 This population referred to themselves as "Ulstermen" and "Irish Presbyterians" but were known in the colonies as "Scots-Irish" settlers, though this was not a term they self-applied.The area that has since become Aiken County had a significantly high number of first generation British immigrants who fought for the Patriot cause in the revolutionary war.Both Aiken County and its county seat of Aiken are named after William Aiken (1779–1831), the first president of the South Carolina Railroad Company.