View source for Names of the United States

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{{for|names of the individual states|List of U.S. state and territory nicknames}}
[[File:American Flag Waving on a Flag Pole.jpg|thumb|The [[Flag of the United States|American flag]], a [[symbol]] of the [[United States|United States of America]]]]
Several '''names of the United States of America''' are in common use. Alternatives to the full name include "the United States", "America", and the [[initialism]]s "the U.S." and "the U.S.A.".

It is generally accepted that the name "America" derives from the Italian explorer [[Amerigo Vespucci]]. The term dates back to 1507, when it appeared on a world map created by the German cartographer [[Martin Waldseemüller]], in honor of Vespucci, applied to the land that is now [[Brazil]]. The full name "United States of America" was first used during the [[American Revolutionary War]], though its precise origin is a matter of contention.<ref name="csmonitorusname" /> The newly formed union was first known as the "United Colonies", and the earliest known usage of the modern full name dates from a {{nowrap|January 2, 1776}} letter written between two military officers. The [[Articles of Confederation]], prepared by [[John Dickinson]], and the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], drafted by [[Thomas Jefferson]], both contain the phrase "United States of America." The name was officially adopted by the second Continental Congress on {{nowrap|September 9, 1776}}.

== Etymology ==
[[File:Waldseemuller map closeup with America.jpg|thumb|[[Martin Waldseemüller|Waldseemüller]] map closeup showing the name "America" placed upon what is nowadays Brazil]]

=== America ===
{{main|Naming of the Americas}}
<!-- Can be relatively brief -->The earliest known use of the name "America" dates to 1505, when German poet [[Matthias Ringmann]] used it in a poem about the [[New World]].<ref name="namingofamerica">{{cite journal |last1=Laubenberger |first1=Franz |last2=Rowan |first2=Steven |title=The Naming of America |journal=Sixteenth Century Journal |date=1982 |volume=13 |issue=4 |page=92 |doi=10.2307/2540012 |jstor=2540012 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2540012}}</ref> The word is a Latinized form of the first name of Italian explorer [[Amerigo Vespucci]], who first proposed that the [[West Indies]] discovered by [[Christopher Columbus]] in 1492 were part of a previously unknown landmass, rather than the eastern limit of [[Asia]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Sandra |last=Sider |title=Handbook to Life in Renaissance Europe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JtYy67FsRosC&pg=PA226 |page=226 |year=2007 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-533084-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Szalay |first1=Jessie |title=Amerigo Vespucci: Facts, Biography & Naming of America |url=https://www.livescience.com/42510-amerigo-vespucci.html |publisher=[[Live Science]] |access-date=June 23, 2019 |date=September 20, 2017}}</ref><ref name="locnamingofamerica">{{cite web |last1=Allen |first1=Erin |title=How Did America Get Its Name?|url=https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2016/07/how-did-america-get-its-name/#:~:text=America%20is%20named%20after%20Amerigo,part%20of%20a%20separate%20continent |website=Library of Congress Blog |access-date=3 September 2020 |date=4 July 2016}}</ref> On {{nowrap|April 25, 1507}}, the map ''Universalis Cosmographia'', created by German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, was published alongside this poem.<ref name="namingofamerica" /><ref name="locnamingofamerica" /> The map uses the label "America" for what is now known as South America. In 1538, the Flemish cartographer [[Gerardus Mercator]] used the name "America" on his own world map, applying it to the entire [[Western Hemisphere]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uhmc.sunysb.edu/surgery/america.html |title=The Naming of America: Fragments We've Shored Against Ourselves |author=Jonathan Cohen |access-date=February 3, 2014}}</ref>

Alternative theories suggest that "America" derives from the [[Amerrisque Mountains]] of [[Nicaragua]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rea |first1=Joy |title=On the Naming of America |journal=American Speech |date=February 1964 |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=42–50 |doi=10.2307/453925|jstor=453925 }}</ref> or from the surname of wealthy Anglo-Welsh merchant [[Richard Amerike]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/tudors/americaname_01.shtml#three|title=BBC History in Depth; The Naming of America; Richard Amerike|author=Macdonald, Peter|publisher=[[BBC]] |access-date=24 February 2011|date=17 February 2011}}</ref>

=== United States of America ===
The first documentary evidence of the phrase "United States of America" dates from a {{nowrap|January 2, 1776}}, letter written by [[Stephen Moylan]], Esquire, to [[George Washington]]'s [[aide-de-camp]] [[Joseph Reed (politician)|Joseph Reed]]. Moylan was fulfilling Reed's role during the latter's absence.<ref name="csmonitorusname">{{Cite news |last=DeLear |first=Byron |date=2013-07-04 |title=Who coined 'United States of America'? Mystery might have intriguing answer. |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2013/0704/Who-coined-United-States-of-America-Mystery-might-have-intriguing-answer |access-date=2024-10-15 |work=Christian Science Monitor |issn=0882-7729}}</ref> Moylan expressed his wish to go "with full and ample powers from the United States of America to Spain" to seek assistance in the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] effort.<ref name="csmonitorusname" /><ref>Touba, Mariam (November 5, 2014) [http://blog.nyhistory.org/coined-phrase-united-states-america-may-never-guess/ Who Coined the Phrase 'United States of America'? You May Never Guess] "Here, on January 2, 1776... Stephen Moylan, an acting secretary to General George Washington, spells it out, 'I should like vastly to go with full and ample powers from the United States of America to Spain' to seek foreign assistance for the cause." ''New-York Historical Society Museum & Library''</ref><ref>Fay, John (July 15, 2016) [http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/The-forgotten-Irishman-who-named-the-United-States-of-America.html The forgotten Irishman who named the 'United States of America'] "According to the NY Historical Society, Stephen Moylan was the man responsible for the earliest documented use of the phrase 'United States of America'." ''IrishCentral.com''</ref> The first known publication of the phrase "United States of America" was in an anonymous essay in ''[[The Virginia Gazette]]'' newspaper in [[Williamsburg, Virginia]], on {{nowrap|April 6, 1776}}.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Virginia Gazette |title=''"To the inhabitants of Virginia", by A PLANTER''. Dixon and Hunter's. April 6, 1776, Williamsburg, Virginia. Letter is also included in Peter Force's ''American Archives'' |url=http://research.history.org/DigitalLibrary/VirginiaGazette/VGIssueThumbs.cfm?IssueIDNo=76.DH.16 |issue=1287 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219053616/http://research.history.org/DigitalLibrary/VirginiaGazette/VGIssueThumbs.cfm?IssueIDNo=76.DH.16 |archive-date=December 19, 2014 |volume=5}}</ref> It is commonly mistaken that [[Thomas Paine]] coined the term in his pamphlet ''[[Common Sense]]'', published in January 1776, but he never used the final form.<ref name="csmonitorusname" />{{efn|Paine used the terms "United Colonies", "American states", and "FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES OF AMERICA", but never "United States of America".<ref name="csmonitorusname" />}}

The second draft of the [[Articles of Confederation]], prepared by [[John Dickinson]] and completed no later than {{nowrap|June 17, 1776}}, declared "The name of this Confederation shall be the 'United States of America'."<ref name="safire">{{cite book |first=William |last=Safire |title=No Uncertain Terms: More Writing from the Popular "On Language" Column in The New York Times Magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/nouncertainterms00safi |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/nouncertainterms00safi/page/199 199] |year=2003 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-0-7432-4955-3}}</ref> The final version of the Articles, sent to the states for ratification in late 1777, stated that "The Stile of this Confederacy shall be 'The United States of America'."<ref>{{cite book |first=Mary |last=Mostert |title=The Threat of Anarchy Leads to the Constitution of the United States |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jntSQ-yn66AC&pg=PA18 |year=2005 |publisher=CTR Publishing, Inc. |isbn=978-0-9753851-4-2}}</ref> In June 1776, [[Thomas Jefferson]] wrote "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" in all capitalized letters in the headline of his "original Rough draught"{{efn|"Draught" is the British spelling of "draft".}} of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]]. This draft of the document did not surface until {{nowrap|June 21, 1776}}, and it is unclear whether it was written before or after Dickinson used the term in his June 17 draft of the Articles of Confederation.<ref name="safire" /> In any case, the Declaration of Independence was the first official document to use the nation's new title.<ref name="csmonitorusname" />

== History ==
<!-- The ultimate source of the Politico article is History.com, which isn't ideal. However, I have corroborated this information with the primary source (John Adams' writing), as given in the second citation -->
In the early days of the [[American Revolution]], the colonies as a unit were most commonly referred to as the "[[United Colonies]]". For example, president of the Continental Congress [[Richard Henry Lee]] wrote in [[Lee Resolution|a June 7, 1776 resolution]]: "These United Colonies are, and of right, ought to be, free and independent States."<ref name="politicoearlynaming">{{cite web |last1=Glass |first1=Andrew |title=Continental Congress names the United States, Sept. 9, 1776 |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/this-day-in-politics-110710 |website=Politico |access-date=3 September 2020 |language=en |date=September 9, 2014}}</ref> Before 1776, names for the colonies varied significantly; they included "Twelve United English Colonies of North America", "United Colonies of North America", and others.<ref name="burnettonusa">{{cite journal |last1=Burnett |first1=Edmund C. |title=The Name "United States of America" |journal=The American Historical Review |date=1925 |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=79–81 |doi=10.2307/1904503 |jstor=1904503 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1904503 |access-date=6 September 2020 |issn=0002-8762}}</ref> On September 9, 1776, the [[Second Continental Congress]] officially changed the nation's name to the "United States of America".<ref name="politicoearlynaming" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Adams |first1=John |title=Autobiography of John Adams |date=September 9, 1776 |url=https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/01-03-02-0016-0187}}</ref>

In the first few years of the United States, however, there remained some discrepancies of usage. In the [[Treaty of Alliance (1778)]] with France, the term "United States of North America" was used. In accordance with this usage, when the Congress was drawing bills of exchange for French commissioners on May 19, 1778, they decided to use this term.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875 |url=https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=lljc&fileName=011/lljc011.db&recNum=99&itemLink=r?ammem/hlaw:@field(DOCID+@lit(jc01116)):%230110101&linkText=1 |website=memory.loc.gov}}</ref> President of the Continental Congress [[Henry Laurens]] even wrote that "Congress have adopted the Stile of the Treaties of Paris, 'the United States of North America'." Congress, however, reconsidered this change on July 11, 1778 and resolved to drop "North" from the bills of exchange, making them consistent with the name adopted in 1776.<ref name="burnettonusa" /><ref>{{cite web |title=A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875 |url=https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=lljc&fileName=011/lljc011.db&recNum=269&itemLink=r?ammem/hlaw:@field(DOCID+@lit(jc01156)):%230110270&linkText=1 |website=memory.loc.gov|quote=Resolved, That the resolutions of Congress of the 19 May last, relative to bills of exchange... that the word 'North,' preceding the word 'America,' be omitted in the form of the bills...}}</ref>
<!-- Please don't just replace this with {{cn}}; if you have access to the OED or a better source for this than EtymOnline, please enter that. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources/Noticeboard/Archive_306#etymonline
The initialism "USA" was in usage by 1814 for usages requiring brevity such as addresses, but it was not common in other usages until approximately the 1920s. Before this usage, "USA" (without the periods) usually referred instead to the [[United States Army]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Origin and meaning of usa |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/usa |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=3 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref>{{Better source|date=September 2020}} -->[[File:Uncle Sam (pointing finger).png|left|thumb|237x237px|[[Propaganda in the United States|Propaganda]] artwork of [[Uncle Sam]], the [[national personification]] of America; his name originated from the colloquial term U.S.]]
Since the [[Articles of Confederation]], the concept of a [[Perpetual Union]] between the states has existed, and "'''Union'''" has become synonymous with "United States".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-09 |title=Articles of Confederation (1777) |url=https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/articles-of-confederation |access-date=2022-06-04 |website=National Archives |language=en}}</ref> This usage was especially prevalent during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], when it referred specifically to the [[Union (American Civil War)|loyalist northern states]] which remained part of the federal union.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Detweiler |first1=Robert |last2=Stampp |first2=Kenneth M. |date=February 1981 |title=The Imperiled Union: Essays on the Background of the Civil War |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/493285 |journal=The History Teacher |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=276 |doi=10.2307/493285 |jstor=493285 |issn=0018-2745}}</ref>

