In 1608, Captain John Smith first discovered Prince William County, Virginia during an expedition up the Potomac River. In 1731, Prince William County was formed by the Virginia General Assembly, whom named it after the second son of King George II.
Prince William was made the Duke of Cumberland in 1726 when he was five years old; and he was only nine years old when honored by the name of the new colonial county of Virginia. Cumberland County and Cumberland Gap are two other Virginia places named after him.
