English Americans

English Americans

Total population
23,074,947 (2017)[1][2] American Community Survey 7.1% of the total U.S. population[3]
Regions with significant populations
Throughout the entire United States New England, the Delaware Valley, the Mormon Corridor and the South Plurality in New York, the Pacific Northwest, Utah, Maine, Vermont, Idaho and New Hampshire
California	4,946,554[4]
Texas	3,083,323[4]
Ohio	2,371,236[4]
New York	2,320,503[4]
Florida	2,232,514[4]
Michigan	2,036,021[4]
Illinois	1,808,333[4]
North Carolina	1,778,008[4]
Georgia	1,584,303[4]
Tennessee	1,435,147[4]
Pennsylvania	1,058,737[5]
Languages
English (American and British English dialects)
Religion
Christianity Protestantism Roman Catholicism

English Americans (also referred to as Anglo-Americans) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2017 American Community Survey, English Americans are (7.1%) of the total population.^[1][2]

The term is distinct from British Americans, which includes not only English Americans but also Scottish Americans, Scotch-Irish Americans (Northern Ireland), Welsh Americans, Cornish Americans and Manx Americans from the whole of the United Kingdom.

However, demographers regard this as a serious undercount, as the index of inconsistency is high and many if not most Americans from English stock have a tendency to identify simply as "Americans"^[6][7][8][9] or if of mixed European ancestry, identify with a more recent and differentiated ethnic group.^[10] In the 1980 Census, over 49 million (49,598,035) Americans claimed English ancestry, at the time around 26.34% of the total population and largest reported group which, even today, would make them the largest ethnic group in the United States.^[11] Scotch-Irish Americans are for the most part descendants of Lowland Scots and Northern English (specifically - County Durham, Cumberland, Northumberland and Yorkshire) settlers who colonized Ireland during the Plantation of Ulster in the 17th century.

In 1982, an opinion poll showed respondents a card listing a number of ethnic groups and asked, "Thinking both of what they have contributed to this country and have gotten from this country, for each one tell me whether you think, on balance, they've been a good or a bad thing for this country." The English were the top ethnic group, with 66% saying they were a good thing for the United States, followed by the Irish at 62%. Ben J. Wattenberg argues that this poll demonstrates a general American bias against Hispanics and other recent immigrant populations.^[12]

The majority—57%--of the Founding Fathers of the United States were of English extraction. English immigrants in the 19th century, as with other groups, sought economic prosperity. They began migrating in large numbers, without state support, in the 1840s and continued into the 1890s.^[13]

Sense of identity[edit]

Americans of English heritage are often seen, and identify, as simply "American" due to the many historic cultural ties between England and the U.S. and their influence on the country's population. Relative to ethnic groups of other European origins, this may be due to the early establishment of English settlements; as well as to non-English groups having emigrated in order to establish significant communities.^[14]

Since 1776, English-Americans have been less likely to proclaim their heritage, unlike African Americans, Irish Americans, Scottish Americans, Italian Americans or other ethnic groups. A leading specialist, Charlotte Erickson, found them to be ethnically "invisible," dismissing the occasional St. George Societies as ephemeral elite clubs that were not in touch with the larger ethnic community.^[15] In Canada, by contrast, the English organized far more ethnic activism, as the English competed sharply with the well-organized French and Irish elements.^[16] In the United States the Scottish immigrants were much better organized than the English in the 19th century, as are their descendants in the late 20th century.^[17]

Number of English Americans[edit]

Self-identification per U.S. census
Year	Population	% of the United States population		Ref(s)
1980	49,598,035	26.34	26.34	[18][19]
1990	32,651,788	13.1	13.1	[20]
2000	24,515,138	8.7	8.7	[21]
2010	25,927,345	8.4	8.4	[22]

The original 17th century settlers were overwhelmingly English. From the time of the first permanent English presence in the New World until 1900, these immigrants and their descendants outnumbered all others firmly establishing the English cultural pattern as predominant for the American version.^[23]

Colonial period[edit]

1700-1776[edit]

According to the United States Historical Census, the ethnic populations in the British American Colonies of 1700, 1755 and 1775 were:

