Trimble County was named in 1836 for Robert Trimble, U.S. Supreme Court Justice from 1826 to 1828, appointed by President John Quincy Adams. Born in Virginia in 1777, he came to Kentucky in 1780. He was a captain in the Bourbon County regiment in 1796, practiced law in Paris, Kentucky, in 1800, served in the state legislature from 1802 to 1804, sat on the Kentucky Court of Appeals from 1807 to 1809, was U.S. District Attorney from 1813 to 1817, and served as U.S. District Judge from 1817 to 1826. He died in 1828 and was buried at Paris, Kentucky.