Filipino Americans

Filipino Americans (Filipino: Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos in North America were first documented in the 16th century and other small settlements beginning in the 18th century. Mass migration did not begin until after the end of the Spanish–American War at the end of the 19th century, when the Philippines was ceded from Spain to the United States in the Treaty of Paris.

As of 2022, there were almost 4.5 million Filipino Americans in the United States with large communities in California, Hawaii, Texas, Nevada, Washington, Florida, Illinois, the New York metropolitan area, and Virginia. Around one third of Filipino Americans identify as multiracial or multiethnic, with 3 million reporting only Filipino ancestry and 1.5 million reporting Filipino in combination with another group.

Terminology

The term Filipino American is sometimes shortened to Fil-Am or Pinoy. Another term which has been used is Philippine Americans. The earliest appearance of the term Pinoy (feminine Pinay), was in a 1926 issue of the Filipino Student Bulletin. Some Filipinos believe that the term Pinoy was coined by Filipinos who came to the United States to distinguish themselves from Filipinos living in the Philippines. Beginning in 2017, started by individuals who identify with the LGBT+ Filipino-American population, there is an effort to adopt the term FilipinX; this new term has faced opposition within the broader overseas Filipino diaspora, within the Philippines, and in the United States, with some who are in opposition believing it is an attempt of a "colonial imposition".