Ethnic composition of the British American Colonies 1700 - 1775
1700	%	1755	%	1775	%
English / Welsh	80.0%	English / Welsh	52.0%	English	48.7%
African	11.0%	African	20.0%	African	20.0%
Dutch	4.0%	German	7.0%	Scots-Irish	7.8 %
Scottish	3.0%	Scots-Irish	7.0%	German	6.9%
Other European	2.0%	Irish	5.0%	Scottish	6.6 %
-	-	Scottish	4.0%	Dutch	2.7%
-	-	Dutch	3.0%	French	1.4%
-	-	Other European	2.0%	Swedish	0.6%
-	-	-	-	Other	5.3%
Twelve Colonies*	100.0%	Thirteen Colonies	100.0%	Thirteen Colonies	100.0%
Source:[24][25][26] (*Province of Georgia not included)

Colonial English Ancestry 1776
Colonies	% of approximate population
New England	70.5%
Middle	40.6%
Southern	37.4%
Source:[27]

The category 'Irish' represents immigrants from Ireland outside the Province of Ulster, the overwhelming majority of whom were Protestant and not ethnically Irish, though from Ireland. The distinction between Scots-Irish (Protestant) and Irish (Catholic) came about in the mid-19th century: prior to this time all Irish persons whatever religion were identified as 'Irish.'

Censuses[edit]

National origins, 1790[edit]

In 1790 the U.S. conducted its first national population census. The ancestries of the population in 1790 has been estimated by various sources, first in 1932 then again in 1980 and 1984 by sampling distinctive surnames in the census and assigning them a country of origin. There is debate over the accuracy between the studies with individual scholars and the Federal Government using different techniques and conclusion for the ethnic composition.^[28][29] A study published in 1909 titled A Century of Population Growth by the Government Census Bureau estimated the English were 83.5% of the white population.^[30][31] The states with the highest percentage by the same Census Bureau data in 1909 (% of the total European population) of English ancestry were Connecticut 96.2%, Rhode Island 96.0%, Vermont 95.4%, Massachusetts 95.0%, New Hampshire 94.1%, Maine 93.1%, Virginia 85.0%, Maryland 84.0%, North Carolina 83.1%, South Carolina 82.4%, New York 78.2%, Pennsylvania 59.0%.^[32][33]

Another source by Thomas L. Purvis in 1984^[34] estimated that people of English ancestry made up about 47.5% of the total population or 60.9% of the white or European American population (his figures can also be found, and as divided by region, in Colin Bonwick, The American Revolution, 1991 p. 2540-839-1346-2).^[34][35] Some 80.7% of the total United States population was of European origin.^[36] Around 757,208 were of African descent with 697,624 being slaves.^[37]

1980[edit]

In 1980, 23,748,772 Americans claimed only English ancestry and another 25,849,263 claimed English along with another ethnic ancestry.^[38] It must be noted that 13.3 million or 5.9% of the total U.S. population chose to identify as "American" (counted under "not specified") as also seen in censuses that followed.^[39] Below shows the persons who reported at least one specific ancestry are as follows.^[40][41]

Response		Number	Percent	Northeast	North Central	South	West
Single ancestry		23,748,772	47.9%	2,984,931	4,438,223	12,382,681	3,942,937
Multiple ancestry		25,849,263	52.1%	5,190,045	7,099,961	7,235,689	6,323,568
Total reported		49,598,035		8,174,976	11,538,184	19,618,370	10,266,505

1990[edit]

At a national level the ancestry response rate was high with 90.4% of the total United States population choosing at least one specific ancestry and 9.6% ignored the question completely. Of those who chose English, 66.9% of people chose it as their first response. Totals for the English showed a considerable decrease from the previous census.^[42]

Response		Number	Percent
First ancestry		21,834,160	66.9%
Second ancestry		10,817,628	33.1%
Total reported		32,651,788

Responses for "American" slightly decreased both numerically and as a percentage from 5.9% to 5.2% in 1990 with most being from the South.^[43]

2000[edit]

In the 2000 census, 24.5 million or 8.7% of Americans reported English ancestry, a decline of some eight million people. At the national level, the response rate for the ancestry question fell to 80.1% of the total U.S. population, while 19.9% were unclassified or ignored the question completely.^[44] Some Cornish Americans may not identify as English American, even though Cornwall had been part of England since long before their ancestors arrived in North America. Responses were:^[45]

