Albanian American

Infobox Ethnic group
group = Albanian American


caption = Notable Albanian Americans:
James Belushi, Eliza Dushku, Joseph DioGuardi, Regis Philbin
poptime = Albanian 113,661 Americans cite web |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-context=dt&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U&-_geoSkip=30&-CONTEXT=dt&-mt_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_PCT018&-tree_id=403&-_skip=0&-redoLog=false&-all_geo_types=N&-geo_id=01000US&-geo_id=04000US01&-geo_id=04000US02&-geo_id=04000US04&-geo_id=04000US05&-geo_id=04000US06&-geo_id=04000US08&-geo_id=04000US09&-geo_id=04000US10&-geo_id=04000US11&-geo_id=04000US12&-geo_id=04000US13&-geo_id=04000US15&-geo_id=04000US16&-geo_id=04000US17&-geo_id=04000US18&-geo_id=04000US19&-geo_id=04000US20&-geo_id=04000US21&-geo_id=04000US22&-geo_id=04000US23&-geo_id=04000US24&-geo_id=04000US25&-geo_id=04000US26&-geo_id=04000US27&-geo_id=04000US28&-geo_id=04000US29&-geo_id=04000US30&-geo_id=04000US31&-geo_id=04000US32&-geo_id=04000US33&-geo_id=04000US34&-geo_id=04000US35&-geo_id=04000US36&-geo_id=04000US37&-geo_id=04000US38&-geo_id=04000US39&-geo_id=04000US40&-geo_id=04000US41&-geo_id=04000US42&-geo_id=04000US44&-geo_id=04000US45&-geo_id=04000US46&-geo_id=04000US47&-geo_id=04000US48&-geo_id=04000US49&-geo_id=04000US50&-geo_id=04000US51&-geo_id=04000US53&-geo_id=04000US54&-geo_id=04000US55&-geo_id=04000US56&-geo_id=04000US72&-search_results=01000US&-_showChild=Y&-format=&-_lang=en&-_toggle=&-SubjectID=14595646|title=US Census Bureau, American FactFinder, Decennial Programs, Census 2000, Data Set Census 2000 Summary File 3 (SF 3) – Sample Data, Table: PCT18 ANCESTRY (TOTAL CATEGORIES TALLIED) FOR PEOPLE WITH ONE OR MORE ANCESTRY CATEGORIES REPORTED [109] Universe] 0.04% of the US population
popplace = New York, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut
langs = Albanian, American English
rels = Islam, Christianity (Orthodox, Roman Catholic).

Albanian Americans are citizens of the United States who are of Albanian ancestry. According to the 2000 US census, there are 113,661 Americans of full or partial Albanian descent.

Geographic distribution

The states with the largest Albanian American populations are New York (32,428), Michigan (15,343), Massachusetts (10,594), New Jersey (7,336) and Connecticut (7,200). The Albanians began to settle in the USA in the early 1920s from Greece, Southern Italy and Kosovo, and in the 1990s from Albania, Montenegro, the Republic of Macedonia, and refugees of war. The largest Albanian American (Kosovar Albanian) community is the Riverside/San Bernardino, California area near Los Angeles and San Diego, due to the large number of Kosovars who arrived at the March Air Base in Riverside.Fact|date=March 2008

Many Albanian Americans arrived in the early 20th century and considered themselves Italians even though they are Arbëresh Albanians.Fact|date=April 2008 The Greater New Orleans area has a large Arberesh community, mostly decended from 19th century Sicilian immigrants. ["The Albanians: An Ethnic History from Prehistoric Times to the Present" by Edwin E. Jacques, 1995]

Similar shifts in ethnic identification happens today when Albanians come from many different countries other than Albania. Some were forced to change their citizenship from Albanian to Serbian to avoid the Serbian oppression. Many Albanians even though they consider themselves Albanians might have their last names ending with "-ic" or "-ski" which is common in Serbian names. Also many Greeks present and past such as the Arvanites, identify themselves as Greeks if though they have Albanian blood.Fact|date=April 2008

ee also

*List of Albanian Americans

External links

* [http://www.naac.org/index.php National Albanian American Council]

References