View source for Bulgarian Americans

{{short description|none}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Bulgarian Americans<br>{{small|{{lang|bg|Американски българи}}}}
| total            = '''100,557'''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=PEOPLE%20REPORTING%20ANCESTRY&t=Ancestry&d=ACS%201-Year%20Estimates%20Detailed%20Tables&tid=ACSDT1Y2019.B04006&hidePreview=false|title=PEOPLE REPORTING ANCESTRY. American Community Survey B04006 2019 1-Year Estimates|publisher=data.census.gov}}</ref><br/>{{small|(2019 Census)}}<br>
'''250,000'''<br />'''+30,000 students'''<br />{{small|General assessments of [[Bulgaria]]n diplomatic representations in the US (2010)}}<ref name="www.mfa.bg">{{cite web|url=http://www.mfa.bg/bg/61/pages/view/2324|script-title=bg:Посолство на Република България, Вашингтон, САЩ - Българска общност|trans-title=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria - Bulgarians in the US|language=bg|publisher=Mfa.bg|access-date=December 25, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110506193537/http://www.mfa.bg/bg/61/pages/view/2324|archive-date=May 6, 2011}}</ref>
| popplace         = [[California]], with smaller communities in [[Ohio]], [[Indiana]], [[Illinois]], [[New York (state)|New York]], [[New Jersey]],
[[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[Missouri]], [[Michigan]], [[Colorado]], [[Utah]], [[Nevada]], [[Minnesota]], [[Nebraska]], [[Texas]], and [[Washington (state)|Washington]]
| langs            = [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], [[American English]]
| rels             = Predominantly [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christianity]]<br>Minority [[Islam]] (mainly [[Pomaks]]), [[History of the Jews in Bulgaria|Judaism]]
| related-c        = [[Bulgarian Australians]], [[Bulgarian Canadians]], [[Bulgarian New Zealanders]], [[Bulgarians in South America]], [[Macedonian Americans]], [[Serbian Americans]], [[Romanian Americans]]
| native_name      = 
| native_name_lang = 
| related_groups   = 
| image = Bulgarian USC2000 PHS.svg}}
{{Bulgarians}}
'''Bulgarian Americans''' are [[Americans]] of full or partial [[Bulgarians|Bulgarian descent]].<ref>Yu, Eleanor. "Bulgarian Americans." ''Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America'' (3rd ed., vol. 1, Gale, 2014), pp. 357-371. </ref>

For the [[2000 United States Census]], 55,489 Americans indicated Bulgarian as their first ancestry,<ref name="USCensus">{{cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_QTP13&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U&-_lang=en&-_sse=on|title=Ancestry: Census 2000, Census 2000 Summary File 3|work=U.S. Census Bureau|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200210210930/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_QTP13&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U&-_lang=en&-_sse=on|archive-date=February 10, 2020}}</ref> while 92,841 persons declared to have Bulgarian ancestry.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|title=2006 American Community Survey: Total ancestry categories tallied for people with one or more ancestry categories reported|work=U.S. Census Bureau}}</ref> Those can include Bulgarian Americans living in the United States for one or several generations, dual Bulgarian American citizens, or any other Bulgarian Americans who consider themselves to be affiliated to both cultures or countries.

Bulgarian Americans include persons born in [[Bulgaria]], in the United States, and in other countries with ethnic Bulgarian population. Because some Bulgarians are not American citizens, others are dual citizens, and still others' ancestors moved to the U.S. several generations ago, some of these people consider themselves to be simply Americans, Bulgarians, Bulgarians living in the United States or American Bulgarians.

