One advantage of this phrase is that it allows lazy
writers to duck the more difficult question of how these eponymous places
got their names. Hudson almost certainly did not name the river after
himself. The Dutch used the equivalents of "North River," "River of
Orange," or "Great River of New Netherland." The English started calling
it the Hudson River at a fairly early date as a way of asserting their claims to
the area. It is not known for certain whether Champlain or Block named the
geographic features that now bear their names. As I recall, Lake Champlain
appears on Champlain's 1632 map of New France, which makes it possible that he
named the lake after himself, but he was a modest man, and perhaps he was just
going along with somebody else's suggestion. The case of Adriaen Block is
also a bit problematic. "Adrian Blox eyland" appears on the 1614 "Adriaen
Block Chart," which is a copy of a chart by Cornelis Doetsz that Block
apparently modified. It is certainly possible that Block named the island
after himself, but the name could have been added by the person who copied the
map. Incidentally, Long Island appears on the Block chart as
"Matowacks." The Dutch did not start calling Long Island "t'Lange Eylandt"
until later.
David Allen
Encinitas, CA