# How do you call someone born in the USA? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 9, 2002, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087 "2002-05-09T14:56:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DonJorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/47e85d/32.png) [@DonJorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonJorge)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087/1 "2002-05-09T14:56:54Z")
How do you call someone born in the USA? It certainly shouldn’t be American, as it refers to the whole continent of America. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087/2 "2002-05-09T15:01:30Z")
Well, the fact is that although there seems to be a bit of contradiction in it, we DO call people born in the USA Americans. Since no other country in North or South America contains the word America in its name, it seems to fit ok. Those folks from South America or North America call themselves by terms associated with their own contries - and that’s what we do. ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087/3 "2002-05-09T15:01:36Z")
“Here, boy” “come here, boy” Oh, WHAT do you call someone? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087/4 "2002-05-09T15:08:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DonJorge \* > \*\*How do you call someone born in the USA? > \*\* I usually use the telephone:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![esp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@esp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/esp)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087/5 "2002-05-09T15:09:16Z")
According to [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com), American would be the right name for someone born in the USA. [http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=america](http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=america) [http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=american](http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=american) ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087/6 "2002-05-09T15:24:53Z")
I simply say, Baby, oh-oh-oh baaaby, my sweet baaby, You’re the one! But that’s just me. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087/7 "2002-05-09T15:40:36Z")
Unfortunately the name United States of America doesn’t really lend itself to calling its citizens anything other than Americans. USers Statians Uniters (actually this might be an interesting one) Staters None of those really roll off the tongue as well as Americans so we co-opted the name. If our friends to the north don’t like it they are free to send their plane down to attack us and take the name back 😉 . ---
**Author:** ![RexKatWA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@RexKatWA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RexKatWA)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087/8 "2002-05-09T15:52:17Z")
In Esperanto, “Usonano”, which is a person from Usono (the letters USN are pronounced U-So-No, which N=NorthAmerica). ---
**Author:** ![Kilt-wearin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kilt-wearin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilt-wearin_man)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087/9 "2002-05-09T15:59:56Z")
Sorry, but we’ve got over 200 years worth of precedent - even if we didn’t want to be called “Americans”, the it’s hard to break a habit the whole world’s had for that long. Besides, as mentioned before, no other nation in North or South America has the word “America” in its name. So, it fits. In a related question aimed right back at you, what do they call a resident of Toronto? Torontoan? Torontovite? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087/10 "2002-05-09T16:07:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DonJorge \* > \*\*It certainly shouldn’t be American, as it refers to the whole continent of America. \*\* No it doesn’t. In this instance it refers to the United States of America. Very rarely does anyone refer to the all the inhabitants of the Americas as a general class, as opposed to the inhabitants of the Old World. Latin Americans are fond of making the argument that “American” shouldn’t be used in reference to just U.S. natives. However, the word they prefer to use is _norteamericano_, ignoring the fact that this includes at least Canadians, and technically Mexicans and Panamanians as well. The term _estadounidense_ is available in Spanish, but it is rarely used. ---
**Author:** ![Balor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@Balor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balor)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087/11 "2002-05-09T16:36:28Z")
I agree with Kilt-wearin’ man. The reality is that the people of the USA have managed to pre-empt the name American by common usage. This is grossly unjust to Canadians and other nice people, but that’s life. Outside the Americas, most of us use “North American” when we mean the entire continent. ---
**Author:** ![DonJorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/47e85d/32.png) [@DonJorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonJorge)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087/12 "2002-05-09T16:38:10Z")
Sorry… was in a meeting. Don’t you hate when work comes in the way? Toronto people are called Torontonians. In a related question, what’s the English word you use for this? in French it’s 'gentilice"… ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087/13 "2002-05-09T16:39:53Z")
Ever since the folks who were formerly called American Indians decided to be called Native Americans, there’s a little hitch. My forebears were Europeans, but I was born in the USA. I’m a native, and an American, but not a Native American. It’s a quirky little hiccup of our language. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087/14 "2002-05-09T19:32:36Z")
Hey, we’ve got bigger problems e.g. still calling Native Americans “Indians”. I mean, it has been pretty well established that Columbus got the wrong continent, hasn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![OfBlinkingThings](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ebca7d/32.png) [@OfBlinkingThings](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OfBlinkingThings)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087/15 "2002-05-09T19:40:18Z")
I call them people. Arent we all really just people, stuck in the same situations and sharing the planet together. (peaceful music fades to sunrise then a dove landing on a young childs hand) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087/16 "2002-05-09T19:57:20Z")
Uhhhhh…Bruce Springsteen? ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087/17 "2002-05-09T21:17:03Z")
I call 'em “Jim.” Which is really confusing when her name is Mary. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087/18 "2002-05-09T21:44:23Z")
Isn’t this whole not-really-a-problem becoming an issue with the European Union? How does one describe an EU resident? “European?” Not all of the continent of Europe is a part of the EU, so this would seem to be a similar situation. Well, I have no problem with “European” - just as I have no problem with referring to US residents as “Americans.” Words _can_ have more than one meaning, you know. As long as context makes it clear which meaning is being used, I don’t see the problem. Unless one is hunting for something to get upset about… ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087/19 "2002-05-09T23:36:28Z")
Spanish has a much more accurate word: estadounidense (someone born in the United States). My Salvadoran college roomie always griped when I referred to myself as “americana,” since she had indigenous Central American blood (Mayan, specifically) and felt that she was therefore much more “americana” than I am, since only 2 of my 4 grandparents were even born in the U.S., and none of my great-grandparents were. So maybe we should all learn Spanish… ---
**Author:** ![fish\_in\_the\_sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7ba0ec/32.png) [@fish\_in\_the\_sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fish_in_the_sky)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087/20 "2002-05-09T23:55:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AskNott \* > \*\*Ever since the folks who were formerly called American Indians decided to be called Native Americans, there’s a little hitch. My forebears were Europeans, but I was born in the USA. I’m a native, and an American, but not a Native American. It’s a quirky little hiccup of our language. \*\* heh. Yeah. My family (both sides) has been in the US for at least five generations. My “European heritage” is so varied and muddled that it’s hardly worth tabulating and I can’t think of one “Old World” tradition in my family. I’m just “American” as far as I’m concerned; I wonder when I’ll get to be “native.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-call-someone-born-in-the-usa/108087.md?page=2)