Welsh Americans
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (1,980,323 0.6% of the U.S. population) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Pennsylvania • Ohio • Northeast • Rockies • the Southern United States | |
| Languages | |
|
English (American English dialects) Welsh |
|
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Protestant Christian, Mormon and Methodist Minority Roman Catholic and Episcopalian |
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Breton Americans, English Americans, Cornish Americans, Scottish Americans, Irish Americans, Scotch-Irish Americans, Manx Americans, Welsh Canadians, Welsh Australians |
Welsh Americans are an American ethnic group whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Wales. In the 2008 U.S. Census community survey, an estimated 1.98 million Americans had Welsh ancestry, 0.6% of the total U.S. population. This compares with a population of 3 million in Wales. However, 3.8% of Americans appear to bear a Welsh surname.
There have been several U.S. Presidents with Welsh ancestry, including Thomas Jefferson,John Adams, John Quincy Adams, James A. Garfield,Calvin Coolidge, and Richard Nixon.Jefferson Davis, President of The Confederate States of America P.G.T. Beauregard, U.S. Vice President Hubert Humphrey, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are also of Welsh heritage.
The proportion of the population with a name of Welsh origin ranges from 9.5% in South Carolina to 1.1% in North Dakota. Typically names of Welsh origin are concentrated in the mid-Atlantic states, the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama and in Appalachia, West Virginia and Tennessee. By contrast there are relatively fewer Welsh names in New England, the northern Midwest, and the southwest.
On a plaque mounted on the east facade of the imposing Philadelphia City Hall, the following inscription is found:
Perpetuating the Welsh heritage, and commemorating the vision and virtue of the following Welsh patriots in the founding of the City, Commonwealth, and Nation: William Penn, 1644-1718, proclaimed freedom of religion and planned New Wales later named Pennsylvania. Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826, third President of the United States, composed the Declaration of Independence. Robert Morris, 1734-1806, foremost financier of the American Revolution and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Governor Morris, 1752-1816, wrote the final draft of the Constitution of the United States. John Marshall, 1755-1835, Chief Justice of the United States and father of American constitutional law.
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