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99-716: Scruggs is a surname, typically of Americans , but also documented in the United Kingdom , several of its other former colonies British descent is especially common, Germany, and (the country of) Georgia . Notable people with the surname "Scruggs" include [ edit ] Burgess E. Scruggs (1860–1934), American physician, civic leader, and alderman from Huntsville, Alabama Charles Scruggs of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, American hip hop band from Cleveland, Ohio Chris Scruggs (born 1982), American singer-songwriter Earl Scruggs (1924–2012), American musician who perfected and popularized
198-472: A power law distribution . Since about 1800 in England and Wales and in the U.S., the popularity distribution of given names has been shifting so that the most popular names are losing popularity. For example, in England and Wales, the most popular female and male names given to babies born in 1800 were Mary and John, with 24% of female babies and 22% of male babies receiving those names, respectively. In contrast,
297-516: A "very important" role in their lives, a proportion unusual among developed countries . However, similar to the other nations of the Americas. Many faiths have flourished in the United States, including both later imports spanning the country's multicultural immigrant heritage, as well as those founded within the country; these have led the United States to become the most religiously diverse country in
396-489: A 3-finger banjo-picking style (now called Scruggs style) Edward W. Scruggs (1903–1974), American politician Elaine Scruggs (Non-Partisan), mayor of Glendale, Arizona Flatt & Scruggs or the Foggy Mountain Boys, bluegrass band founded by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs Greg Scruggs (born 1990), American football player Irene Scruggs (1901–1981), American Piedmont blues and country blues singer, who
495-595: A character from the movie Splash . Lara and Larissa were rare in America before the appearance of Doctor Zhivago , and have become fairly common since. Songs can influence the naming of children. Jude jumped from 814th most popular male name in 1968 to 668th in 1969, following the release of the Beatles ' " Hey Jude ". Similarly, Layla charted as 969th most popular in 1972 after the Eric Clapton song. It had not been in
594-562: A comprehensive study of Norwegian first name datasets shows that the main factors that govern first name dynamics are endogenous . Monitoring the popularity of 1,000 names over 130 years, the authors have identified only five cases of exogenous effects, three of them are connected to the names given to the babies of the Norwegian royal family. Since the civil rights movement of 1950–1970, African-American names given to children have strongly mirrored sociopolitical movements and philosophies in
693-566: A continuous presence in what is now the continental United States in 1565. Martín de Argüelles , born in 1566 in San Agustín, La Florida then a part of New Spain , was the first person of European descent born in what is now the continental United States. Virginia Dare , born in 1587 in Roanoke Island in present-day North Carolina , was the first child born in the original Thirteen Colonies to English parents. The Spaniards also established
792-414: A continuous presence in what over three centuries later would become a possession of the United States with the founding of the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico , in 1521. In the 2020 United States census, English Americans 46.5 million (19.8%), German Americans 45m (19.1%), Irish Americans 38.6m (16.4%), and Italian Americans 16.8m (7.1%) were the four largest self-reported European ancestry groups in
891-426: A crown or entering a religious order; such a person then typically becomes known chiefly by that name. The order given name – family name , commonly known as Western name order , is used throughout most European countries and in countries that have cultures predominantly influenced by European culture, including North and South America ; North , East , Central and West India ; Australia , New Zealand , and
990-495: A family in the manner of American English Seniors, Juniors , III , etc. Similarly, it is considered disadvantageous for the child to bear a name already made famous by someone else through romanizations , where a common name like Liu Xiang may be borne by tens of thousands. Korean names and Vietnamese names are often simply conventions derived from Classical Chinese counterparts. Many female Japanese names end in -ko ( 子 ), usually meaning "child" on its own. However,
1089-477: A hyphenated style like Bengt-Arne . A middle name might be part of a compound given name or might be, instead, a maiden name , a patronymic , or a baptismal name . In England, it was unusual for a person to have more than one given name until the seventeenth century when Charles James Stuart ( King Charles I ) was baptised with two names. That was a French fashion, which spread to the English aristocracy, following
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#17328521897201188-502: A limited repertoire of names that sometimes vary by orthography . The most familiar example of this, to Western readers, is the use of Biblical and saints' names in most of the Christian countries (with Ethiopia, in which names were often ideals or abstractions—Haile Selassie, "power of the Trinity"; Haile Miriam, "power of Mary"—as the most conspicuous exception). However, the name Jesus
1287-480: A name because of its meaning. This may be a personal or familial meaning, such as giving a child the name of an admired person, or it may be an example of nominative determinism , in which the parents give the child a name that they believe will be lucky or favourable for the child. Given names most often derive from the following categories: In many cultures, given names are reused, especially to commemorate ancestors or those who are particularly admired, resulting in
