Columbuses

Columbuses is the plural form of Columbus in English and may refer to any of the people who bear the surname Columbus, including its language variants such as Colón in Spanish and Colombo in Italian. The term is used when listing or discussing multiple individuals who share the same surname, though in common prose it is more typical to refer to each person by name.

The name Columbus itself derives from Latin Columba, meaning dove. In different languages the surname appears in various forms: Cristóbal Colón in Spanish, Cristoforo Colombo in Italian, and Columbus in English. The English form became particularly widely recognized due to the fame of the Italian navigator widely known as Christopher Columbus.

Notable Columbuses include Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón in Spanish), the 15th-century explorer whose 1492 voyage under the sponsorship of the Crown of Castile opened sustained contact between Europe and the Americas. His sons, Diego Colón and Fernando Colón, played roles in early colonial administration and in the preservation and dissemination of information about their father’s voyages. Beyond these figures, the surname is borne by other individuals in modern times, who may be listed as Columbuses in encyclopedic references.

In usage, Columbuses is primarily a linguistic form used for cataloging or listing multiple bearers of the surname. The name is also associated with places named Columbus, such as cities in the United States, which derive their name from the explorer, though such places are not referred to as Columbuses.