Our updated report discusses new findings to provide companies, brands, and politicians deeper insight into how U.S. Latinos prefer to describe their ethnicity.

1. 1
How do U.S. Hispanics prefer to
describe their ethnicity?
Report Brief
January 2020

2. 2
1%
2%
3%
4%
6%
11%
26%
46%
1%
2%
5%
4%
7%
11%
24%
46%
I don't like any of these names/labels
LatinX
Chicano/Chicana
American
My country of origin + "American" (i.e. Cuban-American, Mexican-
American, etc )
My country of origin (i.e. Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, etc )
Latino/Latina
Hispanic
Which of these names do you prefer
to describe your ethnicity?
Which of these names do you prefer
others to use when describing ALL
people of Spanish or Latin American
heritage living in the United States?
The term “Hispanic” is what U.S. Hispanics most prefer to use when describing their own ethnicity. It
is also the preferred term for others to use when describing all people of Spanish or Latin American
heritage in the US.
• Latino/Latina ranks second in preference, followed by their country of origin.
• “LatinX” is the least preferred identity overall, resonating with only 2% of respondents.
Total Hispanics (n=1,000)

3. 3
50%
19%
7%
9%
5%
7%
2% 1% 0%
41%
31%
16%
5%
2% 2% 1% 1% 0%
Hispanic Latino/Latina My country of originMy country of origin
+ "American"
American Chicano/Chicana LatinX I don't like any of
these names/labels
Other
Which of these names do you prefer to describe your ethnicity?
Born in the U.S. Foreign Born
A B
While “Hispanic” is the preferred term regardless of the country of birth, preferences for other names
differ between Hispanics born in the U.S. and those born abroad.
• U.S. born Hispanics are more likely to prefer the term “American” – either as a stand alone or combined with the country of origin.
B
B
A
B
B
Letter indicates statistically significant difference at the 95% confidence level.
(n=727) (n=273)
A

4. 4
Age is not a significant factor: “Hispanic” is the preferred term for all age groups, followed by
Latino/Latina.
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)
Hispanic 38% 51% AE 45% 55% AE 37%
Latino/Latina 30%D 24% 23% 18% 27%
My country of origin 7% 9% 15%A 10% 14%
My country of origin + "American" 11%B 5% 6% 7% 9%
American 5% 3% 5% 3% 4%
Chicano/Chicana 4% 5% 4% 5% 5%
LatinX 3% 2% 2% - 2%
Other 1% - 1% - -
I don't like any of these names/labels 1% 1% - 1% 2%
Base Size (211) (261) (265) (142) (121)
Which of these names do you prefer to describe your ethnicity?
Letter indicates statistically significant difference at the 95% confidence level.

5. 5
Hispanic
Latino/
Latina
Latinx
U.S. born (A) (n=727) 91% 88% 46%B
Foreign born (B) (n=273) 92% 91% 36%
Age 18-24 (C) (n=211) 91% 90% 55%DEFG
Age 25-34 (D) (n=261) 91% 90% 43%F
Age 35-44 (E) (n=265) 89% 86% 44%F
Age 45-54 (F) (n=142) 92% 92% 31%
Age 55-64 (G) (n=121) 95% 89% 34%
Please indicate how you feel about each of the
following terms to describe your ethnicity.
Top 2 Box: I like this term a lot/ I’m fine with this term
43%
38%
10%
48%
51%
32%
3% 6%
40%
5% 4%
18%
Hispanic Latino or
Latina
Latinx
I find this term offensive
I don't like this term very
much
I'm fine with this term
I like this term a lot
(n=1,000)
Approximately 90% of the Hispanics we surveyed either like or are OK with the terms “Hispanic” and
“Latino/Latina”.
• Respondents were more likely to dislike the term “Latinx” than like it.
• Appeal for Latinx is significantly stronger among the 18 to 24 group compared to their older cohorts.
Letter indicates statistically significant difference at the 95% confidence level.

6. 6
47%
51%
42%
53%
57%
48%
35% 37%
Total U.S. Born Foreign Born Age 18-24 Age 25-34 Age 35-44 Age 45-54 Age 55-64
Overall, just under half of those who did not select Latinx as their preferred name said they had seen
or heard the term before.
(958) (692) (266) (195) (250) (257) (141) (115)
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) (G)
B FG
FG
F
Are you familiar with or have you seen the term "Latinx"?
Base: Did not select Latinx as their preferred name
• Awareness of the term Latinx is highest among 18 to 34 year old’s and U.S. born Hispanics.
Letter indicates statistically significant difference at the 95% confidence level.

7. 7
Where have you seen or heard the term "Latinx"?
Base: Aware of the term Latinx
Total U.S. Born
Foreign
Born
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) (G) (H)
Online 56% 58% 51% 63%FH 67%FGH 44% 48% 43%
TV 44% 45% 42% 39% 42% 44% 44% 55%
Friends 29% 28% 32% 38%G 34%G 26% 14% 23%
School 17% 19% 15% 38%EFGH 18%GH 10% 3% 6%
Work 14% 13% 16% 20%G 16%G 12% 4% 14%
Radio 14% 15% 14% 16% 15%G 14%G 2% 27%G
Book or Magazine 13% 15% 9% 13%G 14% 15% 6% 14%
Other 7% 5% 9% 4% 6% 5% 14% 6%
Don’t remember 6% 7% 5% 2% 6% 9%D 8% 6%
Base Size (505) (386) (119) (122) (153) (130) (52) (48)
Hispanics are most likely to have heard of the term Latinx online, followed by TV.
Letter indicates statistically significant difference at the 95% confidence level.

8. 8
Background
303
Hispanics
300
Total Sample
Base Sizes
› ThinkNow conducted a nationwide online survey of 1,000
Hispanics in December, 2019.
› All respondents were 18 years of age and older.
› The sample was weighted with respect to age, gender, US
region and HH income, per U.S. Census benchmarks.
› The table on the right shows a demographic profile of the
sample.
Total Hispanics
(n=1,000)
Male 51%
Female 49%
Identify as LGBTQ 11%
Age
18-24 19%
25-34 26%
35-44 24%
45-54 19%
55-64 12%
% Foreign Born 40%
% Mexican origin 63%
Median Annual HH Income $45,000
Language spoken at home:
Spanish only 11%
Spanish mostly 24%
Both equally 35%
English mostly 18%
English only 12%
Region:
Northeast 14%
Midwest 9%
South 37%
West 40%