Panamanian Americans Explained

Pop:	206,219 (2018)^[1] 0.06% of the U.S. population (2018)^[2]
Rels:	Predominantly Roman Catholic
Related:	Latin Americans, Spanish Americans

Panamanian Americans (Spanish; Castilian: panameño-americano, Spanish; Castilian: norteamericano de origen panameño or Spanish; Castilian: estadounidense de origen panameño) are Americans of Panamanian descent.

The Panamanian population at the 2010 Census was 165,456.

The largest populations of Panamanians in the United States reside in Brooklyn and South Florida.

Many Panamanians reside near army based cities. These cities include Fayetteville, NC - Fort Bragg, Killeen, TX - Fort Hood, Columbus, GA - Fort Stewart, Colorado Springs, CO - Fort Carson, Clarksville, TN - Fort Campbell, El Paso, TX - Fort Bliss and in the vicinity of Fort Dix in New Jersey. Cities home to Navy and Air Force bases also lay claim to a concentration of Panamanians. These include San Antonio, Hampton Roads, Jacksonville, San Diego and Tampa.

History

The number of Panamanians who emigrated to the U.S. prior to 1960 is unknown, as the Census Bureau counted them in the category of "others". By the beginning of the 20th century, the number of immigrants entering the U.S. from Panama was approximately 1,000 per year. After World War II, the number of Panamanians entering the U.S. country decreased but this changed in 1965, when immigration law allowed a maximum of 120,000 annual immigrants in the U.S. This law favored a remarkable migration from Panama, which made it one of the main migratory flows from Central America to the United States in the 1970s. Over 86,000 American people of Panamanian descent were registered in the 1990 U.S. Census.^[3]

Demographics

States

The 10 U.S. states with the largest population of Panamanians (Source: 2010 Census):

Florida - 28,741
New York - 28,200
California - 17,768
Texas - 13,994
Georgia - 8,678
Virginia - 7,180
North Carolina - 5,708
New Jersey - 5,431
Maryland - 5,341
Pennsylvania - 3,234

Areas

The largest population of Panamanians are located in the following areas (Source: Census 2010):

New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA MSA - 29,619
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL MSA - 13,529
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA - 7,322
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA MSA - 6,353
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA MSA - 5,599
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL MSA - 4,234
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA - 3,772
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX MSA - 3,350
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA - 3,162
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA - 2,841
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX MSA - 2,663
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA - 2,658
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA - 2,556
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA MSA - 2,384
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI MSA - 2,300
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA MSA - 2,144
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA MSA - 2,002
Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA - 1,877
Fayetteville, NC MSA - 1,788
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH MSA - 1,749

U.S. communities with largest population of people of Panamanian ancestry

The top 25 U.S. communities with the highest populations of Panamanian (Source: Census 2010)

New York City - 22,353
Los Angeles - 2,131
San Antonio, TX - 1,602
Jacksonville, FL - 1,165
Fayetteville, NC - 1,154
Miami, FL - 1,113
Houston, TX - 1,076
San Diego, CA - 1,018
Killeen, TX - 998
Chicago, IL - 883
Washington, DC - 742
Boston, MA # Hillcrest Heights, FL - 1.57%
Pemberton Heights, NJ - 1.40%
Indian Creek, FL - 4.65%
Lisbon, FL - 1.92%

U.S. communities with high percentages of people of Panamanian ancestry

U.S. communities with the highest percentages of Panamanians as a percent of total population (Source: Census 2010)

Virginia Beach, VA - 702
Miramar, FL - 700
Columbus, GA - 696
Pembroke Pines, FL - 676
Tampa, FL - 656
Colorado Springs, CO - 642
Newport News, VA - 615
Charlotte, NC - 608
Austin, TX - 607
Orlando, FL - 596
Clarksville, TN - 588
El Paso, TX - 551
Dallas, TX - 458
Philadelphia, PA - 737

