America, though used steadily since 1880 as a girls' name, has never been terribly popular. It reached its peak in the mid 2000s. The name America comes from the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci. Amerigo itself is either a medieval Italian form of Emmerich, a name derived from the Germanic elements ric meaning "power" and possibly ermen meaning "universal; whole," amal meaning "labor" or amal meaning "bravery; vigor" or else a form of Enrico, from where we get the modern English name Henry.See Also: Henry, Emeric