Response		Number	change, 1990-2000
First ancestry		16,623,938	-24.9%
Second ancestry		7,885,754
Total reported	24,509,692

Comparison between 1790 and 2000
1790 estimates			2000
Ancestry	Number	% of total	Ancestry	Number	% of total
English	1,900,000	47.5	German	42,885,162	15.2
Other Race	756,770	19.0	African	36,419,434	12.9
Scotch-Irish	320,000	8.0	Irish	30,594,130	10.9
German	280,000	7.0	English	24,515,138	8.7
Irish	200,000	5.0	Mexican	20,640,711	7.3
Scottish	160,000	4.0	Italian	15,723,555	5.6
Welsh	120,000	3.0	French	10,846,018	3.9
Dutch	100,000	2.5	Hispanic	10,017,244	3.6
French	80,000	2.0	Polish	8,977,444	3.2
Native American	50,000	1.0	Scottish	4,890,581	1.7
Spanish	20,000	0.5	Dutch	4,542,494	1.6
Swedish and Other	20,000	0.5	Norwegian	4,477,725	1.6
-	-	-	Scotch-Irish	4,319,232	1.5
United States	4,000,000	100.0	United States	281,421,906	N/A
Source:[46][35][47][48]

In 1900, an estimated 28,375,000 or 37.8% of the population of the United States was wholly or primarily of English ancestry from colonial stock.^[47] As with any ethnicity, Americans of English descent may choose to identify themselves as just American ethnicity if their ancestry has been in the United States for many generations or if, for the same reason, they are unaware of their lineages.

English expatriates[edit]

In total, there are estimated to be around 678,000 British born expatriates in the United States with the majority of these born in England.^[49] There are around 540,000 of any race in the United States, 40,000 Asian British, 20,000 Black British people and approximately 10,000 people of a mixed background.^[50]

Geographical distribution[edit]

States[edit]

English Americans are found in large numbers throughout America, particularly in the Northeast, South and West. According to the 2000 US census, the 10 states with the largest populations of self-reported English Americans are:

The ten states with the most English Americans			States with the highest percentages:
1	California	(3,521,355 - 7.4% of state population)	1	Utah	(29.0%)
2	Florida	(1,468,576 - 9.2%)	2	Maine	(21.5%)
3	Texas	(1,462,984 - 7%)	3	Vermont	(18.4%)
4	New York	(1,140,036 - 6%)	4	Idaho	(18.1%)
5	Ohio	(1,046,671 - 9.2%)	5	New Hampshire	(18.0%)
6	Pennsylvania	(966,253 - 7.9%)	6	Wyoming	(15.9%)
7	Michigan	(988,625 - 9.9%)	7	Oregon	(13.2%)
8	Illinois	(831,820 - 6.7%)	8	Montana	(12.7%)
9	Virginia	(788,849 - 11.1%)	9	Delaware	(12.1%)
10	North Carolina	(767,749 - 9.5%)	10	Colorado, Rhode Island, Washington	(12.0% each)

English was the highest reported European ancestry in the states of Maine, Vermont and Utah; joint highest along with German in the Carolinas.

Cities[edit]

Following are the top 20 highest percentages of people of English ancestry, in U.S. communities with 500 or more total inhabitants (for the total list of the 101 communities, see the reference):^[51]

Top 20 highest cities with over 500 Population: English Ancestry (In Progress)

Rank	City	State	Percentage
1	Hildale	Utah	66.9
2	Colorado City	Arizona	52.7
3	Milbridge	Maine	41.1
4	Panguitch	Utah	40
5	Beaver	Utah	39.8
6	Enterprise	Utah	39.4
7	East Machias	Maine	39.1
8	Marriott-Slaterville	Utah	38.2
9	Wellsvile	Utah	37.9
10	Morgan	Utah	37.2
11	Harrington	Maine	36.9
12	Farmington	Utah	36.9
13	Highland	Utah	36.7
14	Nephi	Utah	36.4
15	Fruit Heights	Utah	35.9
16	Addison	Maine	35.6
17	Farr West	Utah	35.4
18	Hooper	Utah	35.0
19	Lewiston	Utah	35.0
20	Plain City	Utah	34.7

On the top right, a map showing percentages by county of Americans who declared English ancestry in the 2000 Census. Dark blue and purple colours indicate a higher percentage: highest in the east and west (see also Maps of American ancestries). Center, a map showing the population of English Americans by state. On the right, a map showing the percentages of English Americans by state.

