Editing Hispanic (section)

==Terminology==
The term Hispanic derives from the [[Latin language|Latin]] word {{Lang|la|Hispanicus}}, the adjectival derivation of ''{{Lang|la|Hispania}}'', which means of the [[Iberian Peninsula]] and possibly [[Celtiberian language|Celtiberian]] origin.<ref name=Harper>{{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Hispanic&searchmode=none |title=Online Etymology Dictionary; Hispanic |first=Douglas |last=Harper |access-date=10 February 2009}} Also: [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Spain&searchmode=none etymology of "Spain"], on the same site.</ref> In English the word is attested from the 16th century (and in the late 19th century in American English).<ref>{{cite book|last=Herbst |first=Philip |title=The Color of Words: An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Ethnic Bias in the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UiZQH5gHuggC&pg=PA107 |date=1997 |publisher=Intercultural Press |isbn=978-1-877864-97-1 |page=107 |access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref>

The words ''Spain'', ''Spanish'', and ''Spaniard'' are of the same etymology as ''{{Lang|la|Hispanus}}'', ultimately.<ref name=Harper/>
[[File:Busto de un joven - siglo II d. C. - Museo de Valladolid (2).jpg|thumb|[[Bust (sculpture)|Bust]] of a young [[Hispania|Hispano-Roman]] man, [[2nd century]].]]
{{Lang|la|Hispanus}} was the Latin name given to a person from Hispania during [[Roman Empire|Roman rule]]. The ancient Roman [[Hispania]], which roughly comprised what is currently called the [[Iberian Peninsula]], included the contemporary states of [[Spain]], [[Portugal]], parts of [[France]], [[Andorra]], and the [[British Overseas Territory]] of [[Gibraltar]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HdPYaA4nG8QC&pg=PA266|title=Tingitana en la antigüedad tardía, siglos III-VII: autoctonía y romanidad en el extremo occidente mediterráneo|last=Vega|first=Noé Villaverde|publisher=[[Real Academia de la Historia]]|year=2001|isbn=978-84-89512-94-8|page=266|language=es|trans-title=Tingitana in late antiquity, the III-VII centuries: the autochthonous and Roman world in the west end of the Mediterranean. Which answers the million dollar question. Portuguese people are considered to be Hispanic because of the origin of the familial background.|access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/lateantiquitygui00bowe|url-access=registration|title=Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World|last1=Bowersock|first1=Glen Warren|last2=Brown|first2=Peter|last3=Grabar|first3=Oleg|date=1999|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-51173-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/lateantiquitygui00bowe/page/504 504]|access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=12w3qo2hkq4C&pg=PA231|title=Al-Andalus, Sepharad and Medieval Iberia: Cultural Contact and Diffusion|last=Corfis|first=Ivy A.|date=2009|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-17919-6|page=231|access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref> In English, the term ''Hispano-Roman'' is sometimes used.<ref name=Pohl>{{cite book|last1=Pohl |first1=Walter |last2=Reimitz |first2=Helmut |title=Strategies of Distinction: The Construction of the Ethnic Communities, 300-800 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAZ1WNWSockC&q=Hispano-Romans&pg=PA117 |date=1998 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=90-04-10846-7 |page=117 |access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref> The Hispano-Romans were composed of people from many different [[Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula|Indigenous tribes]], in addition to colonists from [[Roman Italy|Italia]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Curchin |first=Leonard A. |title=The Romanization of Central Spain: Complexity, Diversity and Change in a Provincial Hinterland |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1134451121 |date=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=1134451121 |page=125}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://arkeotavira.com/Mapas/Iberia/Populi.pdf |title=Pre-Roman Peoples and Languages of Iberia: An ethnological map of the Iberian Peninsula after the 2nd Punic War |work=Campo Arqueológico de Tavira |year=2011 |access-date=19 January 2016 |archive-date=22 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122004706/http://www.arkeotavira.com/Mapas/Iberia/Populi.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some famous {{Lang|la|Hispani}} (plural of ''{{Lang|la|Hispanus}}'') and {{Lang|la|Hispaniensis}} were the emperors [[Trajan]], [[Marcus Aurelius]], [[Hadrian]], [[Theodosius I]] and [[Magnus Maximus]], the poets [[Marcus Annaeus Lucanus]], [[Martial]] and [[Prudentius]], the philosophers [[Seneca the Elder]] and [[Seneca the Younger]], and the usurper [[Maximus of Hispania]]. A number of these men, such as Trajan, Hadrian and others, were in fact descended from Roman colonial families.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dunstan |first=William E. |title=Ancient Rome |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0742568342 |date=2010 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishing, Inc. |isbn=978-0742568341 |page=312}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Merivale |first=Charles |title=A General History of Rome |url=https://archive.org/details/ageneralhistory06merigoog |date=1875 |publisher=D. Appleton and Co. |page=[https://archive.org/details/ageneralhistory06merigoog/page/n567 524]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Grainger |first=John D. |title=Nerva and the Roman Succession Crisis of AD 96-99 |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0415349583 |date=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0415349583 |page=73}}</ref>

