The Rhode Island was a Tellarite starship, commissioned sometime in the 22nd or 23rd century. It was named after the Rhode Island region on Earth. (TOS novel: Prime Directive) This novel states that the Tellarites did not have a custom of naming starships prior to contact with Vulcans or Humans, and thus used Human and Vulcan names when they adopted the custom. This conceit has been contradicted canonically in Star Trek: Enterprise.