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Gerardus Mercator applied the names North and South America on his influential 1538 world map; by this point, the naming was irrevocable. [20] Acceptance may have been aided by the "natural poetic counterpart" that the name America made with Asia, Africa, and Europa. [13]
Other languages, including French, Japanese, and Russian, use cognates of American to refer to people from the United States. In contrast, others, particularly, Spanish and Portuguese, primarily use terms derived from United States or North America. There are various other local and colloquial names for Americans.
Socialist Republic of Vietnam (official, English), An Nam (former name in other foreign languages and central Vietnam under French colonization), Champa (historical kingdom), Đại Việt (historical kingdom), Giao Chỉ (former Chinese province or vassal kingdom), French Indochina (former name under French colonization when united with Laos ...
Most regions and provinces of Europe have alternative names in different languages. Some regions have also undergone name changes for political or other reasons. This article attempts to give all known alternative names for all major European regions, provinces, and territories.
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Many cities in Europe have different names in different languages. Some cities have also undergone name changes for political or other reasons. Below are listed the known different names for cities that are geographically or historically and culturally in Europe, as well as some smaller towns that are important because of their location or history.
Other sources of foreign names transferred to the U.S. are the Bible and ancient history. Biblically sourced names are widespread and are sometimes the result of naming a settlement after its church. Names from ancient history can also be found in a number of places, although a concentration of them can be found in upstate New York.
The earliest known use of the name "America" dates to 1505, when German poet Matthias Ringmann used it in a poem about the New World. [2] The word is a Latinized form of the first name of Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, who first proposed that the West Indies discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492 were part of a previously unknown landmass, rather than the eastern limit of Asia.