 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Estimates vary. US Census estimates685,672,[1] while the Arab American Institute has stated that there are1.4 million Lebanese Americans. | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Michigan,California,New York,Florida,Ohio,Massachusetts,Texas,Oklahoma,Louisiana,Illinois,Pennsylvania,Arizona,New Jersey | |
| Languages | |
| American English,Lebanese Arabic,French,Spanish | |
| Religion | |
| Majority:Christianity (Maronite Catholic,Orthodox,Melkite Catholic,Protestantism) Minorities:Shias,Sunni Muslims, andDruze. | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| OtherLebanese people · Syrian Americans · Palestinian Americans · Middle Eastern Americans · |
| Part ofa series of articles on |
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Lebanese Americans (Arabic:أميركيون لبنانيون,romanized: Amrīkiyyūn Lubnāniyyūn) areAmericans ofLebanese descent. This includes both native-born Americans and immigrants fromLebanon.
Lebanese Americans comprise 0.79% of the American population, as of the American Community Survey estimations for year 2007, and 32.4% of all Americans who originate from the Middle East.[2] Lebanese Americans have had significant participation inAmerican politics and involvement in both social and political activism. The diversity within the region sprouted from the diaspora of the surrounding countries. There are more Lebanese outside Lebanon today than within.
The first known Lebanese immigrant to the United States was Antonio Bishallany, aMaronite Christian, who arrived inBoston Harbor in 1854. He died inBrooklyn,New York in 1856 on his 29th birthday.[3] Large scale-Lebanese immigration began in the late 19th century. These newcomers settled mainly in Brooklyn andBoston,Massachusetts. They were identified as Syrians and almost all were Christians. Upon arrival in America, many worked as peddlers. The first wave of immigration continued until the 1920s.
Many of the Lebanese immigrants settled innorthern New Jersey, in towns such asBloomfield,Paterson,Newark, andOrange. Some set out west, settling inDetroit,Cleveland,Toledo, andPeoria. Others bought farms inTexas,South Dakota, andIowa. Many traveled via theUnited Kingdom, including a large number on the ill-fated linerRMSTitanic.
The second wave of Lebanese immigration began in the late 1940s and continued through the early 1990s, when Lebanese citizens began to seek refuge from theLebanese Civil War. Between 1948 and 1990, over 60,000 Lebanese entered the United States. Since then, the figures have risen to an estimated 5,000 immigrants a year. Those arriving in recent years are predominantlyMuslim, although a majority of the Lebanese in America are Christian.
Most of the Lebanese immigrants during the first and the early part of the second waves wereChristians, with an increase in Muslims beginning in the late 1960s. These includeLebanese Shia Muslims andLebanese Sunni Muslims. A number ofJews also fled Lebanon for the United States due to fears of persecution.[4] Much of this data comes from theArab American Institute and the United Statescensus team.
The United States is the second largest home of Druze communities outside the Middle East after Venezuela (60,000).[5] According to some estimates there are about 30,000[6] to 50,000[5]Druzes in the United States, with the largest concentration inSouthern California.[6] Most hail from Lebanon and Syria.[6]
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Dearborn, Michigan has the highest concentration of Arab Americans in the United States, at over 40%.[7] The rest ofMetro Detroit has an even larger population of Lebanese residents.Brooklyn, New York has one of the oldest Lebanese populations in America, dating over 125 years; one large center is in theBay Ridge section. Once predominantly Christian, the Lebanese in Bay Ridge are today equally split between Muslims and Christians.South Paterson,New Jersey historically had a large Lebanese Christian population dating back to the 1890s, but only a few remain, and the neighborhood has largely been replaced byPalestinian immigrants. Brooklyn holds a significant Lebanese community, with a Maronite Cathedral the center of one of two eparchies for Maronite Lebanese in the United States, the other being in Los Angeles. Lebanese Americans are categorized as White for census purposes.[8]
TheArab American Institute reports the top five states where Lebanese Americans reside are: Michigan (11%), California (9%), Ohio (6%), Florida (6%), and Massachusetts (5%).[9]
As the oldest and most well-established immigrant community among Arab Americans, Lebanese Americans represent a sizable majority of Middle Eastern Americans, counting at roughly 35% of all Middle Eastern Americans in the2020 census. Despite this, the rapid growth of other Arab communities has displaced them as the largest Middle Easterner community in most urban areas (with notable exceptions such asPhoenix,Miami, andDetroit), and they now represent the majority of (and sometimes the only) Arab communities in most of rural and suburban America instead, also making them the least dense Arab community in the United States.[10]
Media related toLebanese diaspora in the United States at Wikimedia Commons
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