The term "America" was less commonly used in the United States before the 1890s, and rarely used by presidents before [[Theodore Roosevelt]]. It does not appear in patriotic songs composed during the eighteenth and most of the nineteenth centuries, including "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]", "[[My Country, 'Tis of Thee]]", and the "[[Battle Hymn of the Republic]]"; it is used in "[[America the Beautiful]]" of 1895 and is common in twentieth-century songs like "[[God Bless America]]".<ref>Historian Daniel Immerwahr, speaking on [https://www.npr.org/2020/02/12/805240795/becoming-america Becoming America] – NPR Throughline Podcast</ref> The name "[[Columbia (name)|Columbia]]", popular in [[American poetry]] and songs of the late eighteenth century, derives its origin from [[Christopher Columbus]]. Many landmarks and institutions in the Western Hemisphere bear his name, including the country of [[Colombia]] and the [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]].<ref>{{cite book|last= Brokenshire |first=Brad |title=Washington State Place Names |url=https://archive.org/details/washingtonstatep00brok_0 |url-access= registration |page= [https://archive.org/details/washingtonstatep00brok_0/page/49 49] |year=1993 |publisher=Caxton Press |isbn=978-0-87004-562-2 }}</ref>

Circa 1810, the term [[Uncle Sam]] was "a [[Cant (language)|cant term]] in the [[United States Army|army]] for the United States," according to an 1810 edition ''[[Weekly Register|Niles' Weekly Register]].''<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wVA8AAAAIAAJ&dq=%22uncle+sam%22&pg=RA2-PA187 |title=Niles' Weekly Register |year=1815 |volume=7 |location=Franklin Press, Baltimore |pages=187 |language=en}}</ref> Uncle Sam is now known as a [[national personification]] of the United States.

=== Usage as a singular noun ===
[[File:Former Sec. of State John Dulles Foster on Usage of United States as Plural.png|thumb|The headline of Foster's column]]

The phrase "United States" was originally plural, a description of a collection of independent states—e.g., "the United States are"—including in the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]], ratified in 1865.<ref>{{cite book |first=Percy |last=Greg |title=History of the United States from the Foundation of Virginia to the Reconstruction of the Union |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofuniteds12greg |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofuniteds12greg/page/276 276] |year=1892 |publisher=West, Johnston & Company}}</ref><ref name="zimmeronplural">{{cite web |last1=Zimmer |first1=Benjamin |title=Language Log: Life in these, uh, this United States |url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002663.html |website=itre.cis.upenn.edu |access-date=3 September 2020 |quote=Indeed, not only does the Constitution consistently use the plural construct, but so do official texts in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War — as with the pronominal anaphora used in the 13th Amendment}}</ref> The singular form became popular after the end of the Civil War, and is now standard.{{refn|name=emerson}} However, the plural form is retained in the idiom "these United States".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Burt |first1=Andrew |title='These United States': How Obama's Vocal Tic Reveals a Polarized America |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/05/these-united-states-how-obamas-vocal-tic-reveals-a-polarized-america/275739/ |website=The Atlantic |access-date=7 September 2020 |date=13 May 2013}}</ref> The difference is more significant than usage; it is a difference between a collection of states and a unit.{{refn|name=emerson|G. H. Emerson, ''The Universalist Quarterly and General Review'', Vol. 28 (January 1891), p. 49, quoted in<ref name="zimmeronplural" />}}

The transition from plural to singular was gradual.<ref name="zimmeronplural" /> In a May 4, 1901, column in the ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' titled "ARE OR IS? Whether a Plural or Singular Verb Goes With the Words United States", former Secretary of State [[John W. Foster]] noted that early statesmen such as [[Alexander Hamilton]] and [[Daniel Webster]] had used the singular form, as well as the [[Treaty of Paris (1898)]] and [[Hay–Pauncefote Treaty]] of 1900; conversely, most [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] decisions still used the plural form. He concludes that "since the civil war the tendency has been towards [singular] use."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Foster |first1=John Watson |title=ARE OR IS? Whether a Plural or a Singular Verb Goes With the Words United States |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1901/05/04/118464461.html?pageNumber=23 |access-date=3 September 2020 |date=May 4, 1901 |page=23 |language=en-US |quote=Among statesmen who have used the singular form may be cited Hamiltion, Webster.... The decisions of the Supreme Court... rarely show the use of the singular.... in the peace treaty with Spain of 1898, the term... is uniformly treated in the singular.... The Hay-Paunce-fote canal treaty of 1900... also treats 'United States' as a singular noun.}}</ref> [[Mark Liberman]] of the [[University of Pennsylvania]] found that, in the corpus of Supreme Court opinions, the transition to singular usage occurred in the early 1900s.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Liberman |first1=Mark |title=When did the Supreme Court make us an 'is'? |url=https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=1798 |website=Language Log |access-date=6 September 2020 }}</ref> Among English-language books, the transition happened earlier, around 1880.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aiden |first1=Erez |last2=Michel |first2=Jean-Baptiste |title=Uncharted: big data as a lens on human culture |date=2014 |publisher=Penguin |location=New York |isbn=978-1594487453 |page=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4NOKDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA4 |access-date=6 September 2020}}</ref>

