DeletedUser
A lot of people believe that America was named after Italian cartographer and explorer Amerigo Vespucci.
However, in 1479 (13 years before Columbus' first voyage), Richard Amerike (pronounced "America") sponsored John Cabot's voyage to Newfoundland. Columbus knew about the British discoveries in Newfoundland before he sailed.
Therefore, many people believe that America was named after Richard Amerike. One of the arguments for Amerike is that he was very important in terms of its discovery.
Another is that when a place is named after a real person, (eg. James Cook & the Cook Islands; but not Europa & Europe) it is named after their surname (unless they are royalty, because a lot of royals are of the same family, and have the same surname).
Amerike-supporters have said that if America was named after Amerigo Vespucci, it should be called Vespuccia.
However, the Vespucci-supporters have pointed out that all of the continents have Latin female names. America is the Latin female version of Amerigo (which is an Italian male name). Amerike is a Welsh surname.
This resulted in the Amerike-supporters saying that the other continents have not been named after real people, and naming America after a real person would mess up the naming system, so it may not be true.
So what do you think? Who is America named after? Do you have any other evidence for either side? Do you think it was named after someone completely different?
However, in 1479 (13 years before Columbus' first voyage), Richard Amerike (pronounced "America") sponsored John Cabot's voyage to Newfoundland. Columbus knew about the British discoveries in Newfoundland before he sailed.
Therefore, many people believe that America was named after Richard Amerike. One of the arguments for Amerike is that he was very important in terms of its discovery.
Another is that when a place is named after a real person, (eg. James Cook & the Cook Islands; but not Europa & Europe) it is named after their surname (unless they are royalty, because a lot of royals are of the same family, and have the same surname).
Amerike-supporters have said that if America was named after Amerigo Vespucci, it should be called Vespuccia.
However, the Vespucci-supporters have pointed out that all of the continents have Latin female names. America is the Latin female version of Amerigo (which is an Italian male name). Amerike is a Welsh surname.
This resulted in the Amerike-supporters saying that the other continents have not been named after real people, and naming America after a real person would mess up the naming system, so it may not be true.
So what do you think? Who is America named after? Do you have any other evidence for either side? Do you think it was named after someone completely different?
Last edited by a moderator: