* Sir Walter Raleigh: English explorer who founded the first English colony in North America at Roanoke Island in 1585.
* John Smith: English explorer and adventurer who helped establish the Jamestown settlement in 1607.
* William Byrd II: Wealthy Virginia planter and merchant who served as the colony's governor from 1705 to 1710.
2. Maryland
* George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore: English nobleman and Catholic convert who founded the Maryland colony in 1634 as a refuge for English Catholics.
* Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore: Son of George Calvert who inherited the Maryland colony and served as its governor from 1634 to 1675.
* Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore: Son of Cecilius Calvert who served as governor of Maryland from 1675 to 1715.
3. North Carolina
* Walter Raleigh: English explorer who founded the first English colony in North America at Roanoke Island in 1585.
* George Thorogood: English explorer who established a settlement at Albemarle Sound in 1665.
* Seth Sothel: English nobleman who served as the governor of North Carolina from 1683 to 1689.
4. South Carolina
* William Sayle: English Puritan who led a group of settlers to found the Charleston settlement in 1670.
* Joseph West: English colonist who served as the governor of South Carolina from 1670 to 1674.
* James Moore: English soldier and politician who served as the governor of South Carolina from 1702 to 1703 and from 1710 to 1712.
5. Georgia
* James Oglethorpe: English soldier and philanthropist who founded the Georgia colony in 1732 as a refuge for debtors and the poor.
* Thomas Telfair: American Revolutionary War hero and politician who served as the first governor of Georgia after independence from Great Britain.
* George Walton: American Revolutionary War hero and politician who served as the second governor of Georgia after independence from Great Britain.