1386-463: A person's surname is more commonly used. The idioms ' on a first-name basis ' and 'being on first-name terms' refer to the familiarity inherent in addressing someone by their given name. By contrast, a surname (also known as a family name, last name, or gentile name ) is normally inherited and shared with other members of one's immediate family. Regnal names and religious or monastic names are special given names bestowed upon someone receiving
1485-416: A pivotal character in his epic prose work, The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia ; Jessica , created by William Shakespeare in his play The Merchant of Venice ; Vanessa , created by Jonathan Swift ; Fiona , a character from James Macpherson 's spurious cycle of Ossian poems; Wendy , an obscure name popularised by J. M. Barrie in his play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up ; and Madison ,
1584-760: A prominent trial lawyer, one of the richest men in Mississippi Rick Scruggs (born 1955), American basketball coach Ted Scruggs (1923–2000), American football player Tony Scruggs (born 1966), former Major League Baseball left fielder Uncle John Scruggs (1855–1941), African-American banjo player William Lindsay Scruggs (1836–1912), American author, lawyer, and diplomat Xavier Scruggs (born 1987), American baseball player See also [ edit ] Creggs The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018 film) Krug (disambiguation) Scrag (disambiguation) Scroggs (disambiguation) [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with
1683-681: A reaction to the prevailing European consensus that America's domestic originality was degenerate . Prevalent ideas and ideals that evolved domestically, such as national holidays , uniquely American sports , military tradition, and innovations in the arts and entertainment give a strong sense of national pride among the population as a whole. American culture includes both conservative and liberal elements, scientific and religious competitiveness, political structures, risk taking and free expression, materialist and moral elements. Despite certain consistent ideological principles (e.g. individualism , egalitarianism , faith in freedom and democracy ),
1782-530: A region that was settled historically by the British. Overall, as the largest group, European Americans have the lowest poverty rate and the second highest educational attainment levels, median household income , and median personal income of any racial demographic in the nation, second only to Asian Americans in the latter three categories. According to the American Jewish Archives and
1881-552: A total of 1,834,212 self-identifying individuals. Barack Obama , 44th President of the United States who is biracial- his mother is white (of English and Irish descent) and his father is of Kenyan birth- only self-identifies as being African American. According to the 2020 United States census, 8.4% or 27,915,715 Americans chose to self-identify with the "some other race" category, the third most popular option. Also, 42.2% or 26,225,882 Hispanic/Latino Americans chose to identify as some other race as these Hispanic/Latinos may feel
1980-442: Is also an option in the census and other surveys. The United States Census Bureau also classifies Americans as "Hispanic or Latino" and "Not Hispanic or Latino", which identifies Hispanic and Latino Americans as a racially diverse ethnicity that comprises the largest minority group in the nation. People of European descent, or White Americans (also referred to as European Americans and Caucasian Americans), constitute
2079-494: Is considered taboo or sacrilegious in some parts of the Christian world , though this taboo does not extend to the cognate Joshua or related forms which are common in many languages even among Christians. In some Spanish-speaking countries, the name Jesus is considered a normal given name. Similarly, the name Mary , now popular among Christians, particularly Roman Catholics , was considered too holy for secular use until about
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#17328521897202178-412: Is considered offensive, or if it is deemed impractical. In France, the agency can refer the case to a local judge. Some jurisdictions, such as Sweden, restrict the spelling of names. In Denmark, one does not need to register a given name for the child until the child is six months old, and in some cases, one can even wait a little longer than this before the child gets an official name. Parents may choose
2277-474: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles American people Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America . The United States is home to people of many racial and ethnic origins ; consequently, American law does not equate nationality with race or ethnicity but with citizenship. The majority of Americans or their ancestors immigrated to
2376-503: Is indigenous to the Americas , originally migrated to the two continents between 10,000 and 45,000 years ago. These Paleoamericans spread throughout the two continents and evolved into hundreds of distinct cultures during the pre-Columbian era . Following the first voyage of Christopher Columbus , the European colonization of the Americas began, with St. Augustine , Florida becoming
2475-449: Is now United States territory since the founding of San Juan, Puerto Rico (the oldest continuously inhabited settlement on American soil) in 1521 by Juan Ponce de León , and the founding of St. Augustine, Florida (the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the continental United States) in 1565 by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés . In the State of Texas , Spaniards first settled the region in
