by Spyridon Moshonas

Created on: June 30, 2007

July is an important month for North America. The two countries that occupy this space celebrate their birthdays. Canada comes first on July 1st, and the United States of America comes after on July the 4th! But the most interesting aspect of these birthdays is that the origins of their own names is shrouded in confusion and some controversy.

The name "America" is the most controversial, and it is widely accepted that it derived from "Amerigo Vespucchi" the 15th century explorer whose expeditions to the new continent were so well publicized that eventually everyone started calling the new land by his first name.

Yet compelling evidence seems to be surfacing from the most likely and unlikely places about the origins of the name "America".

Some strongly believe that the name derives from "Ommerike", an old Norse word that means "farthest outland". It's not at all unlikely because the Scandinavians have been visiting the new world before Christopher Columbus discovered it.

Others point to a much closer source, the Mayans. They claim that there is a Mayan word called "Amerrique" which means land of wind. There is also a second claim for an "American" root to the name with a connection to Vespucchi himself. In his expeditions, he stumbled upon an Indian tribe by the name of "Amerrique" in what is today Nicaragua. So when he returned to Europe, he introduced this name which cartographers started to use, and it was only a coincidence that his own name was similar to this tribe's name.

Lastly, there is a British theory to the name "America". Italian explorer John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) who worked for Britain named the continent "Amerika" in honor of the British official who was assigned to pay him for his services. The name of the official was Richard Ameryk!

Perhaps the most credible theory is the most widely known one that the continent was named in honor of Amerigo Vespucchi. But, the only catch is that he was not involved in the naming of the continent. It turns out that some German cartographers who were well informed of his discoveries came up with the name by taking the Latin version of his first name and feminizing it. And there you have America.

The story behind the name "Canada" on the other hand is equally mysterious, but it involves only a handful of theories.

The most widely accepted one is that it derives from "Kanata" which is believed to be an Iroquoian word that means village or settlement. Apparently when the French met the Iroquoians on the St. Lawrence

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