== Usage ==
The name "United States" is unambiguous; "United States of America" may be used in titles or when extra formality is desired. However, "United States" and "U.S." may be used adjectivally, while the full name cannot.<ref>{{cite web |title=Is USA A Noun Or Adjective? |url=https://www.dictionary.com/e/is-usa-a-noun/ |website=Dictionary.com |date=9 March 2017}}</ref> English usage of "America" rarely refers to topics unrelated to the United States, despite the usage of "[[Americas]]" as the totality of North and South America.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Kenneth G. |title=The Columbia guide to standard American English |date=1993 |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-231-06989-2}}</ref> "The States" is an established colloquial shortening of the name, used particularly from abroad.<ref>{{cite web|website=Longman dictionary|title="The States"|url=https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/the-states|access-date=September 27, 2024}}</ref> A jocular and sometimes derogatory name is alternatively spelled "Merica" or "Murica".<ref>{{Dictionary.com|Merica|access-date=September 6, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|website=Dictionary.com (slang)|url=https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/murica/ |access-date=September 27, 2024 |title="'Murica"}}</ref>

The official [[U.S. Government Publishing Office Style Manual]] prescribes specific usages for "U.S." and "United States". In treaties, congressional bills, etc.,{{efn|The full list is: "formal writing (treaties,
Executive orders, proclamations, etc.); congressional bills; legal citations and courtwork; and covers and title pages."<ref name="gpo-stylemanual" />}} "United States" is always used. In a sentence containing the name of another country, "United States" must be used. Otherwise, "U.S." is used preceding a government organization or as an adjective, but "United States" is used as an adjective preceding non-governmental organizations (e.g. United States Steel Corporation).<ref name="gpo-stylemanual">{{cite book |title=U.S. Government Publishing Office Style Manual |date=January 12, 2017 |pages=222–223 |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GPO-STYLEMANUAL-2016/ |access-date=3 September 2020}}</ref>

Style guides conflict over how various names for the United States should be used. The ''[[Chicago Manual of Style]]'', until the 17th edition, required "US" and "U.S." to be used as an adjective; it now permits the usage of both as a noun,<ref>{{cite web |title=You Could Look it Up |url=https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/YouCouldLookItUp/faq0020.html |website=The Chicago Manual of Style Online |access-date=3 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Chicago Manual of Style |date=2017 |location=Chicago |isbn=978-0-226-28705-8 |edition=Seventeenth |url=https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/book/ed17/part2/ch10/psec004.html |access-date=3 September 2020 |chapter=10.4}}</ref> though "United States" is still preferred in this case.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Chicago Manual of Style |date=2017 |location=Chicago |edition=Seventeenth |url=https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/16/ch10/ch10_sec033.html |access-date=6 September 2020}}</ref> The ''[[AP Stylebook|Associated Press Stylebook]]'' permits the usage of "US" and "U.S." as both adjectives and nouns, though "US" (without the periods) is only allowed in headlines. ''[[APA style|APA Style]]'', in contrast, only allows "U.S." to be used as an adjective, and disallows "US".<ref>{{cite web |title=APA Abbreviations // Purdue Writing Lab |url=https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/apa_abbreviations.html |website=Purdue Writing Lab |access-date=6 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
<!-- Someone with access to AP stylebook can add a citation? -->
<!-- I'd like to add something about names of the U.S. in other languages, but I can't find any good sources, and it would violate NPOV to only put down the most common languages. -OvinusReal Sep 3, 2020 -->

== Other languages ==
{{Further|List of country names in various languages (Q–Z)}}
{{Expand section|date=September 2020}}

===Names in the European cultural sphere===
In [[Spanish language|Spanish]], the United States of America is known as ''Estados Unidos de América'' (abbreviated ''EE. UU.'' or ''EUA'').<ref name="Erichsen">{{cite web|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/spanish-doubles-letters-3080302|title=Why Spanish Uses 'EE. UU.' as the Abbreviation for 'United States'|last=Erichsen|first=Gerald|date=May 24, 2019|work=Thought Co.|access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Estados Unidos |url=https://www.rae.es/dpd/Estados+Unidos |website=Real Academia Española |access-date=26 July 2024}}</ref> The Americas are known simply as ''América''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Spanish Translation of 'America' |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english-spanish/america |website=Collins English-Spanish Dictionary |access-date=6 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Spanish uses ''estadounidense'' and ''americano'' for the adjectival form, with the latter being mostly proscribed.<ref>{{Cite web|title=English Translation of "estadounidense" {{!}} Collins Spanish-English Dictionary|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/spanish-english/estadounidense|access-date=20 September 2020|website=www.collinsdictionary.com|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=ASALE|first1=RAE-|last2=RAE|title=americano, americana {{!}} Diccionario de la lengua española|url=https://dle.rae.es/americano|access-date=15 September 2021|website=«Diccionario de la lengua española» - Edición del Tricentenario|language=es}}</ref> Other [[Romance languages]] like [[French language|French]] (translated ''États-Unis d'Amérique''),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Larousse |first=Éditions |title=États-Unis en anglais United States of America USA États-Unis d'Amérique - LAROUSSE |url=https://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/pays/%C3%89tats-Unis/118570 |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=www.larousse.fr |language=fr}}</ref> [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] (''Estados Unidos da América''),<ref>{{cite web |title=Portuguese Translation of 'United States' |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english-portuguese/united-states |website=Collins English-Portuguese Dictionary |access-date=30 May 2024 |language=en}}</ref> [[Italian language|Italian]] (''Stati Uniti d'America'')<ref>{{cite web |title=Italian Translation of 'United States' |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english-italian/united-states |website=Collins English-Italian Dictionary |access-date=30 May 2024 |language=en}}</ref> or [[Romanian language|Romanian]] (''Statele Unite ale Americii'') follow a similar pattern. In [[German language|German]], the country's name is translated to ''Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika''<ref>{{cite web |title=German Translation of 'United States' |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english-german/united-states |website=Collins English-German Dictionary |access-date=30 May 2024 |language=en}}</ref> and in [[Dutch language|Dutch]] to ''Verenigde Staten van Amerika''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gratis woordenboek |url=https://www.vandale.nl/gratis-woordenboek/nederlands/betekenis/usa |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=Van Dale NEDERLAND |language=nl}}</ref> In [[Esperanto]], the U.S. is known as "Usono", borrowing from English ''[[Usonia]]''.<ref>{{cite book| first= James D. |last= Law| title= Here and There in Two Hemispheres| place= Lancaster| publisher= Home Publishing Co.| year= 1903| pages= 111–12n}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| first= Frank Lloyd |last= Wright| title= Architecture: Selected Writings 1894–1940| page= 100| publisher= | place= | isbn= }}</ref>

===Names in the Asian cultural sphere===
The U.S. flag was brought to the city of [[Guangzhou|Canton]] (Guǎngzhōu) in China in 1784 by the merchant ship [[Empress of China (1783)|''Empress of China'']], which carried a cargo of [[ginseng]].<ref name=Preble>{{cite book|last=Preble|first=George Henry|title=History of the Flag of the United States of America|year=1880 |edition=second revised |publisher=A. Williams and Co |location=Boston |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyflagunit00prebgoog/page/n353 298] |url=https://archive.org/details/historyflagunit00prebgoog}}</ref> There it gained the designation "Flower Flag" ({{zh|c=[[wikt:花旗|花旗]]|p=huāqí|cy=fākeì}}).<ref name="Tappan">{{cite book |last=March |first=Eva |title=The Little Book of the Flag |year=1917 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |location=Boston |page=92 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ltAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA92}}</ref> According to a pseudonymous account first published in the ''[[Boston Courier]]'' and later retold by author and U.S. naval officer [[George Henry Preble|George H. Preble]]:

{{blockquote|When the thirteen stripes and stars first appeared at Canton, much curiosity was excited among the people. News was circulated that a strange ship had arrived from the further end of the world, bearing a flag "as beautiful as a flower". Every body went to see the ''kwa kee chuen'' [{{zh|c=花旗船|cy=Fākeìsyùhn|labels=no}}], or "flower flagship". This name at once established itself in the language, and America is now called the ''kwa kee kwoh'' [{{zh|t=[[wikt:花旗國|花旗國]]|cy=Fākeìgwok|labels=no}}], the "flower flag country"—and an American, ''kwa kee kwoh yin'' [{{zh|c=花旗國人|cy=Fākeìgwokyàhn|labels=no}}]—"flower flag countryman"—a more complimentary designation than that of "red headed barbarian"—the name first bestowed upon the Dutch.<ref>{{cite news |title=Curiosa Sinica |work=Boston Courier |date=June 15, 1843}}<!-- http://www.genealogybank.com/gbnk/newspapers/doc/v2:11BE3A41D7E057DF%40GBNEWS-11C7DAE2233F21E0%402394367-11C7DAE23582E5F8%400-11C7DAE288B45908%40Curiosa+Sinica/?search_terms=kwoh%7Cchoong --></ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Chinese Etymologies |location=Washington, D.C. |work=[[Kendall's Expositor]] |publisher=William Greer |date=June 27, 1843 |volume=3 |issue=14 |page=222|via=Google Books |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QEQ9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA222}}</ref>}}

In the above quote, the Chinese words are written phonetically based on spoken [[Standard Cantonese|Cantonese]]. The names given were common usage in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.<ref name="ChiDict">See ''[http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php?page=worddictbasic&wdqb=花旗&wdrst=0&wddmtm=1&wdeac=1 Chinese English Dictionary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110426060048/http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php?page=worddictbasic&wdqb=%E8%8A%B1%E6%97%97&wdrst=0&wddmtm=1&wdeac=1 |date=April 26, 2011 }}''<br />Olsen, Kay Melchisedech, ''Chinese Immigrants: 1850–1900'' (2001), p. 7.<br />"[http://www.hsp.org/default.aspx?id=190 Philadelphia's Chinatown: An Overview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624040601/http://www.hsp.org/default.aspx?id=190 |date=June 24, 2008 }}", The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.<br />Leonard, George, "[http://www.georgeleonard.com/angelisland.html The Beginnings of Chinese Literature in America: the Angel Island Poems]". {{dead link|date=April 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

The modern standard Chinese name for the United States is {{transl|zh|Měiguó}} from Mandarin ({{zh|s=美国|t={{linktext|美國}}}}). {{transl|zh|Měi}} is short for {{transl|zh|Měilìjiān}} ({{zh|s=美利坚|t=美利堅}}, [[phono-semantic matching]] of "American") or {{transl|zh|Yàměilìjiā}} ({{zh|s=亚美利加||t=亞美利加|links=no}}, "America"), and {{transl|zh|guó}} means "country". The Americas are known as {{transl|zh|Měizhōu}} ({{zh|美洲}}), with the same etymology.<ref>{{cite book |script-title=zh:汉英词典 |trans-title=A Chinese–English Dictionary |date=1981 |publisher=商务印书馆 (Commercial Press) |location=Beijing |pages=463}}</ref> This name is unrelated to the flag. However, the "flower flag" terminology persists in some places today: for example, [[American ginseng]] is called ''flower flag ginseng'' ({{zh|labels=no|s=花旗参|t=花旗參}}) in Chinese, and [[Citibank]], which opened a branch in China in 1902, is known as ''Flower Flag Bank'' ({{zh|s=花旗银行|labels=no}}).<ref name="ChiDict" />

Similarly, [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] also uses the borrowed term from Chinese with [[Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary|Sino-Vietnamese]] reading for the United States, as {{lang|vi|{{linktext|Hoa Kỳ|lang=vi}}}} from {{vi-nom|花旗}} ("Flower Flag"). Even though the United States is also called ''nước Mỹ'' (or simpler ''Mỹ'') colloquially in Vietnamese before the name ''Měiguó'' was popular amongst Chinese, ''Hoa Kỳ'' is always recognized as the formal name for the United States with the [[Vietnam|Vietnamese state]] officially designates it as {{Lang|vi|Hợp chúng quốc Hoa Kỳ}} ({{Lang-vi-hantu|合眾國 花旗}}, {{Lit|United states of the Flower Flag}}).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Phương Lan |date=2007-07-10 |title=Bộ Ngoại giao: Đề nghị thống nhất sử dụng tên gọi "Hợp chúng quốc Hoa Kỳ" |trans-title=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Vietnam)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]]: Request to unify the use of the name ''"Hợp chúng quốc Hoa Kỳ"'' |url=https://baochinhphu.vn/news-10210789.htm |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=Viet Nam Government Portal |publisher=[[Government of Vietnam]] |language=vi}}</ref> By that, in Vietnam, the U.S. is also nicknamed ''xứ Cờ Hoa'' ("land of Flower Flag") based on the ''Hoa Kỳ'' designation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Đ |first=N.C.T |title=Xứ Cờ Hoa |trans-title=Land of Flag Flower? |url=https://baodanang.vn/channel/5433/201905/xu-co-hoa-3175705/ |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=Đà Nẵng Online |language=vi}}</ref>

