Hispanic
Hispanic (Spanish: Hispano, hispánico) is a word that originally meant a relationship to Hispania. This is the Iberian Peninsula and includes Portugal, Andorra, Gibraltar and Spain. Now the word is used with a more limited meaning.
In the United States, Hispanic and Latino are different ethnic categories. Hispanic simply means a person who comes from a country where the official language is Spanish, this includes Puerto Rico (an overseas territory of the United States) whereas Latino means a person who comes from a country in Latin America (which includes only Mexico of North America, the Spanish and French-speaking regions of the Caribbean, Central America (except Belize), and South America (except Guyana and Suriname)).
- A person who has roots from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Honduras, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Panama is both Hispanic and Latino since he/she speaks Spanish and was born in Latin America.
- A person who has roots from Spain, Equatorial Guinea, and Western Sahara is Hispanic since he/she speaks Spanish, but not Latino since he/she was not born in Latin America.
- A person who has roots from Brazil, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Haiti, Saint Barthélemy, and Saint Martin is Latino since he/she was born in Latin America, but not Hispanic since he/she either only speaks Portuguese or French.
Spanish names, the Spanish language, and Spanish customs can also be found in other areas that were part of the Spanish Empire, such as in Equatorial Guinea or in the Philippines, although a person who has roots from the Philippines is not considered Hispanic or Latino.
