On Tue, 10 May 2011 14:30:26 -0700 (PDT), 1506 wrote
in misc.transport.urban-transit:

On May 10, 10:24*am, Peter Campbell Smith wrote:
On May 9, 6:23*am, 1506 wrote:
[...] Why do our friends across the Irish sea reverse
the word order (e.g. County Carlow) I wonder?

" wrote :

What do you mean, "reverse the word order"? *The point is that
"Hertford County" is completely unidiomatic even in British usage,
precisely because the word order is wrong. [...]

We do 'reverse the word order' though for rivers: River Thames or River
Severn - but Americans have the Hudson River and the Colorado River. *Then
there are Lake Superior and Mount Everest - so there's definitely a
precedent for '[feature] [name]' in geographical names.

Precisely, likewise Jefferson County, Kentucky; Los Angeles County,
California, and Bruce County, Ontario!

If I told my neighbrs in Washoe County, Nevada that I grew up in
Buckinghamshire they would not relate that to a county, "Shire" is
obscure in North America. However, if I refered to Buckingham County,
England they would comprehend.

And those in Bucks County PA might twig to it immediately.