[3] It was named for Colonel William Crawford, a soldier during the American Revolution.

As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 46,966 people, 18,957 households, and 13,175 families living in the county.

40.4% were of German, 21.4% American, 8.1% English and 7.8% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.

26.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

According to the United States Census Bureau, women make up about 51.3% of the population, as of 2014[update].

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 43,784 people, 18,099 households, and 12,108 families living in the county.

[11] In terms of ancestry, 43.3% were German, 14.3% were Irish, 13.7% were American, and 11.0% were English.

Since then, it has become strongly Republican, only backing Democratic candidates three times since then.

Wind power plants are prohibited in Crawford County.