Romanian Americans
Total population | |
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464,814 (2019)[1][2]
1,200,000 (other estimates in 2019)[3] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
| |
Languages | |
Roman Catholicism, Judaism and smaller Protestantism | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Romanian Canadians, European Americans, Moldovan Americans |
Part of a series of articles on |
Romanians |
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Romanian Americans (Romanian: Români Americani) are Americans who have Romanian ancestry. According to the 2017 American Community Survey, 478,278 Americans indicated Romanian as their first or second ancestry,[1] however other sources provide higher estimates, which are most likely more accurate, for the numbers of Romanian Americans in the contemporary United States; for example, the Romanian-American Network supplies a rough estimate of 1.2 million who are fully or partially of Romanian ethnicity.[3] There is also a significant number of people of Romanian Jewish ancestry, estimated at about 225,000.[7]
History
The first Romanian known to have been to what is now the United States was Samuel Damian (also spelled Domien), a former priest.[8] Samuel Damian's name appears as far back as 1748, when he placed an advertisement in the South Carolina Gazette announcing the electrical demonstrations he planned to give and inviting the public to attend. Letters written in 1753 and 1755 by Benjamin Franklin attest to the fact that the two had met and had carried on discussions concerning electricity.[8] Damian remained in the States some years living in South Carolina, then traveled on to Jamaica.[9][10]
There were several Romanians who became officers in the
The first major wave of Romanian immigrants to the United States took place between 1895 and 1920, in which 145,000 Romanians entered the country. They came from various regions such as: Moldavia, Bukovina, Transylvania and neighboring countries such as Ukraine and Serbia with significant Romanian population.[11] The majority of these immigrants particularly those from Transylvania and Banat that were under Austro-Hungarian rule left their native regions because of economic depression and forced assimilation, a policy practiced by Hungarian rulers.[12]
They settled mostly in the industrial centers in Pennsylvania and Delaware as well as in areas around the Great Lakes such as Cleveland, Chicago, and Detroit. The migrants from the Romanian Old Kingdom were mostly Jews, most of whom settled in New York. One of their prominent organizations was the United Rumanian Jews of America. 75,000 Romanian Jews emigrated in the period 1881–1914, mostly to the United States.[13]
During the interwar period, the number of ethnic Romanians who migrated to the U.S. decreased as a consequence of the economic development in Romania, but the number of Jews who migrated to the U.S. increased, mostly after the rise of the fascism.
After World War II, the number of Romanians who migrated to the United States increased again. This time, they settled mostly in California, Florida and New York and they came from throughout Romania. After the Fall of Communism in 1989, increased numbers of Romanians moved to the United States, taking advantage of the new relaxation of Romania's emigration policies (during the communist rule, the borders were officially closed, although some people managed to migrate, including to the United States). In the 1990s, New York and Los Angeles were favorite destinations for Romanian emigrants.[14]
Distribution
Romanian Americans are distributed throughout the U.S., with concentrations found in the Midwest, such as in the states of
The states with the largest estimated Romanian American populations are:[16]
- New York (161,900)
- California (128,133)
- Florida (121,015)
- Michigan (119,624)
- Pennsylvania (114,529)
- Illinois (106,017)
- Ohio (83,228)
- Georgia (47,689)
Romanian-born population
According to estimates from the American Community Survey for 2017-2021, there were 166,700 Romanian immigrants nationally,[7] the top counties of which were:
- Cook County, Illinois (11,600)
- Queens Borough, NYC, N.Y. (7,100)
- Los Angeles County, California (6,100)
- Maricopa County, Arizona (5,400)
- Orange County, California (4,400)
- King County, Washington (4,100)
- Manhattan Borough, NYC, N.Y. (3,800)
- Gwinnett County, Georgia (3,700)
- Broward County, Florida (3,600)
- Cuyahoga County, Ohio (3,100)
- Oakland County, Michigan (2,700)
- Brooklyn Borough, NYC, N.Y. (2,600)
- Palm Beach County, Florida (2,400)
- Wayne County, Michigan (2,300)
- Sacramento County, California (2,300)
Romanian-born population in the U.S. since 2010:[17]
Year | Number |
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2010 | 151,767 |
2011 | 164,606 |
2012 | 165,819 |
2013 | 157,302 |
2014 | 157,315 |
2015 | 159,546 |
2016 | 161,629 |
2017 | 165,199 |
2018 | 162,443 |
2019 | 167,751 |
Romania-U.S. relations
The United States established diplomatic relations with Romania in 1880, following Romania's independence.
