US state names

[Keith F. Lynch]

Two US states are named for this man's father, one for his mother, and
one for his brother, but none are named for him. Who is he, and what
are the four states?

[SugarBug]

On Thu, 28 Mar 2024 15:02:40 -0000 (UTC)

Post by Keith F. Lynch
Two US states are named for this man's father, one for his mother, and
one for his brother, but none are named for him. Who is he, and what
are the four states?
--
Keith F. Lynch - http://keithlynch.net/
Please see http://keithlynch.net/email.html before emailing me.

The answers are :

1. Who is he?
He is Charles II, the King of England.

2. What are the four states?
North Carolina and South Carolina, Maryland, New York.

Explanations:

The mystery man is Charles II, the King of England, brother to and successor to James II and VII, Duke of York and King of England, both of whom were the sons of King Charles I of England, from their mother, Queen consort of England, Henrietta Maria.

North Carolina and South Carolina :
are both named for his father, King Charles I of England. Funny, however, this trick puzzle could confuse the reader because Charles II had the same pronym as his father, Charles I. This is a trick question of sorts.

Maryland :
is named for his mother, Queen consort Henrietta Maria of England. She was often called, "Queen Mary".

New York :
Named for the Duke of York, who later succeeded Charles II to the throne as James II and James VII, the brother of Charles II, our protagonist in this riddle.

[Keith F. Lynch]

Post by SugarBug
He is Charles II, the King of England.

Correct.

A bit of trivia about him is that the current king, Charles III, is
not descended from Charles II, but Charles III's children are.

[Mark Brader]

Post by Keith F. Lynch
Two US states are named for this man's father, one for his mother, and
one for his brother, but none are named for him. Who is he, and what
are the four states?

The mystery man is Charles II...
are both named for his father, King Charles I of England.

As to the Carolinas, the US government says at

http://www.bia.gov/as-ia/opa/online-press-release/origin-names-us-states

that:

# In the early 1600's, the area was referred to in some English papers
# as Carolina and was thought to be named for Charles I of England.
# Later, about 1663, the name Carolina was definitely applied by
# those who had received a grant to the land from Charles II, and
# so it was named in his honor.

Seems to me that it's unclear which Charles they should be considered
to be named after.

Funny, however, this trick puzzle could confuse the reader because
Charles II had the same pronym...

Not a word in any dictionary I tried.

[Keith F. Lynch]

Post by Mark Brader
Seems to me that it's unclear which Charles they should be
considered to be named after.

Wikipedia and The World Almanac both say they were named *by* Charles II
*for* Charles I. But the city of Charleston SC was named for Charles II.

Charles II is probably best known for having his beheaded father's head
sewn back on, and the late Oliver Cromwell's head cut off.

Post by Mark Brader
Mark Brader, Toronto

I noticed a city named Simcoe on a map of Ontario. On checking, I see
that sure enough it was named for the chief antagonist of the TV series
_Turn: Washington's Spies_.