After the 2000 U.S. census, the population grew significantly — according to the general assessments of [[Bulgaria]]n diplomatic representations in the US for 2010, there were 250,000 [[Bulgarians]] residing in the country, and more than 30,000 students.<ref name="www.mfa.bg"/>

==History==
Bulgarian [[immigration to the United States]] began in the mid 19th century.<ref>G. Traichev, History of the Bulgarian Emigration to North America. From Its Beginning in mid 19th century to the 1980s, Sofia 1993</ref> According to Mihaela Robila they tended to settle in Slavic enclaves in the Midwest or Northeast.<ref>Eastern European Immigrant Families, 2013</ref> David Cassens has published a study of 'The Bulgarian Colony of Southwestern Illinois 1900-1920'.<ref>Illinois Historical Journal Vol. 84, No. 1 (Spring, 1991), pp. 15-24</ref> ''[[To Chicago and Back]],'' ([[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]]:"До Чикаго и назад") by the eminent Bulgarian author [[Aleko Konstantinov]]; first published in 1894 mostly concerns attendance at a [[trade fair]], not emigration per se. 

The United States has one of the highest numbers of Bulgarians of any country in the world. As many as 250,000<sup>[[#Population data|1]]</sup> Bulgarians live in the country. From the [[Eastern European]] countries, [[Bulgaria]] has the second highest number of students who study in the United States, after [[Russia]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Robila |first=Mihaela |author-link= |date=2013 |title=Eastern European Immigrant Families |url= |location= |publisher= |page=31 |isbn=}}</ref>

==Demographics==
The state with the largest number of Bulgarians is [[Illinois]], followed by [[California]], [[New York (state)|New York]], [[Florida]], [[Ohio]], and [[Indiana]]. [[Texas]], more specifically [[Houston]], also has a growing population.
According to the [[2000 US census]] the cities with the highest number of Bulgarian Americans are [[New York City|New York]], [[Los Angeles]], [[Chicago]] and [[Miami]]. Approximately 60% of Bulgarian Americans over the age of 25 hold a bachelor's degree or higher.<ref name="GASbulgmarket">{{cite news|url=https://www.census.gov|title=US Census|date=2004|work=Global Advertising Strategies, Inc.}}</ref> In 2015, out of 61,377 ethnic Bulgarians born outside the United States, 57,089 were born in Bulgaria, 37 in North Macedonia and 46 in Greece.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=Bulgarians&tid=ACSDT5YSPT2015.B05006|title=Census data on Bulgarians|website=data.census.gov|access-date=9 April 2023|year=2015}}</ref>

Bulgarian Americans have an annual median household income of $76,862.<ref name="GASbulgmarket"/> Following the 2000 US census when Bulgarians were 50-100,000, during the last 10 years their number has grown significantly to over 250,000.<ref name="www.mfa.bg"/>

===Bulgarian-born population===
Bulgarian-born population in the US since 2010:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_15_1YR_B05006&prodType=table|title=American FactFinder - Results|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|website=factfinder.census.gov|access-date=2018-04-23|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200214060704/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_15_1YR_B05006&prodType=table|archive-date=2020-02-14|url-status=dead}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" 
|-
! scope="col" style="width:80px;"|Year
! scope="col" style="width:160px;"|Number
|- align=center
| 2010
| 62,684
|- align=center
| 2011
| {{increase}}65,202
|- align=center
| 2012
| {{decrease}}64,964
|- align=center
| 2013
| {{increase}}67,941
|- align=center
| 2014
| {{decrease}}63,318
|- align=center
| 2015
| {{increase}}67,377
|- align=center
| 2016
| {{increase}}70,800
|-
|}

==Language==
[[File:Bulgarian church in USA.jpg|thumb|A Bulgarian church ([[Saint Climent of Ohrid]]) in [[Los Angeles, California]]]]
According to the 2000 US Census, 28,565 people indicated that they speak [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] at home. But in the recent years the number grew significantly to over 250,000 people.<ref name="www.mfa.bg"/> Some Bulgarian Americans speak [[Bulgarian Language|Bulgarian]], especially the more recent immigrants, while others might not speak the language at all, or speak Bulgarian mixed with English to a lesser or greater extent.

