[5] The county was named for James John Floyd, a pioneer surveyor who helped lay out the city of Louisville.

Since the early 1900s, coal mining has had a large presence in Floyd County.

In 1900, the first commercial coal mine in eastern Kentucky was opened in the Floyd County community of Betsy Layne.

These coal towns included Wheelwright, Bypro, Emma, Garrett, Wayland, and many more.

With the decline of coal in eastern Kentucky, people began migrating away from the area in large numbers, in what's known as the Hillbilly Highway.

[6] On February 28, 1958, the county was the site of one of the deadliest bus accidents in U.S. history, leaving 27 people dead.

On June 30, 2022, a mass shooting targeting police officers occurred in Allen, a city in Floyd County.

The Kentucky Melungeons live primarily in Floyd and Magoffin counties.

These families once lived in certain pockets or clusters within Floyd County, some continue to do this.

However, most of these Melungeon families have now spread out or moved away, and so they cannot be defined by one valley, ridge, hollow, watershed, area, etc.

25.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.