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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 USA.
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.