Nottoway County was originally inhabited by an Iroquoian people who called themselves Cheroenhaka. They lived along the river called Nadowa, which is an Algonquin word which means rattlesnake. The name was anglicized and became what it is today. Before the county established its own government, it was known as Nottoway Parish, and in 1788, Nottoway Parish became Nottoway County by an act of the legislature. Its county seat is Nottoway.