Some Bulgarian Americans understand Bulgarian even though they might not be able to speak the language. There are cases where older generations of Bulgarians or descendants of Bulgarian immigrants from the early part of the 20th century are fluent in the Bulgarian language as well.

==Notable people==
{{Image array|border-width=1|caption1=[[Sophia Popov]]|caption2=[[John Vincent Atanasoff]]|height=80|image1=Sophia Popov (cropped).jpg|image2=|width=70|perrow=10|image3=Maria Popova.jpg|caption3=[[Maria Popova]]|image4=Rita Wilson by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg|caption4=[[Rita Wilson]]|image6=Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev 2010.jpg|caption6=[[Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev]]|image7=10.2.10AlexMaleevByLuigiNovi1.jpg|image8=Rusev 2018 HOF (cropped) 2.jpg|caption7=[[Alex Maleev]]|caption8=[[Rusev (wrestler)|Miroslav Barnyashev]]|caption10=[[Vlad Tenev]]|image10=TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2016 - Day 2 (26867775421) (2) (cropped).jpg|image9=Angela Nikodinov.jpg|caption9=[[Angela Nikodinov]]}}

* [[John Vincent Atanasoff]] (1903–1995) – inventor of the first automatic electronic digital [[computer]]
* [[Rusev (wrestler)|Miroslav Barnyashev]] – [[professional wrestling|professional wrestler]] who worked as "Rusev" and currently, "Miro"
* [[Christo and Jeanne-Claude|Christo]] – world-famous artist known for projects such as ''[[The Gates]]'' and ''The Wrapped Reichstag''
* [[Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev]] – writer, art historian, and curator
* [[Stoyan Christowe|Stoyan Chrstowe]] – author, journalist and noted Vermont political figure<ref name=":0" group="note" />
* [[Bill Danoff]] – singer-songwriter [Bill does not have Bulgarian heritage, despite the name, according to the man himself.]
* [[Kiradjieff brothers]], creators of [[Cincinnati chili]]<ref group="note" name=":0">Also considered as [[Macedonians (ethnic group)|Macedonian]].</ref>
* [[Stephane Groueff]] (1922–2006) – writer and journalist who wrote the book ''Manhattan Project: The Untold Story of the Making of the Atomic Bomb''
* [[Assen Jordanoff]] (1896–1967) – aviation constructor with a global recognition<ref>[http://www.pantonov.com/index.htm?http%3A//www.pantonov.com/thoughts/assen_jordanoff.php Assen Jordanoff - the man who contributed to America's airpower] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729173734/http://www.pantonov.com/index.htm?http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pantonov.com%2Fthoughts%2Fassen_jordanoff.php |date=2017-07-29 }} at www.pantonov.com</ref>
* [[Dan Kolov]] (1892–1940) – early 20th century [[wrestling|wrestler]] 
* [[Ted Kotcheff]] – film and television director and producer (''[[First Blood]]'', ''[[Weekend at Bernie's]]'')
* [[Leah LaBelle]] (1986–2018) – singer and finalist on ''[[American Idol]]''
* [[Alex Maleev]] – [[comic book]] [[illustrator]] and [[artist]] best known for the [[Marvel Comics]]' series ''[[Daredevil (Marvel Comics series)|Daredevil]]'' (vol. 2), collaborating with writer [[Brian Michael Bendis]]
* [[Martin P. Mintchev]] – engineering professor
* [[Angela Nikodinov]] – [[figure skating|figure skater]]
* [[Victor Ninov]] – [[nuclear physics|nuclear physicist]]
* [[Peter Petroff]] (1919–2003) – inventor, engineer, [[NASA]] scientist, and adventurer
* [[Maria Popova]] – writer, critic, and blogger; named among the "100 Most Creative People in Business" by ''[[Fast Company]]'' in 2012
* [[Svetla Protich]] – classical [[pianist]]
* [[Vladimir Tenev]] – billionaire, co-founder of [[Robinhood (company)|Robinhood]], entrepreneur 
* [[André the Giant|Andre Roussimoff]] (1946–1993) – professional wrestler known as André the Giant
* [[Dimitar Sasselov]] – [[astronomer]] and professor at [[Harvard University]]
* [[Kyril Vassilev]] (1908–1987) – [[portrait painting|portrait painter]] of royalty and American society during the mid-20th century
* [[Sam Voinoff]] (1907–1989) – college golf coach at [[Purdue University]], with 10 [[Big Ten]], and 1 [[NCAA]] championships.
* [[Sophia Popov]] – professional golfer, of Bulgarian and German ancestry
* [[Pete George]] – [[Olympic weightlifting|weightlifter]] and Olympic and World champion<ref name=":0" group="note" />
* [[Jim George (weightlifter)|Jim George]] – weightlifter
* [[Ralitsa Vassileva]] - former anchor at [[CNN]] from 1992 to 2014,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novinite.com/articles/164870/Ralitsa+Vassileva+Leaving+CNN+International|title=Ralitsa Vassileva is out at CNN|work=Novinite|date=20 November 2014}}</ref> now university teacher at [[Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication]]
* [[Steve Witkoff]] (sometimes spelled as Vitkoff) - [[US Republican party|Republican]] politician of [[Bulgarian Jews|Bulgarian-Jewish]] descent

