<P> Some argue that the convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries except in the case of royalty and so a derivation from "Amerigo Vespucci" could be problematic . Ricardo Palma (1949) proposed a derivation from the "Amerrique" mountains of Central America--Vespucci was the first to discover South America and the Amerrique mountains of Central America, which connected his discoveries to those of Christopher Columbus . </P> <P> Alfred E. Hudd proposed a theory in 1908 that the continents are named after a Welsh merchant named Richard Amerike from Bristol, who is believed to have financed John Cabot's voyage of discovery from England to Newfoundland in 1497 . A minutely explored belief that has been advanced is that America was named for a Spanish sailor bearing the ancient Visigothic name of' Amairick' . Another is that the name is rooted in a Native American language . </P> <P> The term North America maintains various definitions in accordance with location and context . In Canadian English, North America may be used to refer to the United States and Canada together . Alternatively, usage sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico (as in the North American Free Trade Agreement), as well as offshore islands . The UN geoscheme for "North America" separates Mexico from the United States and Canada, placing it instead within its designated "Central America" region, while also treating the islands of the Caribbean separately from the US / Canada definition--the UN's "North America" definition still includes the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Greenland together with the US / Canada continental definition, with both insular entities being tectonically on the North American plate . </P> <P> In France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Romania, Greece, and the countries of Latin America, the cognates of North America usually designate a subcontinent of the Americas comprising Canada, the United States, and Mexico, and often Greenland, Saint Pierre et Miquelon, and Bermuda . </P>

Is usa in south america or north america