2574-535: Is now the United States since before the Revolutionary War , relatively large waves of Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese immigration did not begin until the mid-to-late 19th century. Immigration and significant population growth continue to this day. Due to a number of factors, Asian Americans have been stereotyped as " perpetual foreigners ". As defined by the United States Census Bureau and
2673-940: Is predominant. Also, a particular spelling is often more common for either men or women, even if the pronunciation is the same. Many culture groups, past and present, did not or do not gender their names strongly; thus, many or all of their names are unisex. On the other hand, in many languages including most Indo-European languages (but not English), gender is inherent in the grammar. Some countries have laws preventing unisex names , requiring parents to give their children sex-specific names. Names may have different gender connotations from country to country or language to language. Within anthroponymic classification, names of human males are called andronyms (from Ancient Greek ἀνήρ / man, and ὄνυμα [ὄνομα] / name), while names of human females are called gynonyms (from Ancient Greek γυνή / woman, and ὄνυμα [ὄνομα] / name). The popularity (frequency) distribution of given names typically follows
2772-581: Is the Asian American population, comprising 19,618,719 people in 2020, or 5.9% of the United States population. California is home to 5.6 million Asian Americans, the greatest number in any state. In Hawaii, Asian Americans make up the highest proportion of the population (57 percent). Asian Americans live across the country, yet are heavily urbanized, with significant populations in the Greater Los Angeles Area , New York metropolitan area , and
2871-524: Is the Baby Name Game that uses the Elo rating system to rank parents preferred names and help them select one. Popular culture appears to have an influence on naming trends, at least in the United States and United Kingdom. Newly famous celebrities and public figures may influence the popularity of names. For example, in 2004, the names "Keira" and "Kiera" (anglicisation of Irish name Ciara) respectively became
2970-542: Is the official naming order used in Arabic countries (for example Saudi Arabia , Iraq and United Arab Emirates ). In many Western cultures , people often have multiple given names. Most often the first one in sequence is the one that a person goes by, although exceptions are not uncommon, such as in the cases of John Edgar Hoover (J. Edgar) and Dame Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland (Barbara). The given name might also be used in compound form, as in, for example, John Paul or
3069-732: The Arab American Institute (AAI), Arab Americans have family origins in each of the 22 member states of the Arab League . Following consultations with MENA organizations, the Census Bureau announced in 2014 that it would establish a new MENA ethnic category for populations from the Middle East , North Africa , and the Arab world , separate from the "white" classification that these populations had previously sought in 1909. The groups felt that
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3168-618: The Arab American National Museum , the first Middle Easterners and North Africans (viz. Jews and Berbers ) to arrive in the Americas landed in the late 15th to mid-16th centuries. Many fled ethnic or ethnoreligious persecution during the Spanish Inquisition ; a few were taken to the Americas as slaves. In 2014, the United States Census Bureau began finalizing the ethnic classification of people of Middle Eastern and North African ("MENA") origins. According to
3267-559: The Creoles and Cajuns of Louisiana and the Hispanos of the Southwest and brought close contact with the culture of Mexico . Large-scale immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from Eastern and Southern Europe introduced a variety of elements. Immigration from Africa , Asia , and Latin America has also had impact. A cultural melting pot , or pluralistic salad bowl , describes
3366-478: The District of Columbia and the five inhabited U.S. territories have a non-white majority. The state with the highest percentage of non-Hispanic White Americans is Maine , while the state with the lowest percentage is Hawaii . Europe is the largest continent that Americans trace their ancestry to, and many claim descent from various European ethnic groups . The Spaniards were the first Europeans to establish
3465-559: The Kingdom of Kongo ). The first West African slaves were brought to Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. The English settlers treated these captives as indentured servants and released them after a number of years. This practice was gradually replaced by the system of race-based slavery used in the Caribbean . All the American colonies had slavery, but it was usually the form of personal servants in
3564-605: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), an "American Indian or Alaska Native" is a person whose ancestry have origins in any of the original peoples of North, Central, or South America. 2.3 million individuals who are American Indian or Alaskan Native are multiracial; additionally the plurality of American Indians reside in the Western United States (40.7%). Collectively and historically this race has been known by several names ; as of 1995, 50% of those who fall within
3663-576: The Office of Management and Budget , the grouping includes individuals who self-identify as African American, as well as persons who emigrated from nations in the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa. The grouping is thus based on geography, and may contradict or misrepresent an individual's self-identification since not all immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa are "Black". Among these racial outliers are persons from Cape Verde , Madagascar , various Arab states, and Hamito-Semitic populations in East Africa and