History[edit]

Early settlement and colonization[edit]

English settlement in America began with Jamestown in the Virginia Colony in 1607. With the permission of James I, three ships (the Susan Constant, The Discovery, and The God Speed) sailed from England and landed at Cape Henry in April, under the captainship of Christopher Newport,^[13] who had been hired by the London Company to lead expeditions to what is now America.^[52]

The second successful colony was Plymouth Colony, founded in 1620 by people who later became known as the Pilgrims. Fleeing religious persecution in the East Midlands in England, they first went to Holland, but feared losing their English identity.^[53] Because of this, they chose to relocate to the New World, with their voyage being financed by English investors. In September 1620, 102 passengers set sail aboard the Mayflower, eventually settling at Plymouth Colony in November.^[54] Of the passengers on the Mayflower, 41 men signed the "Mayflower Compact" aboard ship on November 11, 1620, while anchored in Provincetown Harbor. Signers included Carver, Alden, Standish, Howland, Bradford, Allerton, and Fuller.^[55][56] This story has become a central theme in the United States cultural identity.

A number of English colonies were established under a system of proprietary governors, who were appointed under mercantile charters to English joint stock companies to found and run settlements.

England also took over the Dutch colony of New Netherland (including the New Amsterdam settlement), renaming it the Province of New York in 1664.^[57] With New Netherland, the English came to control the former New Sweden (in what is now Delaware), which the Dutch had conquered from Sweden earlier.^[58] This became part of Pennsylvania.

English immigration after 1776[edit]

Cultural similarities and a common language allowed English immigrants to integrate rapidly and gave rise to a unique Anglo-American culture. An estimated 3.5 million English immigrated to the U.S. after 1776.^[59] English settlers provided a steady and substantial influx throughout the 19th century.

English immigration to the U.S. 1820-1970
Period	Arrivals	Period	Arrivals
1820-1830	15,837	1901-1910	388,017
1831-1840	7,611	1911-1920	249,944
1841-1850	32,092	1921-1930	157,420
1851-1860	247,125	1931-1940	21,756
1861-1870	222,277	1941-1950	112,252
1871-1880	437,706	1951-1960	156,171
1881-1890	644,680	1961-1970	174,452
1891-1900	216,726	1971-1980	-
Total arrivals: 3,084,066[60][61][62]

The first wave of growing English immigration began in the late 1820s and was sustained by unrest in the United Kingdom until it peaked in 1842 and declined slightly for nearly a decade. Most of these were small farmers and tenant farmers from depressed areas in rural counties in southern and western England and urban laborers who fled from the depressions and from the social and industrial changes of the late 1820s-1840s. While some English immigrants were drawn by dreams of creating model utopian societies in America, most others were attracted by the lure of new lands, textile factories, railroads, and the expansion of mining.

A number of English settlers moved to the United States from Australia in the 1850s (then a British political territory), when the California Gold Rush boomed; these included the so-called "Sydney Ducks" (see Australian Americans).

During the last years of the 1860s, annual English immigration grew to over 60,000 and continued to rise to over 75,000 per year in 1872, before experiencing a decline. The final and most sustained wave of immigration began in 1879 and lasted until the depression of 1893. During this period English annual immigration averaged more than 82,000, with peaks in 1882 and 1888 and did not drop significantly until the financial panic of 1893.^[63] The building of America's transcontinental railroads, the settlement of the great plains, and industrialization attracted skilled and professional emigrants from England.

