How Did Cristóbal Colón Become Christopher Columbus

Since Christopher Columbus came from Spain, it should be obvious this English-sounding name, Christopher Columbus, wasnt the name he himself used. In fact, his name in Spanish was altogether different: Cristà ³bal Colà ³n. But why are his names in English and Spanish so divergent? Columbus Derived from Italian Columbus name in English is an anglicized version of the Columbus birth name. According to most accounts, Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy, as Cristoforo Colombo, which is obviously much more similar to the English version than is the Spanish one. The same is true in most of the major European languages: Its Christophe Colomb in French, Kristoffer Kolumbus in Swedish, Christoph Kolumbus in German, and Christoffel Columbus in Dutch. So perhaps the question that should be asked is how Cristoforo Colombo ended up as Cristà ³bal Colà ³n in his adopted country of Spain. (Sometimes his first name in Spanish is rendered as Cristà ³val, which is pronounced the same, since the b and v sound identical.) Unfortunately, the answer to this question appears to be lost in history. Most historical accounts indicate that Colombo changed his name to Colà ³n when he moved to Spain and became a citizen. The reasons remain unclear, although he most likely did it to make himself sound more Spanish, just as many European immigrants to the early United States anglicized their last names or changed them entirely. In other languages of the Iberian Peninsula, his name has characteristics of both the Spanish and Italian versions: Cristà ³và £o Colombo in Portuguese and Cristofor Colom in Catalan (one of the languages of Spain). Incidentally, some historians have questioned the traditional accounts surrounding Columbus Italian origins. Some even claim that Columbus was, in reality, a Portuguese Jew whose real name was Salvador Fernandes Zarco. In any case, theres little question that Columbus explorations were a key step in the spread of Spanish to what we now know as Latin America. The country of Colombia was named after him, as were the Costa Rican currency (the colà ³n) and one of Panamas largest cities (Colà ³n). At least 10 cities in the United States are named Columbus, and the District of Columbia was named after him, as was the Columbia River. Another Perspective on Columbus Name Shortly after this article was published, a reader offered another perspective: I just saw your article How Did Colà ³n Become Columbus? Its an interesting read, but I believe that it is somewhat in error. First, Cristoforo Colombo is the Italian version of his name, and since he is thought to have been Genoese, it is likely that this would not have been his original name. The common Genoese rendering is Christoffa Corombo (or Corumbo). Regardless, I do not know of any widely accepted historical evidence regarding his birth name. The Spanish name Colà ³n is widely attested. The Latin name Columbus is widely attested as well and was of his own choosing. But there is no undisputed evidence that either was an adaptation of his birth name. The word Columbus means dove in Latin, and Christopher means Christ-bearer. Though it is plausible that he adopted these Latin names as back-translations of his original name, it is equally plausible that he simply chose those names because he liked them, and they were superficially similar to Cristobal Colà ³n. The names Corombo and Colombo were common names in Italy, and I believe that these have simply been assumed to have been the original versions of his name. But I dont know that anybody has found actual documentation of that. Celebrations of Columbus in Spanish-Speaking Countries In much of Latin America, the anniversary of Columbus arrival in the Americas, Oct. 12, 1492, is celebrated as the Dà ­a de la Raza, or Day of the Race (race referring to the Spanish lineage). The name of the day has been changed to Dà ­a de la Raza y de la Hispanidad (Day of the Race and of Hispanicity) in Colombia, Dà ­a de la Resistencia Indà ­gena (Indigenous Resistance Day) in Venezuela, and Dà ­a de las Culturas (Cultures Day) in Costa Rica. Columbus Day is known as the  Fiesta Nacional (National Celebration) in Spain.