Here follows a comparison of several terms related to ''Hispanic'':
* ''Hispania'' was the name of the [[Iberian Peninsula]]/Iberia from the 3rd century BC to the 8th AD, both as a [[Roman Empire]] province and immediately thereafter as a [[Visigothic kingdom]], 5th–8th century.
* ''Hispano-Roman'' is used to refer to the culture and people of Hispania, both during the Roman period and subsequent Visigothic period.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266981/Hispano-Roman |title=Hispano-Roman |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Boyle |first=Leonard E. |title=Medieval Latin Palaeography: A Bibliographical Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1VCi0V2oBSkC&q=culture+Hispano-Roman&pg=PA115 |date=1984 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-0-8020-6558-2 |page=115 |access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref><ref name="Merriam Webster Online">{{cite web |url=http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/Hispanic |title=Hispanic |work=Merriam Webster Online |access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref>
* ''Hispanic'' is used to refer to modern Spain, to the Spanish language, and to the Spanish-speaking nations of the world, particularly the [[Americas]].<ref name="Merriam Webster Online" /><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/hispanic |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120709050755/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Hispanic |url-status= dead |archive-date= 9 July 2012 |title=Definition of Hispanic in English |work=Oxford Dictionary |access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref>
* ''Spanish'' is used to refer to the people, nationality, culture, language and other things of Spain.
* ''Spaniard'' is used to refer to the people of Spain.

''Hispania'' was divided into two provinces: [[Hispania Citerior]] and [[Hispania Ulterior]]. In 27 BC, Hispania Ulterior was divided into two new provinces, [[Hispania Baetica]] and [[Hispania Lusitania]], while Hispania Citerior was renamed [[Hispania Tarraconensis]]. This division of Hispania explains the usage of the singular and plural forms (Spain, and The Spains) used to refer to the peninsula and its kingdoms in the Middle Ages.<ref>{{cite book|last=O'Callaghan |first=Joseph F. |title=A History of Medieval Spain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yA3p6v3UxyIC&pg=PA24 |date=31 August 1983 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=0-8014-9264-5 |page=24 |access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref>

Before the marriage of Queen [[Isabella I of Castile]] and King [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]] in 1469, the four Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula—the Kingdom of [[Portugal]], the [[Crown of Aragon]], the [[Crown of Castile]], and the [[Kingdom of Navarre]]—were collectively called The Spains. This revival of the old Roman concept in the [[Middle Ages]] appears to have originated in [[Provence|Provençal]], and was first documented at the end of the 11th century. In the [[Council of Constance]], the four kingdoms shared one vote.

