Q. How was the name for Columbia chosen?

Several considerations were made in deciding on the name Columbia.  During the planning of the new capital, Colonel John Gervais said it would be a place where the oppressed of every land might find refuge.  He used the expression "under the wings of Columbia." 

Sources: John A. Montgomery, Columbia, South Carolina: History of a City; John Hammond Moore, Columbia & Richland County: A South Carolina Community, 1740-1990.