How the Thirteen Colonies Were Named
How the Thirteen Colonies Were Named
How the Thirteen Colonies were named
The first thirteen colonies were either named after people, Indian names or, places in England. The original states/colonies are, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, South Carolina, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Hampshire and New Jersey.
The three states that are named specifically after Indian names are Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The Puritans named Massachusetts, after a local Indian tribe whose name means “a large hill place.” Rhode Island was named after the Indian name for “Red Island.” It was officially called “The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations” in 1790. The third state named after and Indian name is Connecticut, which gets its name from and Algonquin word meaning “land on the long tidal river”
The eight colonies that are named after people in England are Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia and New York. Georgia was named in honor of England’s King George II. North and South Carolina were both named in honor of King Charles I. (Carolous is Latin for Charles). It is believed that