The terms ''Spain'' and ''the Spains'' were not interchangeable.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rowe |first=Erin Kathleen |title=Saint and Nation: Santiago, Teresa of Avila, and Plural Identities in Early Modern Spain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rDlqrxan22AC&pg=PA10 |access-date=19 January 2016|date=1 January 2011 |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press |isbn=978-0-271-03773-8 |page=10}}</ref> Spain was a [[geographic region|geographic territory]], home to several kingdoms (Christian and Muslim), with separate governments, laws, languages, religions, and customs, and was the historical remnant of the Hispano-Gothic unity.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ruiz |first=Teofilo F. |title=Spain's Centuries of Crisis: 1300 - 1474 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DteXifpgh_UC&pg=PA1 |access-date=19 January 2016|date=15 April 2008 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-470-76644-6 |page=1 }}</ref> Spain was not a political entity until much later, and when referring to the Middle Ages, one should not be confounded with the nation-state of today.<ref>{{cite book|last=Baruque |first=Julio Valdeón |title=Las Raices Medievales de España |trans-title=The medieval roots of Spain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3WoApUAccnoC&pg=PA55 |access-date=19 January 2016|date=2002 |publisher=Real Academia de la Historia |language=es |isbn=978-84-95983-95-4 |page=55}}</ref> The term ''The Spains'' referred specifically to a collective of juridico-political units, first the Christian kingdoms, and then the different kingdoms ruled by the same king. Illustrative of this fact is the historical ecclesiastical title of [[Primacy of the Spains|Primate of the Spains]], traditionally claimed by the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Braga|Archbishop of Braga]], a Portuguese prelate.

With the ''[[Decretos de Nueva Planta]]'', [[Philip V of Spain|Philip V]] started to organize the fusion of his kingdoms that until then were ruled as distinct and independent, but this unification process lacked a formal and juridic proclamation.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fernández |first1=Luis Suárez |last2=Baratech |first2=Carlos E. Corona |last3=Vicente |first3=José Antonio Armillas |title=Historia general de España y América |trans-title=General History of Spain and America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wLNVAv7N-_YC&pg=PA87 |access-date=19 January 2016 |date=1984 |publisher=Ediciones Rialp |isbn=978-84-321-2106-7 |page=87 |language=es }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=María |first=María Paz Andrés Sáenz de Santa |title=Homenaje a la Constitución Española: XXV aniversario |trans-title=Tribute to the Spanish Constitution: XXV anniversary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f1Syv68oJnsC&pg=PA123 |access-date=19 January 2016|date=1 January 2005 |publisher=Universidad de Oviedo |language=es |isbn=978-84-8317-473-9 |page=123}}</ref>

Although colloquially and literally the expression "King of Spain" or "King of the Spains" was already widespread,<ref>{{cite book|last=Alcalá-Zamora |first=José N. |title=Felipe IV: el hombre y el reinado |trans-title=Felipe IV: The Man and the Reign |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4aYgR5YFEtAC&pg=PA137 |access-date=19 January 2016|date=2005 |publisher=CEEH |language=es |isbn=978-84-934643-0-1 |page=137}}</ref> it did not refer to a unified nation-state. It was only in [[Spanish Constitution of 1812|the constitution of 1812]] that was adopted the name ''Españas'' (Spains) for the Spanish nation and the use of the title of "king of the Spains".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bib.cervantesvirtual.com/servlet/SirveObras/c1812/12260843118006070754624/ima0138.htm |title=Constitucion politica de la Monarquia Española : Promulgada en Cadiz á 19 de Marzo de 1812 |trans-title=Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy: Promulgated in Cadiz on 19 March 1812 |work=Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes |access-date=19 January 2016 |language=es}}</ref> [[Spanish Constitution of 1978|The constitution of 1876]] adopts for the first time the name "Spain" for the Spanish nation and from then on the kings would use the title of "king of Spain".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ruiz |first1=Joaquín del Moral |last2=Ruiz |first2=Juan Pro |last3=Bilbao |first3=Fernando Suárez |title=Estado y territorio en España, 1820–1930: la formación del paisaje nacional |trans-title=State and Territory in Spain, 1820–1930: The formation of the national landscape |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RaC85UYvbtIC |access-date=19 January 2016 |date=2007 |publisher=Los Libros de la Catarata |language=es |isbn=978-84-8319-335-8 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
[[File:Mestiso 1770.jpg|thumb|1770 painting of a mixed-race family from [[Spanish America]]. As a result of the significant mixing of populations during this time, the term "Hispanic" is often considered independent of racial background.]]
The expansion of the [[Spanish Empire]] between 1492 and 1898 brought thousands of Spanish migrants to the conquered lands, who established settlements, mainly in the Americas, but also in other distant parts of the world (as in the Philippines, the lone Spanish territory in Asia), producing a number of multiracial populations. Today, the varied populations of these places, including those with Spanish ancestry, are also designated as Hispanic.