3762-904: The Philippines . The order family name – given name , commonly known as Eastern name order , is primarily used in East Asia (for example in China , Japan , Korea , Taiwan , Singapore , and Vietnam , among others, and by Malaysian Chinese ), as well as in Southern and North-Eastern parts of India , and as a standard in Hungary . This order is also used to various degrees and in specific contexts in other European countries, such as Austria and adjacent areas of Germany (that is, Bavaria ), and in France , Switzerland , Belgium , Greece and Italy , possibly because of
3861-515: The Sahel , and the Afrikaners of Southern Africa . African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans or Afro-Americans, and formerly as American Negroes ) are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. According to the 2020 United States census, there were 39,940,338 Black and African Americans in the United States, representing 12.1% of
3960-571: The San Francisco Bay Area . The United States census defines Asian Americans as those with origins to the countries of East Asia , South Asia , and Southeast Asia . Although Americans with roots in West Asia were once classified as "Asian", they are now excluded from the term in modern census classifications. The largest sub-groups are immigrants or descendants of immigrants from Cambodia, mainland China, India, Japan, Korea, Laos, Pakistan,
4059-469: The Southern United States . Double names are also common among Vietnamese names to make repeated name in the family. For example, Đặng Vũ Minh Anh and Đặng Vũ Minh Ánh, are two sisters with the given names Minh Anh and Minh Ánh. Sometimes, a given name is used as just an initial, especially in combination with the middle initial (such as with H. G. Wells ), and more rarely as an initial while
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4158-518: The United Kingdom . Unlike migration from other countries, United States migration is not concentrated in specific countries, possibly as a result of the roots of immigration from so many different countries to the United States. As of 2016 , there were approximately 9 million United States citizens living outside of the United States. As the result of U.S. tax and financial reporting requirements that apply to non-resident citizens, record numbers of American citizens renounced their U.S. citizenship in
4257-565: The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom , the framers of the Constitution rejected any religious test for office. The First Amendment specifically denied the federal government any power to enact any law respecting either an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise, thus protecting any religious organization, institution, or denomination from government interference. European Rationalist and Protestant ideals mainly influenced
4356-557: The Western Hemisphere and beyond, including the District of Columbia, the seat of government of the United States. English is the unofficial national language . Although there is no official language at the federal level, some laws—such as U.S. naturalization requirements —standardize English. In 2007, about 226 million, or 80% of the population aged five years and older, spoke only English at home. Spanish , spoken by 12% of
4455-540: The flag of the United States – for example, typically a top hat with red and white stripes and white stars on a blue band, and red and white striped trousers. Columbia is a poetic name for the Americas and the feminine personification of the United States of America, made famous by African American poet Phillis Wheatley during the American Revolutionary War in 1776. It has inspired the names of many persons, places, objects, institutions, and companies in
4554-738: The northern states (north of the Mason–Dixon line ) had abolished slavery. However, slavery would persist in the southern states until the end of the American Civil War and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment . Following the end of the Reconstruction era , which saw the first African American representation in Congress , African Americans became disenfranchised and subject to Jim Crow laws , legislation that would persist until
4653-580: The slavery era within the boundaries of the present United States. As an adjective, the term is usually spelled African-American . Montinaro et al. (2014) observed that around 50% of the overall ancestry of African Americans traces back to the Niger-Congo -speaking Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria and southern Benin (before the European colonization of Africa this people created the Oyo Empire ), reflecting
4752-411: The surname Scruggs . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scruggs&oldid=1237254526 " Category : Surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description
4851-690: The 12th century. In countries that particularly venerated Mary, this remained the case much longer; in Poland, until the arrival in the 17th century of French queens named Marie. Most common given names in English (and many other European languages) can be grouped into broad categories based on their origin: Frequently, a given name has versions in many languages. For example, the biblical name Susanna also occurs in its original biblical Hebrew version, Shoshannah , its Spanish and Portuguese version Susana , its French version, Suzanne , its Polish version, Zuzanna , or its Hungarian version, Zsuzsanna . Despite
4950-502: The 20th century, although American Samoans are only nationals and not citizens of the United States. Despite its multi-ethnic composition, the culture of the United States held in common by most Americans can also be referred to as mainstream American culture , a Western culture largely derived from the traditions of Northern and Western European colonists, settlers, and immigrants. It also includes significant influences of African-American culture . Westward expansion integrated