English-born in the U.S. 1850–2010
Year	Population	% of foreign-born
1850	278,675	12.4
1860	431,692	-
1870	550,924	10.0
1880	662,676	-
1890	908,141	9.8
1900	840,513	-
1910	877,719	6.5
1920	813,853	-
1930	809,563	5.7
1940	-	-
1950	809,563	-
1960	528,205	5.4
1970	458,114	4.8
1980	442,499	-
1990	405,588	-
2000	423,609	-
2010	356,489	0.9
Source:[63][64][65]

Also, cheaper steamship fares enabled unskilled urban workers to come to America, and unskilled and semiskilled laborers, miners, and building trades workers made up the majority of these new English immigrants. While most settled in America, a number of skilled craftsmen remained itinerant, returning to England after a season or two of work. Groups of English immigrants came to America as missionaries for the Salvation Army and to work with the activities of the Evangelical and LDS Churches.

The depression of 1893 sharply decreased English emigration to the United States, and it stayed low for much of the twentieth century. This decline reversed itself in the decade of World War II when over 100,000 English (18 percent of all European immigrants) came from England. In this group was a large contingent of war brides who came between 1945 and 1948. In these years four women emigrated from England for every man.^[63] In the 1950s, English immigration increased to over 150,000.and rose to 170,000 in the 1960s.^[66] While differences developed, it is not surprising that English immigrants had little difficulty in assimilating to American life. The American resentment against the policies of the British government^[67] was rarely transferred to English settlers who came to America in the first decades of the nineteenth century.

Political influence[edit]

As the earliest colonists of the United States, settlers from England and their descendants often held positions of power and made and enforced laws,^[68] often because many had been involved in government back in England.^[69] In the original 13 colonies, most laws contained elements found in the English common law system.^[70]

The majority—57%-- of the Founding Fathers of the United States were of English extraction. Scottish extraction characterized 16%, 19% were Irish or Scots-Irish, and 5% were Welsh. A minority were of high social status and can be classified as White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP). Many of the prewar WASP elite were Loyalists who left the new nation.^[71]

While WASPs (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants usually of English origins) have been major players in every major American political party, an exceptionally strong association has existed between WASPs and the Republican Party, before the 1980s. A few top Democrats qualified, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt. Northeastern Republican leaders such as Leverett Saltonstall of Massachusetts, Prescott Bush of Connecticut and especially Nelson Rockefeller of New York exemplified the pro-business liberal Republicanism of their social stratum, espousing internationalist views on foreign policy, supporting social programs, and holding liberal views on issues like racial integration. A famous confrontation was the 1952 Senate election in Massachusetts where John F. Kennedy, a Catholic of Irish descent, defeated WASP Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.. However the challenge by Barry Goldwater in 1964 to the Eastern Republican establishment helped undermine the WASP dominance.^[72] Goldwater himself had solid WASP credentials through his mother, of a prominent old Yankee family, but was instead mistakenly seen as part of the Jewish community (which he had never associated with). By the 1980s, the liberal Rockefeller Republican wing of the party was marginalized, overwhelmed by the dominance of the Southern and Western conservative Republicans.^[73]

Asking "Is the WASP leader a dying breed?" journalist Nina Strochlic in 2012 pointed to eleven WASP top politicians—typically scions of upper class English families. She ending with Republicans G.H.W. Bush elected in 1988, his son George W. Bush elected in 2000 and 2004, and John McCain, who was nominated but defeated in 2008.^[74]

Language[edit]

English is the most commonly spoken language in the U.S, where it is estimated that two thirds of all native speakers of English live.^[75] The American English dialect developed from English colonization. It serves as the de facto official language, the language in which government business is carried out. According to the 1990 census, 94% of the U.S. population speak only English.^[76] Adding those who speak English "well" or "very well" brings this figure to 96%.^[76] Only 0.8% speak no English at all as compared with 3.6% in 1890. American English differs from British English in a number of ways, the most striking being in terms of pronunciation (for example, American English retains voicing of the letter "R" after vowels, unlike standard British English) and spelling (one example is the "u" in words such as color, favor (US) vs colour, favour (UK)). Less obvious differences are present in grammar and vocabulary. The differences are rarely a barrier to effective communication between American English and British English speakers, but there are certainly enough differences to cause occasional misunderstandings, usually surrounding slang or dialect differences.

Some states, like California, have amended their constitutions to make English the only official language, but in practice, this only means that official government documents must at least be in English, and does not mean that they should be exclusively available only in English. For example, the standard California Class C driver's license examination is available in 32 different languages.

