
| Mackinaw | | From the name of a Chippewa chief who signed the Saginaw Treaty of 1819, or from a Native American word meaning "much water" |
| Cheboygan | | Native American word "Kee-wi-wai-non-ing" meaning "portage" |
| Osceola | | Named by the French in reference to the Native American tribe they called "hure" meaning "head" for the fantastic way they dressed their hair. Named for the lake "Lac des Hurons" |
| Chippewa | | Named for an Ottawa chief who signed treaties in 1831 and 1833 |
| Ogema | | Named for the Ottawa tribe called "Ondatahouats" or "people of the forest" by the Hurons |
| Gogebic | | Native American people call the area west of Detroit "wash-tenong" meaning further district or "land beyond" |