5049-476: The 51st and 92nd most popular girls' names in the UK, following the rise in popularity of British actress Keira Knightley . In 2001, the use of Colby as a boys' name for babies in the United States jumped from 233rd place to 99th, just after Colby Donaldson was the runner-up on Survivor: The Australian Outback . Also, the female name "Miley" which before was not in the top 1000 was 278th most popular in 2007, following
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#17328521897205148-470: The American culture has a variety of expressions due to its geographical scale and demographic diversity. Americans have migrated to many places around the world, including Argentina , Australia , Brazil , Canada , Chile , China , Costa Rica , France , Germany , Hong Kong , India , Japan , Mexico , New Zealand , Pakistan , the Philippines , South Korea , the United Arab Emirates , and
5247-467: The English language, legal system and other cultural inheritances, had a formative influence. Other important influences came from other parts of Europe, especially Germany , France , and Italy . Original elements also play a strong role, such as Jeffersonian democracy . Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia was perhaps the first influential domestic cultural critique by an American and
5346-498: The Massachusetts Bay Colony was established by English Puritans , Pennsylvania by Irish and English Quakers , Maryland by English and Irish Catholics , and Virginia by English Anglicans . Although some individual states retained established religious confessions well into the 19th century, the United States was the first nation to have no official state-endorsed religion. Modeling the provisions concerning religion within
5445-680: The North (where 2% of the people were slaves), and field hands in plantations in the South (where 25% were slaves); by the beginning of the American Revolutionary War 1/5th of the total population was enslaved. During the revolution, some would serve in the Continental Army or Continental Navy , while others would serve the British Empire in the Ethiopian Regiment , and other units. By 1804,
5544-595: The OMB definition prefer the term "American Indian", 37% prefer "Native American" and the remainder have no preference or prefer a different term altogether. Among Americans today, levels of Native American ancestry (distinct from Native American identity ) differ. Based on a sample of users of the 23andMe commercial genetic test, genomes of self-reported African Americans averaged to 0.8% Native American ancestry, those of European Americans averaged to 0.18%, and those of Latinos averaged to 18.0%. Native Americans, whose ancestry
5643-478: The Office of Management and Budget, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders are "persons having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii , Guam , Samoa , or other Pacific Islands ". Previously called Asian Pacific American , along with Asian Americans beginning in 1976, this was changed in 1997. As of the 2020 United States census, there are 622,018 who reside in the United States, and make up 0.2% of
5742-621: The Pacific also have large Pacific Islander populations such as Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (Chammoro), and American Samoa (Samoan). The largest concentration of Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, is Honolulu County in Hawaii, and Los Angeles County in the continental United States . The United States has a growing multiracial identity movement. Multiracial Americans numbered 7.0 million in 2008, or 2.3% of
5841-515: The Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Asians overall have higher income levels than all other racial groups in the United States, including whites, and the trend appears to be increasing in relation to those groups. Additionally, Asians have a higher education attainment level than all other racial groups in the United States. For better or for worse, the group has been called a model minority . While Asian Americans have been in what
5940-545: The United States census does not describe their European and American Indian ancestry as they understand it to be. A significant portion of the Hispanic and Latino population self-identifies as Mestizo , particularly the Mexican and Central American community. Mestizo is not a racial category in the United States census, but signifies someone who has both European and American Indian ancestry. Hispanic or Latino Americans constitute
6039-522: The United States constituting 62.4% of the population. However, the English Americans and British Americans demography is considered a serious under-count as they tend to self-report and identify as simply " Americans " (since the introduction of a new "American" category in the 1990 census) due to the length of time they have inhabited America. This is highly over-represented in the Upland South ,
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#17328521897206138-516: The United States has a high adherence level compared to other developed countries and a diversity in beliefs. The First Amendment to the country's Constitution prevents the Federal government from making any "law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof". The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted this as preventing the government from having any authority in religion. A majority of Americans report that religion plays
6237-601: The United States or are descended from people who were brought as slaves within the past five centuries, with the exception of the Native American population and people from Alaska , Hawaii , Puerto Rico , Guam , Texas , and formerly the Philippines , who became American through expansion of the country in the 19th century; additionally, American Samoa , the United States Virgin Islands , and Northern Mariana Islands came under American sovereignty in