==See also==
{{Portal|Bulgaria|United States}}
* [[Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese of the USA, Canada and Australia]] 
* [[European Americans]]
* [[Macedonian Patriotic Organization]]
* [[St. John of Rila Church (Chicago)]]
* [[Bulgaria–United States relations]]

==Notes==
{{note|1}}<span style="font-size:100%;">Estimates of the Agency for Bulgarians Abroad for the numbers of ethnic Bulgarians living for the country in question based on data from the Bulgarian Border Police, the Bulgarian Ministry of Labour and reports from immigrant associations. The numbers include members of the diaspora (2nd and 3rd generation descendants of Bulgarian immigrants), legal immigrants, illegal immigrants, students and other individuals permanently residing in the country in question as of 2004.</span>
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Altankov, Nikolay G. ''The Bulgarian-Americans''. Palo Alto, Calif.: Ragusan Press, 1979.
* Auerbach, Susan (ed.). ''Encyclopedia of Multiculturalism''. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1994.
* Carlson, Claudia and David Allen. ''The Bulgarian Americans''. New York: Chelsea House, 1990. {{ISBN|0-87754-865-X}}
* Moody, Suzanna, Joel Wurl; Rudolph J Vecoli (eds.). ''The Immigration History Research Center: A Guide to Collections''. New York: Greenwood Press, 1991.
* Riggs, Thomas. ''Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, Vol. 1''. 3rd ed. Farmington Hills: Gale, 2000.
* Yankoff, Peter Dimitrov. ''Peter Menikoff: The Story of a Bulgarian Boy in the Great American Melting Pot''. Nashville, Tenn.: Cokesbury Press, 1928.

==External links==
* [http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Bu-Dr/Bulgarian-Americans.html "Bulgarian Americans" by Eleanor Yu. Material on Everyculture.com]
* [http://gergananyc.com Bulgarian Children's Chorus and School ''Gergana''], [[New York City|New York]]
* [http://www.helpinghandsbulgaria.net/ Helping Hands Bulgaria]
*[https://www.lib.umn.edu/ihrca Immigration History Research Center Archives], [https://www.lib.umn.edu/ University of Minnesota Libraries]
*[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7593926/ The 90th Birthday of Professor Raphael Mechoulam, a Top Cannabinoid Scientist and Pioneer]
{{Slavic Americans}}
{{European American}}
{{Yugoslav Americans}}
{{Bulgarian diaspora}}

[[Category:Bulgarian diaspora in the United States| ]]
[[Category:American people of Bulgarian descent| ]]
[[Category:European diaspora in the United States]]