Caucasian-American is a term that is used to describe Americans that self-identify as Caucasian, who have origins in the original people of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.

The term "caucasian" has taken on a political rather than a forensic-anthropologic meaning in the United States. For example, a large segment of the Hispanic community in the United States trace their ancestry to Europe. Hispanics of any European descent therefore take offense to the political use of the word caucasian to describe the non-Hispanic caucasian population in the United States. Many Hispanic Americans view themselves as Caucasians, especially those with direct links from Europe, for example from Spain, Italy, Germany, Ireland and many others. Most South Asians are also classified as Caucasian by forensic anthropologists, but they are not classified as Caucasian in the US Census uses for the term White. Most Americans do not consider them White American either. Although North Africans and Middle Easterners are classified as White in all US government agencies, a number of these Americans do not consider themselves white, and like South Asians, may not be considered as white by the vast majority of Americans either.

See also

• Caucasian race
• Caucasoid
• White American
• European American

Footnotes

Ethnic groups in the United States