I've been trying to find the etymological origin of these two rivers, but to no avail. Is it just coincidence that they share such close proximity and similarity of names?
I'm not sure if the answer lies too far back, or in a different field than history, any direction would be great!
You may want to take this one to /r/Etymology, but meanwhile, a quick stop in etymonline.com reveals this info:
Rhine: principal river in western Germany, from German Rhein, from Middle High German Rin, ultimately from Gaulish Renos, literally "that which flows," from PIE root *reie- "to move, flow, run" (cognates: Sanskrit rinati "causes to flow," ritih "stream, course;" Latin rivus "stream;" Old Church Slavonic reka "river;" Middle Irish rian "river, way;" Gothic rinnan "run, flow," rinno "brook;" Middle Low German ride "brook;" Old English riþ "stream;" Old English rinnan, Old Norse rinna "to run," Dutch ril "running stream"). The spelling with -h- (also in Latin Rhenus; French Rhin) is from influence of the Greek form of the name, Rhenos.
and
Rhone: river in southeastern France, from a pre-Indo-European element *rod- meaning "to flow."