What is Christopher Columbus's real name? We Anglicized it, but it must be Italian - the guy was Italian!

Answer 1

Cristoforo Colombo

Answer 2

Christopher Columbus

(Italian: Cristoforo Colombo; Portuguese: Cristóvão Colon; Spanish: Cristóbal Colón; Catalan: Cristòfor Colom; 1451–May 20, 1506)
was a navigator and an admiral for the Crown of Castile whose voyages to America began European exploration and colonization of the continent. He is commonly believed to have been from Genoa, although his origins remain disputed.

History places great significance on his original voyage of 1492, although he did not actually reach the mainland until his third voyage in 1498. Likewise, he was not the earliest European explorer to reach the Americas, as there are accounts of European transatlantic contact prior to 1492. However, Columbus' voyage came at a critical time of growing national imperialism and economic competition between developing nation states seeking wealth from the establishment of trade routes and colonies. Therefore, the period before 1492 is known as Pre-Columbian, and the anniversary of this event (Columbus Day) is celebrated throughout the Americas and in Spain and Italy.

The true identity of Columbus is still unknown, although it is generally accepted that he was Italian since he maintained his Italian ethnicity throughout his life. His nationality however is still debatable, and many theories exist detailing his possible lineage. Aspects such as learned languages and DNA samples are being studied to this day, although no definitive answer has yet been reveled.

Answer 3

Christopher Columbus Real Name

Answer 4

The basic explanation of that is actually fairly simple. Columbus's name in English is actually an anglicized version of the Columbus's 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.

In most of the European languages, Columbus's name is similar to the Italian one: it's 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 Cristóbal Colón in his adopted country of Spain. (Sometimes his first name in Spanish is rendered as Cristóval, which is pronounced the same.) Unfortunately, the answer to that appears to be lost in history. Most historical accounts indicate that Colombo changed his name to Colón 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 as many European immigrants to the early United States often 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: Cristóvão Colombo in Portuguese and Cristofor Colom in Catalan.

Incidentally, some historians have questioned the traditional accounts surrounding Columbus's Italian origins. Some even claim that Columbus' was in reality a Portuguese Jew whose real name was Salvador Fernandes Zarco.

In any case, there's little question that Columbus's 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 was the Costa Rican currency (the colón).



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Answer 5

The italians called him Cristoforo Colombo and the Spaniards called him Cristóbal Colón

Answer 6

Christoforo Colombo (Italian)
Cristóbal Colón (Spanish)
Christophe Colomb (French)

Answer 7

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS (1451-1506)
Christopher Columbus is one of the best-known of all explorers. He is famous for his voyage in 1492, when he "discovered" America while he was looking for a way to sail to Asia.
Columbus was probably born in Genoa, Italy, around 1451. His real name was Christoforo Columbo. His wife, a Portuguese women who he married around 1480, was Felipa Perestrello e Moniz. They had one son named Diego.

Answer 8

I'm Italian

His name was CRISTOFORO COLOMBO, from Genova

Answer 9

cristoforo colombo