The etymology of the word or name, Alabama, has evoked much discussion among philological researchers. It was the name of a noted southern Indian tribe whose habitat when first known to Europeans was in what is now central Alabama. One of the major waterways in the state was named for this group and from this river, in turn, the name of the state was derived. The tribal name of Alabama was spelled in various ways by the early Spanish, French, and British chroniclers: Alabama, Albama, Alebamon, Alibama, Alibamou, Alibamon, Alabamu, and Allibamou. The appellation first occurs in three of the accounts of the Hernando de Soto expedition of 1540: written Alibamo by Garcillasso de la Vega, Alibamu by the Knight of Elvas, and Limamu by Rodrigo Ranjel (in the last form, the initial vowel is dropped and the first m is used for b, the interchange of these two consonants being common in Indian languages). The name as recorded by these chroniclers was the name of a subdivision of the Chickasaws, not the historic Alabamas of later times.

The popular belief that Alabama signifies "Here We Rest" stems from an etymology given wide currency in the 1850s through the writings of Alexander Beauford Meek. However, the first known use of this derivation appeared earlier in an unsigned article in the issue of the Jacksonville Republican for July 27, 1842. Experts in the Muskogee dialect have been unable to find any word or phrase similar to Alabama with the meaning "Here We Rest."

According to some investigations, the tribal name Alabama must be sought in the Choctaw tongue, as it is not uncommon for tribes to accept a name given them by a neighboring tribe. Inquiry among the early Indians themselves appears to have yielded no information about the meaning of the word. The Rev. Allen Wright, a Choctaw scholar, translated the name as “thicket clearers,” compounded of Alba meaning "a thick or mass vegetation," and amo meaning "to clear, to collect, to gather up."

Alabama is 330 miles long and 190 miles wide at its most distant points. It covers 52,423 square miles, making it the 30th largest of the 50 states. Alabama currently has 67 counties. The oldest county, Washington, was created on June 4, 1800, when what is now Alabama was then part of the Mississippi Territory. The newest county is Houston, created on February 9, 1903. This list contains all counties that have existed in Alabama since the state was created in 1819.

Download a PDF of the list.

For more information about the symbols and emblems below, see the Quick Facts page at the Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Executive Department

According to Article V, Section 112 of the 1901 Alabama Constitution, "The executive department shall consist of a governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, commissioner of agriculture and industries, and a sheriff for each county." (Currently, however, the superintendent of education is a member of the governor's cabinet rather than a constitutional officer, having been removed from the executive department by Amendment No. 284.)

• Governor
• Lieutenant Governor
• Attorney General
• State Auditor
• Secretary of State
• State Treasurer
• Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries

Judicial Department

According to Article V, Section 112 of the 1901 Alabama Constitution, "The supreme court shall consist of one chief justice and such number of associate justices as may be prescribed by law." Act No. 602 of the 1969 regular legislative session set the number of associate justices to eight.

• Chief Justices

African Americans in the Reconstruction Legislature

This list names the African American men who served in the constitutional conventions, Alabama Senate, and Alabama House of Representatives from 1867 to 1880.

Alabama Congressional and Legislative Representation, 1819 to 1960

The maps in this publication were compiled by an archivist at the Alabama Department of Archives and History. They depict the changing county lines and legislative districts through the state's history.