The Dutch in America, 1609-1664
 Holland's Golden Age
Exploration and Discovery
New Netherland
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The Dutch colonists often name their settlements in New Netherland after towns in their native country.
Many other place names in the northeastern United States came from Dutch words or the names of Dutch settlers.
| Place Name | Origin |
| Block Island, R.I. | Named after the Dutchman Adriaen Block, who explored the area in the early seventeenth century. |
| The Bowery, N.Y. | This section of New York City owes its name to the farm, or "bouwerij" in Dutch, owned by Peter Stuyvesant that was located there. |
| The Bronx, N.Y. | This New York City borough takes its name from a New Netherland settler, Jonas Bronck, who had a farm there. |
| Bushwick, N.Y. | Originally called Boswyck, or "woods district" in Dutch. |
| Coney Island, N.Y. | Originally called Conyne Eylandt, or "rabbit island" in Dutch. |
| Catskill, N.Y. | Originally named Kats Kil, or "cats stream" in Dutch. The many other place-names of the region ending in kill are also of Dutch origin. |
| Hells Gate, N.Y. | This treacherous set of currents in New York's East River was designated Helle Gadt on a Dutch map of 1639. |
| Long Island, N.Y. | The explorer Adriaen Block called the island Lange Eylandt in 1614. |
| Rhode Island | This name is said to be derived from Roode Eylandt, or "red island" in Dutch. |
| Sandy Hook, N.J. | The name stems from what the Dutch called the place: Sant Hoek. |
| Spuyten Duyvil, N.Y. | A New York City district whose name (meaning "devil's spout" in Dutch) refers to some dangerous currents at the northern end of the Harlem River. |
| Staten Island, N.Y. | Dutch settlers named the island Staten Eylandt in honor of the States General, the governing body of the United Provinces. |
| Yonkers, N.Y. | This name is believed to derive from the title of an early Dutch settler, Jonkheer Adriaen Van der Donck, who had an estate in the area. Van der Donck wrote one of the first accounts of the New Netherland settlement. |
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