Expression[edit]

"In for a penny, in for a pound" is an expression to mean, ("if you're going to take a risk at all, you might as well make it a big risk"), is used in the United States which dates back to the colonial period, when cash in the colonies was denominated in Pounds, shillings and Pence.^[77] Today, the one-cent coin is commonly known as a penny. A modern alternative expression is "In for a dime, in for a dollar".

Cultural influences[edit]

Much of American culture shows influences from English culture.

Cuisine[edit]

• Apple pie - New England was the first region to experience large-scale English colonization in the early 17th century, beginning in 1620, and it was dominated by East Anglian Calvinists, better known as the Puritans. Baking was a particular favorite of the New Englanders and was the origin of dishes seen today as quintessentially "American", such as apple pie and the oven-roasted Thanksgiving turkey.^[78] "As American as apple pie" is a well-known phrase used to suggest that something is all-American.
• Roast Beef - In the middle of the 17th century a second wave of English immigrants began arriving in North America, settling mainly in the Chesapeake Bay region of Virginia and Maryland, expanding upon the Jamestown settlement. Their roast beef was often served with Yorkshire puddings and horseradish sauce. (It was despised by the French.)

Celebrations[edit]

• Thanksgiving - It has become a national secular holiday (official since 1863) with religious origins, but in England it remains a Church festival giving thanks to God for the harvest. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated by English settlers to give thanks to God for helping the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony survive the brutal winter. This feast lasted three days, and—as accounted by attendee Edward Winslow^[79]—it was attended by 90 Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims.^[80][81] Englishman William Bradford is credited as the first to proclaim the American cultural event which is generally referred to as the "First Thanksgiving".

Sports[edit]

• Baseball - The earliest recorded game of base-ball for which the original source survives, involved none other than the family of the Prince of Wales, played indoors in London in November 1748. The Prince is reported as playing "Bass-Ball" again in September 1749 in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, against Lord Middlesex.^[82] The English lawyer William Bray wrote in his diary that he had played a game of baseball on Easter Monday 1755 in Guildford, also in Surrey.^[83][84] English lawyer William Bray recorded a game of baseball on Easter Monday 1755 in Guildford, Surrey; Bray's diary was verified as authentic in September 2008.^[85][86] This early form of the game was apparently brought to North America by British immigrants. The first appearance of the term that exists in print was in "A Little Pretty Pocket-Book" in 1744, where it is called Base-Ball. Today, Rounders which has been played in England since Tudor times holds a similarity to Baseball. Although, literary references to early forms of "base-ball" in the United Kingdom pre-date use of the term "rounders".^[87]
• American football - can be traced to early versions of rugby football, played in England and first developed in American universities in the mid-19th century.^[88]

Law[edit]

The American legal system also has its roots in English law.^[89] For example, elements of the Magna Carta were incorporated into the United States constitution.^[90] English law prior to the revolution is still part of the law of the United States, and provides the basis for many American legal traditions and policies. After the revolution, English law was again adopted by the now independent American States.^[91]

Music[edit]

Another area of cultural influence are American Patriotic songs:

• American national anthem - takes its melody from the 18th-century English song "To Anacreon in Heaven" written by John Stafford Smith from England for the Anacreontic Society, a men's social club in London and lyrics written by Francis Scott Key of English descent. This became a well-known and recognized patriotic song throughout the United States, which was officially designated as the U.S. national anthem in 1931.^[92][93][94]
• Hail to the Chief - is the song to announce the arrival or presence of the President of the United States. English songwriter James Sanderson (c. 1769 – c. 1841), composed the music and was first performed in 1812 in New York.^[95]

Before 1931, other songs served as the hymns of American officialdom.

• The Liberty Song - written by John Dickinson of English descent in 1768 to the music of Englishman William Boyce's "Heart of Oak", is perhaps the first patriotic song written in America. The song contains the line "by uniting we stand, by dividing we fall", the first recorded use of the sentiment.
• My Country, 'Tis of Thee - whose melody was indirectly derived from the British national anthem,^[96] also served as a de facto anthem before the adoption of "The Star-Spangled Banner."^[97]

• Amazing Grace - written by English poet and clergyman John Newton became such an icon in American culture that it has been used for a variety of secular purposes and marketing campaigns, placing it in danger of becoming a cliché.^[98]
• Yankee Doodle - is written and accredited to Englishman Dr. Richard Shuckburgh an army doctor. The tune comes from the English nursery rhyme Lucy Locket.^[99]

English ballads had a large influence on American folk music, eventually spawning such genres as old time, country, and bluegrass.