In [[Japanese language|Japanese]], the U.S. is known as {{transl|ja|Amerika}} ({{lang|ja|アメリカ}}) in speech or sometimes as {{transl|ja|Beikoku}} ({{lang|zh|米国}}) in formal writing, borrowing from Chinese.{{citation needed |date=November 2023}} {{anchor|미국}}
In Korean, the U.S. is known as {{transl|ko|Miguk}} ({{korean|hangul=미국|hanja=美國, 米國}}),<ref>{{Cite web |title=미국 |url=https://stdict.korean.go.kr/search/searchView.do?word_no=428018&searchKeywordTo=3 |access-date=November 3, 2023 |website=국립국어원 표준국어대사전}}</ref> which has been suggested as the etymology for the ethnic slur ''[[gook]]''.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xcf_4T-nPuoC&pg=PA118 |title=Trans-Pacific Relations: America, Europe, and Asia in the Twentieth Century |publisher=[[Praeger Publishers|Praeger]] |page=117 |date=2003|isbn=9780275977146 }}</ref> In [[Burmese language|Burmese]], the U.S. is known as အမေရိကန်ပြည်ထောင်စု (''amerikan pyedaungsu''), literally "American Union."<ref>{{cite web |title=BurmeseTranslation of 'America' |url=https://www.myordbok.com/definition?q=USA |website=MYORDBOK English-Burmese Dictionary |access-date=7 November 2020 |language=en}}</ref> In [[Hindi]], the U.S. is translated to {{lang|hi|अमेरिका के संयुक्त राज्य}} ({{transl|hi|ISO|amērikā kē saṁyukta rājya}}).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Caturvedi |first1=Mahendra |title=A practical Hindi-English dictionary |date=1970 |publisher=National Publishing House |location=Delhi |page=40 |url=https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/caturvedi_query.py?qs=%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%80/%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BE&searchhws=yes |access-date=15 September 2020}}</ref> In [[Kannada]], the U.S. is known as {{lang|kn|ಅಮೆರಿಕದ ಸಂಯುಕ್ತ ಸಂಸ್ಥಾನ}} ({{transl|kn|ISO|amerikada saṁyukta saṁsthāna}}), literally "America's Union of States".<ref>{{Citation|title=ಅಮೆರಿಕದ ಸಂಯುಕ್ತ ಸಂಸ್ಥಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಪ್ರಧಾನಿ ನರೇಂದ್ರ ಮೋದಿ ಭೇಟಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ ಮಾಡಲಾದ ಜಂಟಿ ಹೇಳಿಕೆ (ಅಮೆರಿಕ-ಭಾರತ: 21ನೆಯ ಶತಮಾನದ ಚಿರಕಾಲದ ಸಹಭಾಗಿಗಳು) ಜೂನ್ 7, 2016|date=2016-06-07|url=https://www.pmindia.gov.in/kn/news_updates/%E0%B2%85%E0%B2%AE%E0%B3%86%E0%B2%B0%E0%B2%BF%E0%B2%95%E0%B2%A6-%E0%B2%B8%E0%B2%82%E0%B2%AF%E0%B3%81%E0%B2%95%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%A4-%E0%B2%B8%E0%B2%82%E0%B2%B8%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%A5%E0%B2%BE%E0%B2%A8%E0%B2%95/|work=ಪಿಎಂಇಂಡಿಯಾ|language=kn|access-date=2023-05-22}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[American (word)]]
* [[Demonyms for the United States]]
* [[List of countries that include United States in their name]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{United States topics}}
{{Americas topic|Name of}}
{{Countries and languages lists}}

[[Category:Country name etymology|United States]]
[[Category:Constitutional history of the United States]]