Demonyms: The Names of Nationalities

How to Refer to a Native of Any Country

Flags flying at the El Alamein War Cemetery
M Timothy O'Keefe/Photographer's Choice/Getty Images

Have you ever wondered what to call someone from a different country? Most people have at one point or another. The truth is, many nationality labels are formed by simply combining the full or partial name of a country with the suffix -an, -ean, -ian, or -ese. These labels are called demonyms.

What Is a Demonym?

The term demonym refers to the name used to describe natives or residents of a particular place. Interestingly, the first known usage of this title to label the inhabitant of a given nation was only in 1990. Before then, the word was used to denote an author's pen name. For example, Samuel Clemens' demonym was Mark Twain.

The Greek prefix dem-, meaning "the people", is attached to terms commonly used to talk about large populations, including demographic and democracy. The form or suffix -onym is found in many words having to do with naming. Therefore, the word essentially translates to "naming the people".

Ethnonym Vs. Demonym

Demonyms and ethnonyms are not to be confused with each other. Ethnonym refers to people of a particular ethnic group and demonym refers to inhabitants of a particular location—these are not one and the same. Often, which term to use for a person is a matter of preference and circumstance.

Ethnicity and nationality sometimes clash. For example, when regions with several strong ethnic identities join under one nation's umbrella, ethnonyms are often preferred over demonyms as individuals might feel that they associate more with their ethnicity than their region.

Residents of Northern Iraq that are of Kurdish heritage and desire Kurdistan independence, for instance, would probably rather be called Kurds than Iraqis. Likewise, people of Irish and Scottish descent living in the U.K. might ask to be called Irish persons and Scots rather than Britons.

Demonyms of Every Country

This list provides the demonyms for every country in the world. Taiwan, not officially recognized as a country by the United Nations, is also included in this list. There is no term for a person from Vatican City or the Holy See.