6336-687: The adult population identifies as having no religious belief or no religious affiliation. According to the American Religious Identification Survey , religious belief varies considerably across the country: 59% of Americans living in Western states (the " Unchurched Belt ") report a belief in God , yet in the South (the " Bible Belt ") the figure is as high as 86%. Several of the original Thirteen Colonies were established by settlers who wished to practice their religion without discrimination:
6435-572: The centrality of this West African region in the Atlantic slave trade . Zakharaia et al. (2009) found a similar proportion of Yoruba associated ancestry in their African American samples, with a minority also drawn from Mandinka populations (founders of the Mali Empire ), and Bantu populations (who had a varying level of social organization during the colonial era, while some Bantu peoples were still tribal, other Bantu peoples had founded kingdoms such as
6534-738: The character when used in given names can have a feminine (adult) connotation. In many Westernised Asian locations, many Asians also have an unofficial or even registered Western (typically English) given name, in addition to their Asian given name. This is also true for Asian students at colleges in countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia as well as among international businesspeople. Most names in English are traditionally masculine (Hugo, James, Harold) or feminine (Daphne, Charlotte, Jane), but there are unisex names as well, such as Jordan , Jamie , Jesse , Morgan , Leslie/ Lesley , Joe / Jo , Jackie , Pat , Dana, Alex, Chris / Kris , Randy / Randi , Lee , etc. Often, use for one gender
6633-668: The corresponding statistics for England and Wales in 1994 were Emily and James, with 3% and 4% of names, respectively. Not only have Mary and John gone out of favour in the English-speaking world, but the overall distribution of names has also changed significantly over the last 100 years for females, but not for males. This has led to an increasing amount of diversity for female names. Education, ethnicity, religion, class and political ideology affect parents' choice of names. Politically conservative parents choose common and traditional names, while politically liberal parents may choose
6732-427: The decade from 2010 to 2020. In 2024 a new organization was created to lobby the U.S. Congress for relief from citizenship-based taxation that is often cited as the reason for the record renunciations. Given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name ) is the part of a personal name that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from
6831-765: The decision. Still, it was also a consequence of the pragmatic concerns of minority religious groups and small states that did not want to be under the power or influence of a national religion that did not represent them. The American culture is primarily a Western culture , but is influenced by Native American, West African, Latin American, East Asian, and Polynesian cultures. The United States of America has its own unique social and cultural characteristics, such as dialect , music , arts , social habits , cuisine , and folklore . Its chief early European influences came from English , Scottish , Welsh , and Irish settlers of colonial America during British rule. British culture , due to colonial ties with Britain that spread
6930-457: The earlier "white" designation no longer accurately represents MENA identity, so they successfully lobbied for a distinct categorization. This new category would also include Israeli Americans . The Census Bureau does not currently ask about whether one is Sikh , because it views them as followers of a religion rather than members of an ethnic group, and it does not combine questions concerning religion with race or ethnicity. As of December 2015,
7029-501: The examples above—the two characters together may mean nothing at all. Instead, they may be selected to include particular sounds, tones , or radicals ; to balance the Chinese elements of a child's birth chart ; or to honor a generation poem handed down through the family for centuries. Traditionally, it is considered an affront , not an honor, to have a newborn named after an older relative and so full names are rarely passed down through
7128-505: The families of both parents. The order given name – mother's family name – father's family name is commonly used in Portuguese -speaking countries to acknowledge the families of both parents. Today, people in Spain and Uruguay can rearrange the order of their names legally to this order. The order given name - father's given name - grandfather's given name (often referred to as triple name )
7227-705: The federal government. In addition to the United States, Americans and people of American descent can be found internationally. As many as seven million Americans are estimated to be living abroad, and make up the American diaspora . The United States is a diverse country, racially , and ethnically . Six races are officially recognized by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes: Alaska Native and American Indian, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, White, and people of two or more races. "Some other race"
7326-468: The first permanent European settlement in the continental United States . From the 16th through the 19th centuries, the population of Native Americans declined in the following ways: epidemic diseases brought from Europe; genocide and warfare at the hands of European explorers, settlers and colonists, as well as between tribes; displacement from their lands; internal warfare, enslavement ; and intermarriage . Another significant population