===Definitions in ancient Rome===<!--NEEDS WORK-->
The Latin gentile adjectives that belong to Hispania are ''Hispanus, Hispanicus,'' and ''Hispaniensis.'' A Hispanus is someone who is a native of Hispania with no foreign parents, while children born in Hispania of Roman parents were ''Hispanienses''. ''Hispaniensis'' means 'connected in some way to Hispania', as in "Exercitus Hispaniensis" ('the Spanish army') or "mercatores Hispanienses" ('Spanish merchants'). ''Hispanicus'' implies 'of' or 'belonging to' Hispania or the Hispanus or of their fashion as in "gladius Hispanicus".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XaFJAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA326 |access-date=19 January 2016 |date=1820 |publisher=E. Cave |page=326}}</ref> The gentile adjectives were not ethnolinguistic but derived primarily on a geographic basis, from the toponym Hispania as the people of Hispania spoke different languages, although Titus Livius ([[Livy]]) said they could all understand each other, not making clear if they spoke dialects of the same language or were polyglots.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://xtf.lib.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=legacy/uvaBook/tei/Liv3His.xml;chunk.id=d264;toc.depth=1;toc.id=d231;brand=default |author=Titus Livius |title=The History of Rome, Vol. III 25.33 |work=University of Virginia Library |access-date=19 January 2016|author-link=Livy }}</ref>
The first recorded use of an [[anthroponym]] derived from the toponym Hispania is attested in one of the five fragments, of [[Ennius]] in 236 BC who wrote "Hispane, non Romane memoretis loqui me" ("Remember that I speak like a Hispanic not a Roman") as having been said by a native of Hispania.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://uib-es.academia.edu/EnriqueGarc%C3%ADaRiaza/Papers/1229269/GARCIA_RIAZA_E._Lengua_y_poder._Notas_sobre_los_origenes_de_la_latinizacion_de_las_elites_celtibericas_182-133_aC_Palaeohispanica_5-2005_637-655 |title=Lengua y poder. Notas sobre los orígenes de la latinización de las élites celtibéricas (182–133 aC) |trans-title=Language and power: Notes on the origins of colonization of the Celtic elites (182–133 BC) |journal=Palaeohispanica |issue=5 |year=2005 |pages=637–655 |first=Enrique |last=García Riaza |access-date=19 January 2016 |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=España Y Los Españoles |trans-title=Spain and the Spanish |first=Rubén |last=Caba |journal=Arbor |volume=187 |issue=September=October 2011 |pages=977–982 |issn=0210-1963 |language=es|doi=10.3989/arbor.2011.751n5013 |year=2011 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Definitions in Portugal, Spain, the rest of Europe===
In Portugal, Hispanic refers to something historical related to ancient Hispania (especially the terms Hispano-Roman and Hispania) or the Spanish language and cultures shared by all the Spanish-speaking countries.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://dicionario.priberam.org/hisp%c3%a2nico |title=Significado / definição de hispânico |work=Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa |language=pt |access-date=19 January 2020}}</ref> Although sharing the etymology for the word (pt: ''{{Lang|pt|hispânico}}'', es: ''{{Lang|es|hispánico}}''), the definition for Hispanic is different between Portugal and Spain.
The [[Royal Spanish Academy]] (Spanish: Real Academia Española, RAE), the official royal institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language defines the terms "''{{Lang|es|hispano}}''" and "''{{Lang|es|hispánico}}''" (which in Spain have slightly different meanings) as:<ref>{{cite web |url= http://dle.rae.es/?id=KW1s7dJ |title=hispano. |work=Diccionario de la lengua española |publisher=Real Academia Española |access-date=9 November 2016 |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://dle.rae.es/?id=KVkY2zv |title=hispánico. |work=Diccionario de la lengua española |publisher=Real Academia Española |access-date=9 November 2016 |language=es}}</ref>

