The original name of this county was Bad Ax, so designated from a stream therein, tributary to the Mississippi. Bad Ax was a translation of the French voyageur term, La mauvaise hache, but the origin of the name is unknown. The inhabitants of the county felt that this name created an unpleasant impression; it was thereupon, at the suggestion of Judge William F. Terhune, changed to Vernon, implying the greenness of its wheat fields, arid carrying a suggestion of Washington's home at Mount Vernon. "Butterfield, History of Vernon County" (Springfield, 1884), p. 132.

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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.]