Can you guess the largest ethnic group in America?
We sorted through Census data on general, Hispanic or Latino, Asian, and American Indian populations to identify the dominant flavors in the great melting pot.
It turns out the biggest group is not the English, who once controlled the 13 colonies, nor the Irish, who came over in vast waves in the 19th century, nor the Mexicans, who cross the southern border in large numbers in search of jobs.
The largest ethnic group, at 49,206,934 people in 2011, is the Germans, who came over in waves dating back to the 1670s.
Of course, ethnicity is a tricky word, and if we were to count all Americans of Hispanic or Latino origin as one group, then that group would take a narrow lead with 49,215,563 people. For the purposes of this list, however, we are sticking with the most specific ethnicities tracked (in self-reporting surveys) by the Census.
#30 Greek: 1,319,188
Although Greek heritage has been recorded in the U.S. since the 1600s, the most substantial number of Greek immigrants came to the U.S. from the mid-1800s up until Greece's admission to the European Union in 1981. Today the U.S. is home to the largest Greek community outside of Greece.
Famous Greek Americans: Jennifer Aniston; Bob Costas; Tina Fey; John Stamos; Frank Zappa; and George Papanicolaou, creator of the Pap smear.
#29 Dominican (Dominican Republic): 1,414,551
After the fall of dictator Rafael Trujillo in 1965, the U.S. occupied the Dominican Republic in order to end a civil war. The U.S. also eased travel restrictions, and as a result, large numbers of Dominicans began immigrating to the U.S. in the late 1960s.
The states with the most Dominican Americans are New York, New Jersey, Florida, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.
Famous Dominican Americans include: Sammy Sosa, Junot Díaz, Oscar De La Renta, Alex Rodriguez, and Zoe Saldana.
#28 Danish: 1,420,962
Danes have been living in the U.S. since the late 1600s, but they steadily immigrated to America for much of the 1800s before Danish immigration tapered off. California, Utah, Minnesota, and Wisconsin all have large numbers of Danish Americans.
Famous Danish Americans include: Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen, Scarlet Johansson, Lars Ulrich of Metallica, the Hanson brothers, and Iggy Pop are all Danish.
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