 The exact origin of syphilis is disputed . Syphilis was indisputably present in the Americas before European contact . The dispute is over whether or not syphilis was also present elsewhere in the world at that time . One of the two primary hypotheses proposes that syphilis was carried from the Americas to Europe by the returning crewmen from Christopher Columbus 's voyage to the Americas . The other hypothesis says that syphilis existed in Europe previously , but went unrecognized until shortly after Columbus ' return . These are referred to as the Columbian and pre @-@ Columbian hypotheses , respectively . The Columbian hypothesis is best supported by the available evidence . The first written records of an outbreak of syphilis in Europe occurred in 1494 or 1495 in Naples , Italy , during a French invasion ( Italian War of 1494 – 98 ) . As it was claimed to have been spread by French troops , it was initially known as the " French disease " by the people of Naples . In 1530 , the pastoral name " syphilis " ( the name of a character ) was first used by the Italian physician and poet Girolamo Fracastoro as the title of his Latin poem in dactylic hexameter describing the ravages of the disease in Italy . It was also known historically as the " Great Pox " . 