English family names[edit]

Of the top ten family names in the United States, seven have English origins or having possible mixed British Isles heritage, the other three being of Spanish origin.^[100] Many African Americans have their origins in slavery (i.e. slave name). Many of them came to bear the surnames of their former owners. Many freed slaves either created family names themselves or adopted the name of their former master. According to 2000 U.S. Census data, eight of the top ten surnames in the United States are of British Isles origin, while two are the most common surnames among Hispanics.^[101] In the last UK Census in 2001, surnames in England can be compared to the United States with 6 of the family names in England being in both their top ten.^[102] Many English surnames are also found in Ireland. This is attributable to a number of factors, including the Protestant Plantation of Ireland, the imposition of the Penal Laws in the 1700s which forced many Irish people to Anglicize their surnames, and English ancestry in the Irish population itself, especially in the area around Dublin. Also, in the 9th century, Viking invaders brought many Norse names to Ireland that they had already brought to England when they established and settled the Danelaw. Scandinavian names may have been brought to England in pre-Viking times, especially in the North and East, due to Anglo-Saxons from Denmark. and the Anglo-Normans who invaded Ireland in the 1170s brought many Norman French names which had already spread to England.

Name	Rank - 2010	Number	Country of Origin	England - 2001 [102][103]
Smith	1	2,442,977	England,[104] Scotland,[105] Ireland[106] (Common however also among German Americans who are likely originally held the surname "Schmidt")	Smith
Johnson	2	1,932,812	England, Scotland [107][108]	Jones
Williams	3	1,625,252	England, Wales[109]	Taylor
Brown	4	1,437,026	England, Ireland, Scotland[110]	Brown
Jones	5	1,425,470	England, Wales[111]	Williams
García	6	1,166,120	Spain[112], Mexico and other Hispanic nations	Wilson
Miller	7	1,161,437	England, Ireland, or Scotland (Miller can be the anglicized version of Mueller/Müller - a surname from Germany)[113]	Johnson
Davis	8	1,116,357	England, Wales[114]	Davies
Rodríguez	9	1,094,924	Spain[115]	Robinson, Roderick
Martinez	10	1,060,159	Spain, Mexico and other Hispanic nations	Wright

It should be pointed out, however, that a significant number of non-English immigrants anglicized their surnames. For example, "Smith" may come from German Schmidt, or Dutch Smit; "Johnson" from Norwegian or Danish Johansen, Dutch Jansen, or Swedish Johansson, "Brown" from German Braun, "Miller" from German Müller, and so forth.^{[citation needed]} On the other hand, "Williams",^[116] "Jones",^[117] and "Davis",^[118] which are often associated with Welsh ancestry due to their common occurrence in Wales, are actually mostly English, as Wales has a much smaller population (and diaspora) than England.

English place names in the United States[edit]

There are many places in the United States named after places in Great Britain as a result of the many British settlers and explorers; in addition, some places were named after the English royal family. These include the region of New England and some of the following:

Alabama[edit]

• Birmingham after Birmingham, England

California[edit]

• Westminster after Westminster in London, England

Delaware[edit]

• Dover after Dover, England
• Wilmington named by Proprietor Thomas Penn after his friend Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, who was prime minister in the reign of George II of Great Britain.