''Hispano'':
* 1. A native of ''Hispania'' [Roman region]
* 2. Belonging or relating to ''Hispania''
* 3. Spanish, as applied to a person
* 4. Of or pertaining to [[Hispanic America]]
* 5. Of or pertaining to the population of Hispanic American origin who live in the United States of America
* 6. A person of this origin who lives in the United States of America

''Hispánico''
* 1. Belonging or relating to ancient ''Hispania'' or the people inhabiting the region
* 2. Belonging or relating to Spain and Spanish-speaking countries

The modern term to identify Portuguese and Spanish territories under a single nomenclature is "Iberian", and the one to refer to cultures derived from both countries in the Americas is "Iberian-American". These designations can be mutually recognized by people in Portugal and [[Brazil]]. "Hispanic" is totally void of any self-identification in Brazil, and quite to the contrary, serves the purpose of marking a clear distinction in relation to neighboring countries' culture. Brazilians may identify as Latin Americans, but refute being considered Hispanics because their language and culture are neither part of the Hispanic cultural sphere, nor Spanish-speaking world.

In Spanish, the term "''{{Lang|es|hispano}}''", as in "''{{Lang|es|hispanoamericano}}''", refers to the people of Spanish origin who live in the Americas and to a relationship to Spain or to the Spanish language. There are people in Hispanic America that are not of Spanish origin, such as Amerindians- the original people of these areas, as well as Africans and people with origins from other parts of Europe.

Like in Portugal, in the rest of Europe (and wider world) the concept of 'Hispanic' refers to historical ancient Hispania (especially the term Hispano-Roman and Hispania during the Roman Empire) or the Spanish language and cultures shared by all the Spanish-speaking countries.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/hispanique/40038 | title=Définitions : Hispanique - Dictionnaire de français Larousse |website=Larousse.fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wissen.de/fremdwort/hispanic | title=Was bedeutet Hispanic &#124; Fremdwörter für Hispanic |website=Wissen.de }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/ispanico/ | title=Ispànico in Vocabolario |website=Treccani.it }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sv.bab.la/lexikon/engelsk-svensk/hispanic|title=HISPANIC - svensk översättning - bab.la engelskt-svenskt lexikon|website=Sv.bab.la|access-date=25 July 2022}}</ref>

