Sheboygan is located in Sheboygan County (of which it is the county seat) on the shore of Lake Michigan between Manitowoc and Milwaukee along Interstate 43 near Sheboygan Falls and Plymouth. Sheboygan was a Chippewa Indian word meaning "passage or waterway between the lakes." French explorers Jean Nicolett (1635) and Joliet and Marquette (1643) were probably the first "white men" to experience the shores of Sheboygan. The population estimate for July 1, 1998 was 49,377, a decrease of 210 since 1990.
Sheboygan is part of the Sheboygan, Wisconsin metro area.