Georgia[edit]

• Georgia was named after King George II.^[120]

Maryland[edit]

• Maryland named so for Queen Henrietta Maria (Queen Mary).^[121]

Massachusetts[edit]

• Boston after Boston, England^[122]
• Braintree after Braintree, England
• Gloucester after Gloucester, England
• Northampton after Northampton, England
• Southampton after Southampton, England^[123]
• Springfield after Springfield, Essex, England

New Hampshire[edit]

• New Hampshire state (after Hampshire^[124])
• Manchester after Manchester, England^[125]

New Jersey[edit]

• Burlington County and Burlington after the English east-coast town of Bridlington.^[126]
• Camden named by local Jacob Cooper after Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden.^[127]
• Gloucester County and Gloucester City after the city of Gloucester / county of Gloucestershire in England.^[128]
• Newark after the town of Newark-on-Trent, England^[129]

New York[edit]

• Cornwall (originally "New Cornwall") after the county of Cornwall in southwest England
• Liverpool Village after Liverpool England.
• New York City (after the Duke of York^[130])
• New York (State) (also after the Duke of York)
• Suffolk County after Suffolk, England

Pennsylvania[edit]

• Berks County after Berkshire (pronounced "Barkshire"), England
• Bristol and Bristol Township after Bristol, England^[131]
• Bucks County after Buckinghamshire, England
• Chester County and Chester after Chester, England
• Darby derived from Derby (pronounced "Darby"), the county town of Derbyshire (pronounced "Darbyshire")^[132]
• Horsham after Horsham (pronounced "Hor-sham"), England
• Lancaster County and Lancaster after the city of Lancaster in the county of Lancashire in England, the native home of John Wright, one of the early settlers.^[133]
• Northampton County after Northamptonshire, England
• Reading, Berks County after Reading (pronounced "Redding"), Berkshire (pronounced "Barkshire"), England
• Warminster after the small town of Warminster in the county of Wiltshire, at the western extremity of Salisbury Plain, England.^[134]
• Warrington after Warrington, England^[135]
• Warwick after Warwick, England^[136]

The Carolinas[edit]

• The province, named Carolina (The Carolinas-North and South) to honor King Charles I of England, was divided into SC and NC in 1729, although the actual date is the subject of debate.^[137]

Virginia[edit]

• The name Virginia was first applied by Queen Elizabeth I (the "Virgin Queen") and Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584.^[138]
• Norfolk after the county of Norfolk, England
• Portsmouth after Portsmouth, England^[139]
• Richmond named by William Byrd II after Richmond, London where he spent part of his childhood.
• Suffolk after the county of Suffolk, England

Architecture[edit]

American Architecture, particularly in the nation's earlier years, has long been strongly influenced by English styles. The United States Capitol building, for example, was first designed by English-educated American Architect William Thornton, and bears a resemblance to St Paul's Cathedral in London. Also, many American college campuses, such as Harvard, Penn, Yale, Brown, Williams, Princeton University, and the University of Delaware, have English Georgian or English gothic architecture.

Notable people[edit]

Presidents of English descent[edit]

Most of the Presidents of the United States have had English ancestry.^[140] The extent of English heritage varies in the presidents with earlier presidents being predominantly of colonial English Yankee stock. Later US Presidents' ancestry can often be traced to ancestors from multiple nations in Europe, including England.

18th century[edit]

George Washington^[141][142], John Adams^[143][144].

19th century[edit]

Thomas Jefferson, James Madison^[145] John Quincy Adams^[143][144], Andrew Jackson^[146][147], William Henry Harrison^[148], John Tyler^[149],Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore^[150],Franklin Pierce^[151], Abraham Lincoln^[152][153], Andrew Johnson^[154], Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes^[155], James A. Garfield^[156], Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley.

20th century[edit]

Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft^[157][158], Warren G. Harding^[159], Calvin Coolidge^[160], Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman^[161][162], Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter^[163], Ronald Reagan^[164], George H. W. Bush^[165][166], Bill Clinton.

21st century[edit]

George W. Bush^[167], Barack Obama^[168][169]

The U.S. Presidents which lacked recent English ancestry were James Monroe, Martin Van Buren, James K. Polk, James Buchanan, Woodrow Wilson, Dwight Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy. Also, President Donald Trump does not have recent English ancestry, with all of his recent ancestry coming from Germany and Scotland.^[170]

See also[edit]

• American ethnicity
• Americans or American people
• Anglo America
• Anglo-Celtic Australian
• Boston Brahmin
• British American
• Demographic history of the United States
• English (ethnic group)
• English colonial empire
• English diaspora
• European American
• Immigration to the United States
• Maps of American ancestries
• Old Stock Americans
• Scotch-Irish American
• Scottish American
• Anglo-American relations
• Welsh American
• White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
• White Southerners
• Yankee

References[edit]