Notable people

Rolando Blackman - former NBA player
Tatyana Ali - actress and singer
DJ Clue - DJ, record producer, radio personality and record executive
Linda Martín Alcoff - philosopher
Ra Un Nefer Amen - founder of the Pan-African religious organization Ausar Auset Society, dedicated to providing Afrocentric-based spiritual training to people of African descent
Cirie Fields - American reality TV contestant, famously known for competing on ‘Survivor’.
Nancy Ames - American folk singer and songwriter; granddaughter of former President of Panama Ricardo Joaquín Alfaro
Gwen Ifill - American Peabody Award-winning journalist, television newscaster, and author, daughter of a Panamanian immigrant of Bajan descent
Braulio Baeza - American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey
Cliff Clinkscales - basketball player
Tyson Beckford - actor and model
Uri Berenguer - play-by-play announcer for the Boston Red Sox Spanish Beisbol Network
A. R. Bernard - founder, Senior Pastor and CEO of Christian Cultural Center (CCC), in Brooklyn, New York; born in Panama and emigrated to New York with his family when he was four
Aloe Blacc - singer
Roberto Blades - Panamanian salsa singer
Rubén Blades - salsa singer
Jordana Brewster - actress
Pop Smoke - rapper form New York; of Panamanian and Jamaican descent
Jeff Buckley (1966–1997) - American singer-songwriter and guitarist; son of musician Tim Buckley; his mother was a Panama Canal Zonian of mixed Greek, French, American and Panamanian descent^[4]
Rod Carew - Baseball Hall of Famer
Eddie Castro - Panamanian-born jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing
El Chombo - American-born Panamanian producer and artist
Billy Cobham - Panamanian American jazz drummer, composer and bandleader; Panamanian born, American raised^[5]
Emayatzy Corinealdi - American film and television actress
Ed Cota - American professional basketball player
Melissa De Sousa - actress
Ruben Douglas - professional basketball player
Roberto Durán - Boxing Hall of Famer
Adrian Fenty - American politician who served as the sixth mayor of the District of Columbia
Gary Forbes - Panamanian professional basketball player who plays for the Houston Rockets
Hulk Hogan - professional wrestler; of Italian, French and Panamanian descent^[6]
Sam Hoger - American mixed martial artist
David Iglesias - American attorney from Albuquerque, New Mexico
Shoshana Johnson - former United States soldier; first black or Latina prisoner of war in the military history of the U.S.; Panamanian born and American raised
Kaliii - rapper from Roswell, Georgia; of Panamanian descent
Clark Kent
Olga F. Linares - Panamanian–American academic anthropologist and archaeologist
John McCain - American politician, long-time U.S. Senator from Arizona from 1987-2018, and 2008 Republican nominee for President of the United States; was born in Panama to parents who were serving in the U.S. Navy, but raised in the United States
Anthony Michaels - tattoo artist, contestant on Ink Master
Scott A. Muller - American-born Panamanian Olympic slalom canoer
Sigrid Nunez - American writer
Demitrius Omphroy - American-born Panamanian soccer player; of Panamanian and Filipino descent^[7]
Jeremy Renner - American actor; maternal grandmother was born in Colón
J. August Richards - American actor; known for his portrayal of vampire hunter Charles Gunn on the WB cult television series Angel; of Panamanian descent^[8]
Mariano Rivera - New York Yankees pitcher
Michele Ruiz - broadcaster and founder of SaberHacer.com
Christian Duke - American lawyer and activist
Clarence Samuels (1900–1983) - first photographer of Latino American of African descent in the United States Coast Guard and first to command a cutter
Tessa Thompson - American actress of Afro-Panamanian and Mexican descent
Daphne Rubin-Vega - Panamanian-born American dancer, singer-songwriter and actress.
Jorge Velásquez - thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey
Nick Verreos - American fashion designer and contestant on the second season of the reality television program Project Runway; Greek-American father and Panamanian mother
Juan Williams - journalist and political analyst

References

Web site: B03001 HISPANIC OR LATINO ORIGIN BY SPECIFIC ORIGIN - United States - 2018 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. July 1, 2018 . . November 25, 2019.
Web site: B03001 HISPANIC OR LATINO ORIGIN BY SPECIFIC ORIGIN - United States - 2018 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. July 1, 2018 . . November 25, 2019.
http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Pa-Sp/Panamanian-Americans.html#ixzz1Sjls52oF Panamanian American. A Countries and Their Cultures: Panamanian American, by Rosetta Sharp Dean
Web site: Kane . Rebecca . What is Jeff's Ethnic Background? . jeffbuckley.com . 1998-07-19 . 2008-06-13 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080509160458/http://www.jeffbuckley.com/rfuller/buckley/faq/03ethnic.html . 2008-05-09 .
allmusic Billy Cobham Biography
https://books.google.com/books?id=ctSR_k_960UC&q=French+Italian+Panamanian&pg=PA58 Hollywood Hulk Hogan By Hulk Hogan
News: Entrenamiento. Demitrius Omphroy quiere entrar en la sub-21 . https://archive.today/20110809130313/http://www.pa-digital.com.pa/periodico/buscador/resultado.php?story_id=926164&texto=%22chico . dead . 2011-08-09 . es . Dominguez F., Jose Miguel . PA-Digital.com . Panama America . 2010-06-02 . 2011-01-14 .
Web site: Raising the Bar: J. August Richards . . 2009-08-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090219104536/http://www.tnt.tv/series/raisingthebar/display/?contentId=40867 . February 19, 2009 .