What does the term, 'Renaissance' mean ? Identify some of the key factors responsible for the spread of the renaissance in Europe.

I'll just elaborate slightly on the two answers above.  This may not fit with the idealistic view of the Renaissance, but one of the most important factors in the spread of the Renaissance was advancement in ship building.  Better, faster, safer ships meant more trade, and more trade meant more money. 

Art, mathematics, science, etc., until relatively recently,  were cultivated by wealthy white men.  They were the only ones with education and leisure time, and those are prerequisites for learning. 

More trade meant more money, and more money meant more educated men with leisure time.  That helped spread Renaissance ideas.  It also, by the way, is one of the main causes of the Renaissance.