7425-447: The influence of bureaucracy, which commonly puts the family name before the given name. In China and Korea, part of the given name may be shared among all members of a given generation within a family and extended family or families, in order to differentiate those generations from other generations. The order given name – father's family name – mother's family name is commonly used in several Spanish -speaking countries to acknowledge
7524-408: The largest ethnic minority in the United States . They form the second largest group in the United States, comprising 62,080,044 people or 18.7% of the population according to the 2020 United States census. Hispanic and Latino Americans are not considered a race in the United States census, instead forming an ethnic category. People of Spanish or Hispanic and Latino descent have lived in what
7623-451: The late 1600s and formed a unique cultural group known as Tejanos . Uncle Sam is a national personification of the United States and sometimes more specifically of the American government , with the first usage of the term dating from the War of 1812 . He is depicted as a stern elderly white man with white hair and a goatee beard, and dressed in clothing that recalls the design elements of
7722-511: The majority of the 331 million people living in the United States, with 191,697,647 people or 57.8% of the population in the 2020 United States census . They are considered people who trace their ancestry to the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Non-Hispanic Whites are the majority in 45 states. There are five minority-majority states : California , Texas , New Mexico , Nevada , and Hawaii . In addition,
7821-435: The middle name is not one (such as with L. Ron Hubbard ). A child's given name or names are usually chosen by the parents soon after birth. If a name is not assigned at birth, one may be given at a naming ceremony , with family and friends in attendance. In most jurisdictions, a child's name at birth is a matter of public record, inscribed on a birth certificate , or its equivalent. In Western cultures, people normally retain
7920-505: The names of literary characters or other relatively obscure cultural figures. Devout members of religions often choose names from their religious scriptures. For example, Hindu parents may name a daughter Saanvi after the goddess, Jewish parents may name a boy Isaac after one of the earliest ancestral figures, and Muslim parents may name a boy Mohammed after the prophet Mohammed . There are many tools parents can use to choose names, including books, websites and applications. An example
8019-464: The nation's total population. 14% of the population have at least a bachelor's degree , and 15.1% live in poverty , below the poverty threshold . As compared to the 2000 United States census, this population grew by 40%; and 71% live in the West ; of those over half (52%) live in either Hawaii or California , with no other states having populations greater than 100,000. The United States territories in
8118-426: The other members of a group (typically a family or clan ) who have a common surname . The term given name refers to a name usually bestowed at or close to the time of birth, usually by the parents of the newborn. A Christian name is the first name which is given at baptism , in Christian custom. In informal situations, given names are often used in a familiar and friendly manner. In more formal situations,
8217-575: The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act due to the civil rights movement . According to United States Census Bureau data, very few African immigrants self-identify as African American. On average, less than 5% of African residents self-reported as "African American" or "Afro-American" on the 2000 U.S. census. The overwhelming majority of African immigrants (~95%) identified instead with their own respective ethnicities. Self-designation as "African American" or "Afro-American"
8316-497: The population at home, is the second most common language and the most widely taught second language. Some Americans advocate making English the country's official language, as it is in at least twenty-eight states. Both English and Hawaiian are official languages in Hawaii by state law. While neither has an official language, New Mexico has laws providing for the use of both English and Spanish, as Louisiana does for English and French. Other states, such as California, mandate
8415-694: The population. Black and African Americans make up the third largest group in the United States, after White and European Americans, and Hispanic and Latino Americans. The majority of the population (55%) lives in the South ; compared to the 2000 United States census, there has also been a decrease of African Americans in the Northeast and Midwest . Most African Americans are the direct descendants of captives from Central and West Africa , from ancestral populations in countries like Nigeria , Benin , Sierra Leone , Guinea-Bissau , Senegal , and Angola , who survived
8514-408: The population; by the 2020 census the multiracial increased to 13,548,983, or 4.1% of the total population. They can be any combination of races (White, Black or African American, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, "some other race") and ethnicities. The largest population of Multiracial Americans were those of White and African American descent, with
8613-491: The publication of Spanish versions of certain government documents. The latter include court forms. Several insular territories grant official recognition to their native languages, along with English: Samoan and Chamorro are recognized by American Samoa and Guam , respectively; Carolinian and Chamorro are recognized by the Northern Mariana Islands; Spanish is an official language of Puerto Rico. Religion in
