USGS topographic map of Rhode Island; public domain image on Wikipedia.
What does "Rhode Island" mean?
The first mention of Rhode Island in writing ("isola di Rhode") was made by explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524 (he refers to an island near the mouth of Narragansett Bay which he compares to the Island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean). Some attribute the name to Dutch explorer Adriaen Block, who called it "Roodt Eylandt," meaning "red island" (again because its red clay is similar to the Greek island of Rhodes). All State Name Origins
The first official reference to the island by the English is in these words "Aquethneck shall be henceforth called the Ile of Rods or Rhod-Island." The earliest recorded English colonist text (by Roger Williams) refers to it as "Ilande of the Rodes" (without the "h").
The name "Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations" was adopted in the Royal Charter granted by King Charles I of England in 1633 (the complete name appears on Rhode Island's state seal; "State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations").
