One of the first eight counties in the state was named after the King of England when Virginia was colonized, James I. In 1634 James I had been dead for nine years, but his son Charles I was on the throne and it made sense to honor his father. In 1634 Virginia was a royal colony, and the King's favor could make life easier...
James was the first king to unite the thrones of Scotland and England. He was King of Scotland first, starting when his mother abdicated and he was one year old. He allied himself with Queen Elizabeth I of England in order to establish his power in Scotland - and shortly afterwards Queen Elizabeth I executed his mother, Mary Queen of Scots. [And you thought you had to make some tough calls as a young adult...]
James I was a believer in the divine right of kings, not in the power of Parliament or the rights of the individual. King James was no believer in religious freedom, though he commissioned the new translation of the Bible known today as the King James Version. He repressed the Catholics, and a few of them planned to blow up the King and the Parliament in 1605. One of the leaders of this Gunpowder Plot was Guy Fawkes. November 5 was celebrated in England as Guy Fawkes Day by hanging effigies of the man, and we have acquired the word "guy" from this event. ["No, guys, we're not kidding..."]
In addition to being one of the first counties, Virginia's first two capitals - Jamestown and Williamsburg - were located in James City County. It's fair to say that James City County is the site of the oldest continuous government in English North America.