8712-591: The rise to fame of singer-actress Miley Cyrus (who was named Destiny at birth). Characters from fiction also seem to influence naming. After the name Kayla was used for a character on the American soap opera Days of Our Lives , the name's popularity increased greatly. The name Tammy , and the related Tamara became popular after the movie Tammy and the Bachelor came out in 1957. Some names were established or spread by being used in literature. Notable examples include Pamela , invented by Sir Philip Sidney for
8811-416: The royal example, then spread to the general population and became common by the end of the eighteenth century. Some double-given names for women were used at the start of the eighteenth century but were used together as a unit: Anna Maria, Mary Anne and Sarah Jane. Those became stereotyped as the typical names of servants and so became unfashionable in the nineteenth century. Double names remain popular in
8910-409: The same given name throughout their lives. However, in some cases these names may be changed by following legal processes or by repute. People may also change their names when immigrating from one country to another with different naming conventions. In certain jurisdictions, a government-appointed registrar of births may refuse to register a name for the reasons that it may cause a child harm, that it
9009-449: The sampling strata for the new MENA category includes the Census Bureau's working classification of 19 MENA groups, as well as Iranian , Turkish , Armenian , Afghan , Azerbaijani , and Georgian groups. In January 2018, it was announced that the Census Bureau would not include the grouping in the 2020 census. Black and African Americans are citizens and residents of the United States with origins in sub-Saharan Africa . According to
9108-409: The second-largest group and are 18.7% of the United States population. African Americans constitute the country's third-largest ancestry group and are 12.1% of the total U.S. population. Asian Americans are the country's fourth-largest group, composing 5.9% of the United States population. The country's 3.7 million Native Americans account for about 1%, and some 574 native tribes are recognized by
9207-467: The top 1,000 before. Kayleigh became a particularly popular name in the United Kingdom following the release of a song by the British rock group Marillion . Government statistics in 2005 revealed that 96% of Kayleighs were born after 1985, the year in which Marillion released " Kayleigh ". Popular culture figures need not be admirable in order to influence naming trends. For example, Peyton came into
9306-474: The top 1000 as a female given name for babies in the United States for the first time in 1992 (at #583), immediately after it was featured as the name of an evil nanny in the film The Hand That Rocks the Cradle . On the other hand, historical events can influence child-naming. For example, the given name Adolf has fallen out of use since the end of World War II in 1945. In contrast with this anecdotal evidence,
9405-757: The uniformity of Chinese surnames , some Chinese given names are fairly original because Chinese characters can be combined extensively. Unlike European languages, with their Biblical and Greco-Roman heritage, the Chinese language does not have a particular set of words reserved for given names: any combination of Chinese characters can theoretically be used as a given name. Nonetheless, a number of popular characters commonly recur, including "Strong" ( 伟 , Wěi ), "Learned" ( 文 , Wén ), "Peaceful" ( 安 , Ān ), and "Beautiful" ( 美 , Měi ). Despite China's increasing urbanization, several names such as "Pine" ( 松 , Sōng ) or " Plum " ( 梅 , Méi ) also still reference nature. Most Chinese given names are two characters long and—despite
9504-412: The way in which generations of Americans have celebrated and exchanged distinctive cultural characteristics. The United States currently has 37 ancestry groups with more than one million individuals. White Americans with ancestry from Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa form the largest racial and ethnic group at 57.8% of the United States population. Hispanic and Latino Americans form
9603-470: The world. The United States has the world's largest Christian population . The majority of Americans (76%) are Christians , mostly within Protestant and Catholic denominations; these adherents constitute 48% and 23% of the population, respectively. Other religions include Buddhism , Hinduism , Islam , and Judaism , which collectively make up about 4% to 5% of the adult population. Another 15% of
9702-1086: Was also billed as Chocolate Brown and Dixie Nolan Jan Scruggs (born 1950), American lawyer Joe Scruggs (born 1951), American children's music performer Joe E. Scruggs , second head football coach for the Tennessee State University Tigers located in Nashville, Tennessee Joseph Scruggs (1888–1964), provincial politician from Alberta, Canada Juice Scruggs (born 2000), American football player Lauren Scruggs (born 1988), American blogger Lawson A. Scruggs (1857–1914), American physician Louise Scruggs (1927–2006), American music manager Lucie Johnson Scruggs (1864–1892), African-American writer Mary Elfrieda Scruggs or Mary Lou Williams (1910–1981), American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger Paul Scruggs (born 1998), American basketball player Randy Scruggs (1953–2018), American music producer, songwriter and guitarist Richard Scruggs (born 1946), American former A6A naval aviator,
9801-399: Was highest among individuals from West Africa (4%–9%), and lowest among individuals from Cape Verde, East Africa and Southern Africa (0%–4%). African immigrants may also experience conflict with African Americans. According to the 2020 United States census, there are 2,251,699 people who are Native Americans or Alaska Natives alone; they make up 0.7% of the total population. According to
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