Did you mean the Genoese navigator Cristoforo Colombo?

I think it is using Latin vs Greek suffixes

Probably related to why America is named after Amerigo Vespucci.

I see no reason why anyone could properly disapprove of a name derived from that of Amerigo, the discoverer, a man of sagacious genius. A suitable form would be Amerige, meaning Land of Amerigo, or America, since Europe and Asia have received women’s names.