We have often talked about how different towns throughout Monmouth & Ocean Counties got their name, but how about the county name itself?

Today, we ask the question 'how did Monmouth County get its name? And of course it turns out there is no one simple answer. You wouldn't expect anything straightforward, would you?

There are actually several theories as to how Monmouth County got it's name, and app.com recently spelled out a few of them. Why was the land that would become Monmouth County called Monmouth Tract? Here are some of the theories.

Monmouthshire, Wales...Maybe it was named for the county seat in Monmouthshire, Wales. This may have been the suggestion of Colonel Lewis Morris, according to Pinterest. It seems like a good explanation.

Rhode Island Monmouth Society...There is also a theory that the Tract was simply named after the Rhode Island Monmouth Society.

James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. There is also the possibility that our county was named after the 1st Duke of Monmouth.  He was a claimant to the English throne and led an unsuccessful coup attempt against King James II in 1685.

It's hard to believe that 336 years after the county was established (1683), we're still not sure how we got our name. But I guess that's the way history plays out sometimes.

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