Sheboygan County takes its name from a river emptying into Lake Michigan. Two meanings have been assigned to this word: "a noise underground," and "river disappearing underground" -- Wis. Hist. Colls., i, p. 17, and Hist. No. Wis., p. 967; and "a perforated object, such as a pipe-stem, or hollow bone" -- Wis. Hist. Colls., iii, p. 337; xii, p. 397.

Description from John W. Hunt's 1853 Wisconsin Gazetteer: "SHEBOYGAN, County, is bounded on the north by Calumet and Manitowoc, on the east by the State line in Lake Michigan, on the south by Washington, and on the west by Fond du Lac. It was set off from Brown Dec. 7, 1836. The whole surface of the county is covered by a dense growth of timber, among which pine is found in considerable quantities along the margin of the principal streams. The seat of justice is at the village of Sheboygan, on the lake, centrally from the north and south boundaries of the county. It is watered by the Sheboygan river and its tributaries. Population in 1840 was 133; 1842, 227; 1846, 4637; 1847, 5,580; 1850, 8,836. There are 1,790 dwellings, 581 farms, and 30 manufactories."

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[Source: Kellogg, Louise Phelps. "Derivation of County Names" in Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin for 1909, pages 219-231.]