POPULATION: 1,670,834

INCORPORATION DATE: 1853

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Charter

ALAMEDA. County seat, Oakland. Created March 25, 1853. The word Alameda is derived from alamo the Spanish name for cottonwood or poplar tree, and means a “grove of poplar trees.” The name was applied both to the southern portion of the county (La Alameda) and to the stream running through it (Rio de la Alameda) as early as 1795.