Romanian American culture
The Romanian culture can be seen in many different kinds, like Romanian music, newspapers, churches, cultural organizations and groups, such as the Romanian-American Congress or the
In certain areas of the U.S., Romanian communities were first established several generations ago (in the late 19th century and early 20th century) such as in the Great Lakes region;[21] while in others, such as California and Florida, Romanian communities are formed especially by Romanians who emigrated more recently, into the late 20th century and early 21st century. After 1989, large numbers of Romanians emigrated to New York and Los Angeles.[14]
One of the best known foods of Romanian origin is
Romanian-American Chamber Commerce
The Romanian-American Chamber of Commerce is a bilateral trade and investment organization that promotes commerce and investment between Romania and United States, and is headquartered in
Gallery
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The Embassy of Romania located in Washington, D.C.
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The Maranatha Baptist Church in New York
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The Grace Romanian Pentecostal Church inYpsilanti Township, Michigan
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St. Mary's Romanian Byzantine Catholic Church in Dearborn, Michigan
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An album of Romanian music issued by Romanian Jewish immigrants in New York at the beginning of the 20th century
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Romanian immigrants in New York City (1891)
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Romanian volunteers from Struthers, Ohio in the United States Army (1918)
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Romanian volunteers from Youngstown, Ohio in the U.S. Army (1918)
Notable people
See also
- European Americans
- Romanian Canadians
- Romania–United States relations
- Romanian-American organizations
- Romanian-American Chamber of Commerce
- Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of the Americas
- The Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America
- Meridianul Românesc
- Moldovan Americans
References
- ^ a b "2019 ACS 1-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. U. S. Census Bureau.
- ^ In 2015, according to U.S. census data, out of 166,128 ethnic Romanians born outside the United States, 131,323 were born in Romania, 20,128 in the Republic of Moldova and 1,438 in Ukraine.See https://data.census.gov/table?q=Romanians&tid=ACSDT5YSPT2015.B05006.
- ^ a b "Romanian-American Community". Romanian-American Network Inc. Retrieved September 15, 2008.
- ^ "Supplemental Table 2. Persons Obtaining Lawful Permanent Resident Status by Leading Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) of Residence and Region and Country of Birth: Fiscal Year 2014". U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
- ^ "Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2013 Supplemental Table 2". U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
- ^ "Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2012 Supplemental Table 2". U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
- ^ ISBN 9781453512807. Retrieved January 24, 2019 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Melvin H. Buxbaum (1988). Benjamin Franklin, 1907–1983: A Reference Guide. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co. pp. 446–715.
- ^ a b Wertsman, Vladimir (1975). The Romanians in America, 1748–1974. New York: Oceana Publications
- ^ "Romanian Americans history". everyculture.com. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
- ^ "target audience - Demographic Information". Romedia.us. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
- ^ Skutsch, Carl (2004). Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities. London: Routledge. p. 576.
- ^ Halevy, Mayer A. (1933), Contribuţiuni la istoria Evreilor in România, București.
- ^ a b "Romanian immigration". Immigration to America. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
- )
- ^ "Romanian-American Community". Embassy of Romania in Washington DC. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
- ^ "PLACE OF BIRTH FOR THE FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES". data.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ISBN 978-606-543-970-2.
- ^ "Background Note: Romania". US State Department. October 2007. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- OCLC 895468597.
- ^ McGinnis, p. 222.
Further reading
- Hațegan, Vasile. Romanian Culture in America. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Cultural Center, 1985.
- Raica, Eugene S. and Alexandru T. Nemoianu. History of the "United Romanian Society". Southfield, Michigan: The Society, 1995.
- Rus, Flaviu Vasile. The cultural and diplomatic relations between Romania and the United States of America. 1880-1920, Cluj-Napoca, Editura Mega, 2018.
- Wertsman, Vladimir. The Romanians in America, 1748–1974: A Chronology and Factbook. Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications, 1975.
- Wertsman, Vladimir. The Romanians in America and Canada: A Guide to Information Sources (Gale Research Company, 1980).
- Alexandru T. Nemoianu. Tărâmuri: între Banat și America. Cluj-Napoca: Editura Limes, 2003. (in Romanian)
- Sasu, Aurel. Comunitățile românești din Statele Unite și Canada. Cluj-Napoca: Editura Limes, 2003. (in Romanian)