Cornish Americans

Cornish Americans
Total population
2 million (estimated)
Regions with significant populations
California, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin
Particularly in the cities of Butte, Duluth, Hibbing, Marquette, Mineral Point, Sault Ste. Marie/Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Languages
English (American English dialects), Cornish
Religion
Methodism[1]
Related ethnic groups
Cornish, English Americans, Welsh Americans, Breton Americans, Manx Americans, Scottish Americans, Scotch-Irish Americans, Irish Americans

Cornish Americans (Cornish: Amerikanyon gernewek)[2] are Americans who describe themselves as having Cornish ancestry, an ethnic group of Brittonic Celts native to Cornwall and the Scilly Isles, part of England in the United Kingdom. Although Cornish ancestry is not recognized on the United States Census, Bernard Deacon at the Institute of Cornish Studies estimates there are close to two million people of Cornish descent in the U.S., compared to half a million in Cornwall itself and only half of those Cornish by descent.[3]

Cornish surnames and personal names remain common, and are often distinct from English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish and Manx names, although there is a similarity to the related Welsh and Breton names in many instances. Similarly, the majority of place names in Cornwall are still Brittonic. The Cornish language had died out as a primary spoken language by the end of the 18th century, but a revival of the tongue has been ongoing since the early 20th century.

  1. ^ Immigrants from Cornwall, Great Britian, in Marquette County
  2. ^ Rogerson, Sam (November 4, 2020). "Online Translation Request Service". Cornwall Council.
  3. ^ Deacon, Bernard; Schwartz, Sharron (July 2007). "Cornish identities and migration: a multi-scalar approach". Global Networks. 7 (3): 289–306. doi:10.1111/j.1471-0374.2007.00170.x. hdl:10036/26432.