===Definitions in the United States===
{{See also|Ethnic groups in the United States|History of Hispanic and Latino Americans|Race and ethnicity in the United States Census|Hispanic and Latino (ethnic categories)}}
[[File:Spanish-American boy, Chamisal, New Mexico.jpg|thumb|Hispanic boy from [[New Mexico]], 1940 photograph.]]
Both ''Hispanic'' and ''[[Latino (demonym)|Latino]]'' are widely used in American English for Spanish-speaking people and their descendants in the United States. While ''Hispanic'' refers to Spanish speakers overall, ''[[Latino (demonym)|Latino]]'' refers specifically to people of [[Latin America]]n descent. ''Hispanic'' can also be used for the people and culture of Spain as well as Latin America.<ref name="English Usage">{{cite book |title=The American Heritage book of English usage |date=1996 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |isbn=978-0-395-76786-3 |pages=198–199 |url=https://archive.org/details/americanheritage00edi_4cp/page/198 |url-access=registration |ol=7467919M}}</ref> While originally the term ''Hispanic'' referred primarily to the [[Hispanos of New Mexico]] within the [[United States]],<ref name="Cobos-1">Cobos, Rubén (2003) "Introduction", ''A Dictionary of New Mexico & Southern Colorado Spanish'' (2nd ed.); Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press; p. ix; {{ISBN|0-89013-452-9}}</ref> today, organizations in the country use the term as a broad catchall to refer to persons with a historical and cultural relationship with Spain regardless of race and ethnicity.<ref name="Federal Highway Administration">{{cite web |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/guidance/superseded/49cfr26.cfm |title=Archived: 49 CFR Part 26 |work=U.S. Department of Transportation |access-date=19 January 2016 |quote= 'Hispanic Americans,' which includes persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Central or South American, or other Spanish or Portuguese culture or origin, regardless of race;"}}</ref><ref name="SBA 8005">{{cite web |url=https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/SOP_80_05_3A.pdf |title=SOP 80 05 3A: Overview of the 8(A) Business Development Program |work=U.S. Small Business Administration |date=11 April 2008 |access-date=19 January 2016 |quote="SBA has defined 'Hispanic American' as an individual whose ancestry and culture are rooted in South America, Central America, Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, or the Iberian Peninsula, including Spain and Portugal." |archive-date=6 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006175409/https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/SOP_80_05_3A.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The United States Census Bureau uses ''Hispanic or Latino'' to refer to ''a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race'' <ref name="census.gov">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-04.pdf |title=The Hispanic Population: 2010 |date=May 2011 |work=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref> and states that Hispanics or Latinos can be of any race and any ancestry.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewhispanic.org/2009/05/28/whos-hispanic/ |title=Who's Hispanic? |first1=Jeffrey S. |last1=Passel |first2=Paul |last2=Taylor |work=Pew Research Center |date=28 May 2009 |access-date=19 January 2016 |archive-date=4 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170304101031/http://www.pewhispanic.org/2009/05/28/whos-hispanic/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Because of the technical distinctions involved in defining "race" vs. "ethnicity", there is confusion among the general population about the designation of Hispanic identity. Currently, the United States Census Bureau defines six race categories:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-02.pdf |title=Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin |work=U.S. Census Bureau |date=March 2011 |first1=Karen R. |last1=Humes |first2=Nicholas A. |last2=Jones |first3=Roberto R. |last3=Ramirez |access-date=19 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429214029/http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-02.pdf |archive-date=29 April 2011 }}</ref>
* White or Caucasian
* Black or African American
* American Indian or Alaska Native
* Asian
* Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
* Some Other Race

A 1997 notice by the U.S. [[Office of Management and Budget]] defined ''Hispanic or Latino'' persons as being "persons who trace their origin or descent to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central and South America, and other Spanish cultures."<ref name=omb>{{cite web |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/fedreg_1997standards |title=Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity |work=The White House Office of Management and Budget |date=30 October 1997 |access-date=29 January 2017}}</ref> The [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census|United States Census]] uses the [[ethnonym]]s ''Hispanic or Latino'' to refer to "a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Hispanic culture or origin regardless of race."<ref name="census.gov"/>

The [[2010 United States census|2010 census]] asked if the person was "Spanish/Hispanic/Latino". The [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census|United States census]] uses the ''Hispanic or Latino'' to refer to "a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race."<ref name="census.gov"/> The Census Bureau also explains that "[o]rigin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of birth of the person or the person's ancestors before their arrival in the United States. People who identify their origin as Hispanic, Latino or Spanish may be of any race."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/population/hispanic/ |title=Hispanic Origin |work=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=19 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119231531/http://www.census.gov/population/hispanic/ |archive-date=19 January 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

