How do Hispanics describe themselves

Pew Research - Today, Hispanics in the U.S. use a variety of labels to describe their identity, from pan-ethnic ones such as Hispanic and Latino to ancestry-based ones like Cuban American or Mexican. Some Hispanics use “American” on its own. Importantly, many Hispanics have used each of these terms at least once in their lives to describe themselves, highlighting the layers of U.S. Hispanic identity. At the same time, some terms are used more than others, reflecting the ways Hispanics understand and express who they are.

To better understand how Hispanics use, prioritize and think about identity labels, Pew Research Center conducted a bilingual survey among 4,923 Hispanic adults in October 2025. We asked respondents:

Which labels have they used at least once in their lives to describe themselves? Large majorities of Hispanic adults say they have ever used a pan-ethnic term such as Hispanic or Latino (84%) or their country of origin or heritage on its own – for example, Puerto Rican (80%) – to describe themselves.

Which label do they use most often to describe themselves? Hispanics do not point to a single dominant choice. However, the labels they use most often include their place of origin or heritage, either on its own (35%) or combined with American (18%) — for example, Salvadoran or Dominican American.  

Which pan-ethnic term – Hispanic, Latino, Latinx or Latine – do they prefer to describe people of Hispanic or Latino origin or descent? When labeling the entire U.S. Hispanic population, a majority say they prefer the term Hispanic (54%) over Latino (30%). Few say they prefer the terms Latinx or Latine, while 14% say they have no preference.

In addition, we asked respondents if they consider themselves “a typical American.” Hispanics are evenly divided on this.