Catalan Americans

Catalan Americans are Americans of Catalan descent. The group is formed by Catalan-born naturalized citizens or residents, their descendants and, to a lesser extent, citizens or residents of Catalan descent who still acknowledge Catalan ancestry.

The Catalan or Catalonian ancestry is identified with the code 204 in the 2000 U.S. Census, with the name Catalonian, which is in the group 200-299 Hispanic categories (including Spain). A total of 1,738 individuals who received the long-form Census questionnaire (which is given to 1 in 6 households) self-identified as Catalan Americans. In the same survey 1,660 people aged 5 or older indicated being able to speak the Catalan language, also with the name Catalonian. Because the long-form samples a sixth of the population, that figure puts the estimate of Catalan speakers in the US in 2000 at around 10,000 people. However, 8067 people born in Catalonia live in the United States of America.

Catalonians self-identify as White American or Hispanic American. However, in the U.S. Census white (along with black, Asian, and such) is defined as a "racial" category and Hispanic/Latino as an "ethnic" category so it is possible to identify as both, although most of the Catalonia born Catalan Americans tend to distance themselves from the Hispanic label.

Notable people

 * Felipe Alfau (1902–1999), novelist and poet
 * Thaddeus Amat y Brusi (1810–1878), Bishop of Monterey–Los Angeles
 * Leonardo Balada (born 1933), composer
 * Stephen Vincent Benét (1898-1943), writer
 * William Rose Benét (1886-1950), wrtier
 * Ángela Bofill (born 1954), R&B vocalist and songwriter
 * Patricia Clarkson (born 1959), actress
 * Nini Camps, folk rock singer–songwriter
 * Maria Canals-Barrera (born 1966), actress and singer
 * David Farragut, naval officer
 * George Farragut, naval officer
 * Néstor Carbonell (born 1967) actor
 * John Casablancas, founder of Elite Model agency
 * Julian Casablancas (born 1978), singer with the rock band The Strokes
 * Mary Costa (born 1930), singer
 * Xavier Cugat (1900–1990), bandleader
 * Pedro de Alberni (1747–1802), governor of Las Californias
 * Pedro Fages (1734–1794), governor of Las Californias
 * Ernest Fenollosa (1853–1908), professor of philosophy and political economy
 * Alex Ferrer (born 1960), judge in the courtroom television show Judge Alex
 * Danay Ferrer (born 1974)
 * Fernando Ferrer (born 1950), politician in The Bronx, New York City
 * Frank Ferrer, American rock drummer and session musician
 * Jorge Ferrer, author
 * José Ferrer (1912–1992), actor
 * Manuel Y. Ferrer, American virtuoso guitarist
 * Mel Ferrer (1917–2008), actor, film director and film producer
 * Miguel Ferrer (1955–2017), actor
 * Prefuse73, musician
 * Rafael Ferrer (born 1960), American actor
 * Michelle Font (born 1982), Miss USA 2008
 * Valentí Fuster (born 1943), cardiologist
 * Martin Garralaga (1894–1981), film and television actor
 * Marc Gasol (born 1985), NBA player
 * Pau Gasol (born 1980), NBA player
 * Joseph Miró (born 1946), politician
 * Francisco Mora y Borrell (1827–1905), Bishop of Monterey–Los Angeles
 * Gaspar de Portolà i Rovira (1716–1784), explorer and governor of California (1767–1770) and founder of San Diego
 * Manny Puig (born 1954), entertainer
 * George Rabasa (born 1941), writer
 * Joseph Sadoc Alemany (1814–1888), Roman Catholic archbishop and missionary
 * Xavier Sala-i-Martin (born 1962), professor of economics at Columbia University
 * Assumpta Serna (born 1957), actress
 * Oriol Servià (born 1974), race car driver in the IndyCar Series
 * Carmen Reid, American–Catalonian Spanish teacher and Fulbright scholar
 * Alanna Ubach, American actress