The [[United States Department of Transportation|U.S. Department of Transportation]] defines ''Hispanic'' as, "persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race."<ref name="Federal Highway Administration"/> This definition has been adopted by the [[Small Business Administration]] as well as by many federal, state, and municipal agencies for the purposes of awarding government contracts to minority owned businesses.<ref name="SBA 8005"/>
The [[Congressional Hispanic Caucus]] and the [[Congressional Hispanic Conference]] include representatives of Spanish and Portuguese, Puerto Rican and Mexican descent. The [[Hispanic Society of America]] is dedicated to the study of the arts and cultures of the Hispanic and [[Lusitanics|Lusitanic world]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hispanicsociety.org/hispanic/museum.htm |title=The Museum at the Hispanic Society of America |work=hispanicsociety.org |access-date=19 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151221201551/http://hispanicsociety.org/hispanic/museum.htm |archive-date=21 December 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The [[Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities]], proclaimed champions of Hispanic success in higher education, is committed to Hispanic educational success in the United States, and the Hispanic and Lusitanic world.

The U.S. [[Equal Employment Opportunity Commission]] encourages any individual who believes that he or she is Hispanic to self-identify as Hispanic.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2005-11-28/pdf/05-23359.pdf |title=Race and Ethnic Categories |journal=[[Federal Register]] |volume=70 |number=227 |date=28 November 2005 |page=71295 |access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref> The [[United States Department of Labor]] – [[Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs]] encourages the same self-identification. As a result, individuals with origins to part of the [[Spanish Empire]] may self-identify as Hispanic, because an employer may not override an individual's self-identification.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kb.dol.gov/DOLArticlePage?agency=OFCCP&parentCatValue=Employer&article=ka1i0000000WEpsAAG |title=May an employer override an individual's self-identification of race, gender or ethnicity based on the employer's visual observation? |work=United States Department of Labor |access-date=19 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221091531/http://kb.dol.gov/DOLArticlePage?agency=OFCCP&parentCatValue=Employer&article=ka1i0000000WEpsAAG |archive-date=21 December 2016 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

The [[1970 United States census|1970 census]] was the first time that a "Hispanic" identifier was used and data collected with the question. The definition of "Hispanic" has been modified in each successive census.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0075/twps0075.html#f1 |first1=Arthur R. |last1=Crese |first2=Audrey Dianne |last2=Schmidley |first3=Roberto R. |last3=Ramirez |title=Identification of Hispanic Ethnicity in Census 2000: Analysis of Data Quality for the Question on Hispanic Origin, Population Division Working Paper No. 75 |work=U.S. Census Bureau |date=9 July 2008}}</ref>

In a recent study, most Spanish speakers of Spanish or Hispanic American descent do not prefer the term ''Hispanic'' or ''Latino'' when it comes to describing their identity. Instead, they prefer to be identified by their country of origin. When asked if they have a preference for either being identified as ''Hispanic'' or ''Latino'', the Pew study finds that "half (51%) say they have no preference for either term."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/04/04/study-most-hispanics-prefer-describing-identity-from-familys-country-of-origin/ |title=Study: Most Hispanics Prefer Describing Identity From Family's Country Of Origin |work=CBS DC |access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref> Among those who do express a preference, "'Hispanic' is preferred over 'Latino' by more than a two-to-one margin—33% versus 14%." 21% prefer to be referred to simply as "Americans". A majority (51%) say they most often identify themselves by their family's country of origin, while 24% say they prefer a pan-ethnic label such as Hispanic or Latino.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/04/04/when-labels-dont-fit-hispanics-and-their-views-of-identity/ |title=When Labels Don't Fit: Hispanics and Their Views of Identity |date=4 April 2012 |work=Pew Research Center's Hispanic Trends Project |access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref>