Who was the Italian navigator whose name became associated with the "New World"?

The Italian navigator whose name became associated with the "New World" is Amerigo Vespucci. His significance lies in his explorations of the coast of South America and his contributions to the understanding that these new lands were part of a separate continent, distinct from Asia. Vespucci’s letters and accounts of his voyages suggested that the lands discovered by Columbus were not the outskirts of Asia but were instead a "New World."

The name "America" is derived from his first name, making his contributions pivotal in shaping the understanding of the geography of the time. While Christopher Columbus is notable for his discovery of the Bahamas and the subsequent voyages that opened the way for the permanent European colonization of the Americas, it was Vespucci who helped clarify the nature of those lands.

Other navigators like Ferdinand Magellan and Giovanni Caboto, while important in their own right, did not have the same association with naming the continent. Magellan is known for leading the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe, and Caboto, also known as John Cabot, is credited with exploring parts of North America, but it is Vespucci whose name became synonymous with the New World itself.