Demonyms
Country Demonym
Afghanistan Afghan
Albania Albanian
Algeria Algerian
Andorra Andorran
Angola Angolan
Antigua and Barbuda Antiguan and Barbudans
Argentina Argentine or Argentinean
Armenia Armenian
Australia Australian or Aussie
Austria Austrian
Azerbaijan Azerbaijani
The Bahamas Bahamian
Bahrain Bahraini
Bangladesh Bangladeshi
Barbados Barbadian or Bajuns
Belarus Belarusian
Belgium Belgian
Belize Belizean
Benin Beninese
Bhutan Bhutanese
Bolivia Bolivian
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnian and Herzegovinian
Botswana Motswana (singular) and Batswana (plural)
Brazil Brazilian
Brunei Bruneian
Bulgaria Bulgarian
Burkina Faso Burkinabe
Burundi Burundian
Cambodia Cambodian
Cameroon Cameroonian
Canada Canadian
Cape Verde Cape Verdian or Cape Verdean
Central African Republic Central African
Chad Chadian
Chile Chilean
China Chinese
Colombia Colombian
Comoros Comoran
Congo, Republic of the Congolese
Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congolese
Costa Rica Costa Rican
Cote d'Ivoire Ivorian
Croatia Croat or Croatian
Cuba Cuban
Cyprus Cypriot
Czech Republic Czech
Denmark Dane or Danish
Djibouti Djibouti
Dominica Dominican
Dominican Republic Dominican
East Timor East Timorese
Ecuador Ecuadorean
Egypt Egyptian
El Salvador Salvadoran
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean
Eritrea Eritrean
Estonia Estonian
Ethiopia Ethiopian
Fiji Fijian
Finland Finn or Finnish
France French or Frenchmanwoman
Gabon Gabonese
The Gambia Gambian
Georgia Georgian
Germany German
Ghana Ghanaian
Greece Greek
Grenada Grenadian or Grenadan
Guatemala Guatemalan
Guinea Guinean
Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissauan
Guyana Guyanese
Haiti Haitian
Honduras Honduran
Hungary Hungarian
Iceland Icelander
India Indian
Indonesia Indonesian
Iran Iranian
Iraq Iraqi
Ireland Irish or Irishman/woman
Israel Israeli
Italy Italian
Jamaica Jamaican
Japan Japanese
Jordan Jordanian
Kazakhstan Kazakhstani
Kenya Kenyan
Kiribati I-Kiribati
Korea, North North Korean
Korea, South South Korean
Kosovo Kosovar
Kuwait Kuwaiti
Kyrgyz Republic/Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyz or Kirghiz
Laos Lao or Laotian
Latvia Latvian
Lebanon Lebanese
Lesotho Mosotho (singular) and Basotho (plural)
Liberia Liberian
Libya Libyan
Liechtenstein Liechtensteiner
Lithuania Lithuanian
Luxembourg Luxembourger
Macedonia Macedonian
Madagascar Malagasy
Malawi Malawian
Malaysia Malaysian
Maldives Maldivan
Mali Malian
Malta Maltese
Marshall Islands Marshallese
Mauritania Mauritanian
Mauritius Mauritian
Mexico Mexican
Federated States of Micronesia Micronesian
Moldova Moldovan
Monaco Monegasque or Monacan
Mongolia Mongolian
Montenegro Montenegrin
Morocco Moroccan
Mozambique Mozambican
Myanmar (Burma) Burmese or Myanmarese
Namibia Namibian
Nauru Nauruan
Nepal Nepalese
Netherlands Netherlander, Dutchman/woman, Hollander, or Dutch (collective)
New Zealand New Zealander or Kiwi
Nicaragua Nicaraguan
Niger Nigerien
Nigeria Nigerian
Norway Norwegian
Oman Omani
Pakistan Pakistani
Palau Palauan
Panama Panamanian
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinean
Paraguay Paraguayan
Peru Peruvian
Philippines Filipino
Poland Pole or Polish
Portugal Portuguese
Qatar Qatari
Romania Romanian
Russia Russian
Rwanda Rwandan
Saint Kitts and Nevis Kittian and Nevisian
Saint Lucia Saint Lucian
Samoa Samoan
San Marino Sammarinese or San Marinese
Sao Tome and Principe Sao Tomean
Saudi Arabia Saudi or Saudi Arabian
Senegal Senegalese
Serbia Serbian
Seychelles Seychellois
Sierra Leone Sierra Leonean
Singapore Singaporean
Slovakia Slovak or Slovakian
Slovenia Slovene or Slovenian
Solomon Islands Solomon Islander
Somalia Somali
South Africa South African
Spain Spaniard or Spanish
Sri Lanka Sri Lankan
Sudan Sudanese
Suriname Surinamer
Swaziland Swazi
Sweden Swede or Swedish
Switzerland Swiss
Syria Syrian
Taiwan Taiwanese
Tajikistan Tajik or Tadzhik
Tanzania Tanzanian
Thailand Thai
Togo Togolese
Tonga Tongan
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidadian and Tobagonian
Tunisia Tunisian
Turkey Turk or Turkish
Turkmenistan Turkmen(s)
Tuvalu Tuvaluan
Uganda Ugandan
Ukraine Ukrainian
United Arab Emirates Emirian
United Kingdom Briton or British (collective), Englishman/woman, Scot or Scotsman/woman, Irish (collective), Welshman/woman, Northern Irishman/woman or Northern Irish (collective)
United States American
Uruguay Uruguayan
Uzbekistan Uzbek or Uzbekistani
Vanuatu Ni-Vanuatu
Venezuela Venezuelan
Vietnam Vietnamese
Yemen Yemeni or Yemenite
Zambia Zambian
Zimbabwe Zimbabwean
Terms for people from around the world
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Rosenberg, Matt. "Demonyms: The Names of Nationalities." ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/the-names-of-nationalities-4088817. Rosenberg, Matt. (2020, August 27). Demonyms: The Names of Nationalities. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-names-of-nationalities-4088817 Rosenberg, Matt. "Demonyms: The Names of Nationalities." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/the-names-of-nationalities-4088817 (accessed March 19, 2024).