Latino Vs. Hispanic? No One Really Cares, Gallup Polls Says

New Poll Reveals No One Cares About These Ethnic Labels

People of Latin American heritage couldn’t care less whether they get called “Hispanic” or “Latino,” a Gallup poll released Friday shows.

The revelation that Latinos don’t care which of the two labels they get slapped with likely stems from the fact that most Hispanics identify primarily by country of origin rather than pan-ethnic terms, according to earlier polling by the Pew Hispanic Center.

When Gallup asked whether they prefer the term “Latino” or “Hispanic,” 70 percent said it didn’t matter. Some 10 percent preferred the term “Latino,” while 19 percent opted for “Hispanic.”

Men cared less than women, with 74 percent saying the label didn’t matter versus 67 percent.

Young people cared less than older people, with 76 percent of people under 29 years saying they didn’t have a label preference. By contrast, only 53 percent of people over 65 said the label didn’t matter, with 33 percent favoring the term “Hispanic” and only 14 percent preferring “Latino.”

Political liberals cared the least, with 79 percent of them eschewing a label preference.

But while Hispanics didn’t express much of a preference for either term, “Latino” has become increasingly popular, to judge from Internet search data collected by Google.

Black people similarly don’t care much whether people use the label “black” or “African American,” the Gallup survey said.

Before You Go

Because Most Americans Are Unenthusiastic About It

27 Reasons Why The U.S. Shouldn't Lead The War On Drugs

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot