The state of Maryland was given as a charter to the Calverts of England to Catholics as a refuge from persecution from the Anglican Church of England. Leonard Calvert landed at Saint Clement’s Island on March 25, 1634, and then founded St. Mary’s City, named after the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Maryland territory was named Terra Mariae, or Mary Land. As the Calverts believed in religious toleration for all Christians, the territory was open to all Christians, which led to the Maryland Toleration Act of 1649. To English Protestants, Maryland’s Catholic founders could say they named their colony after the Queen Henrietta Maria, but it has been a Catholic tradition among themselves that Maryland was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Sources:
Bennett WJ. America - The Last Best Hope, 2 Volumes. Thomas Nelson, Nashville, 2006 (l) and 2007 (ll), volume l, page 43.
http://maryourmother.net/Maryland.html