 Americans with Hungarian Ancestry by state according to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey in 2019 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1,323,336 Around 0.40% of the U.S. population self-reported, 2019, American Community Survey[1] 4,000,000 Estimated around 1% of the U.S. population total, including descendants[2] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Ohio (Greater Cleveland),New York,California,Pennsylvania,Texas,New Jersey,Michigan,Florida,Illinois | |
| Languages | |
| English,Hungarian,Yiddish,Romani | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholicism,Protestantism (Hungarian Reformed Church),Judaism,Greek Catholicism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Hungarian Canadians,European Americans |
Hungarian Americans (Hungarian:amerikai magyarok,pronounced[ˈɒmɛrikɒjiˈmɒɟɒrok]) areAmericans ofHungarian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau has estimated that there are approximately 1.396 million Americans of Hungarian descent as of 2018. The total number of people with ethnic Hungarian background is estimated to be around 4 million.[3] The largest concentration is in theGreater Cleveland Metropolitan Area inNortheastOhio. At one time, the presence ofHungarians withinCleveland proper was so great that the city was known as the "AmericanDebrecen," with one of the highest concentrations of Hungarians in the world.[4]
In 1583, Hungarian poetStephanus Parmenius joinedHumphrey Gilbert's expedition to North America with the intention of writing a chronicle of the voyage and its discoveries. Parmenius reachedNewfoundland, likely becoming the first Hungarian in theNew World.
Hungarians have long settled in the New World, such asMichael de Kovats, the founder ofUnited States Cavalry, active in theAmerican Revolution. Hungarians have maintained a constant state of emigration to the United States since then; however, they are best known for three principal waves of emigration.
Agoston Haraszthy, who settled inWisconsin in 1840, was the first Hungarian to settle permanently in the United States[5] and the second Hungarian to write a book about the United States in his native language.[6] After he moved to California in the Gold Rush of 1849, Haraszthy founded the Buena Vista Vineyards inSonoma (now Buena Vista Carneros) and imported more than 100,000 European vine cuttings for the use of California winemakers. He is widely remembered today as the "Father of California Viticulture" or the "Father of Modern Winemaking in California."[7]
The first large wave of emigration from Hungary to the United States occurred in 1849–1850, when the so-called "Forty-Eighters" fled from retribution by Austrian authorities after the defeat of theHungarian Revolution of 1848.Lajos Kossuth gave a seven-month speaking tour of the U.S. in 1851 and 1852 to great acclaim as a champion of liberty, thereby unleashing a brief outburst of pro-Hungarian emotions. He left embittered because his refusal to oppose slavery alienated his natural constituency, and his long-term impact was minimal.[8] By 1860, 2,710 Hungarians lived in the U.S., and at least 99 of them fought in the Civil War. Their motivations were not so much antislavery as a belief in democracy, a taste for adventure, validation of their military credentials, and solidarity with their American neighbors.[9]
An increase of immigration from Hungary was also observed afterWorld War II andThe Holocaust, a significant percentage of whom were Jewish.
Andrew Grove (1936–2016), one of the three founders ofIntel Corporation summarized his first twenty years of life in Hungary in his memoirs:
By the time I was twenty, I had lived through aHungarian Fascist dictatorship,German military occupation, the Nazis' "Final Solution," thesiege of Budapest by the SovietRed Army, a period of chaotic democracy in the years immediately after the war, a variety of repressive Communist regimes, and apopular uprising that was put down at gunpoint... [where] many young people were killed; countless others were interned. Some two hundred thousand Hungarians escaped to the West. I was one of them.[10]
In 1956, Hungary was again under the power of a foreign state, this time theSoviet Union, and again, Hungarians rose up in revolution. Like the 1848 revolution, theHungarian Revolution of 1956 failed and led to the emigration of 200,000 "56-ers" fleeing persecution after the revolution, 40,000 of whom found their way to the United States.
There was a renewed economic migration after theend of communism in Hungary during the 1990s to 2000s.
According to the2010 U.S. census, there were 1,563,081[11] persons of Hungarian ancestry in theUnited States as of 2006, with − according to2000 census data − 1,398,724 of them indicating Hungarian as their first ancestry.[12] Estimates of the number of Hungarian Americans in the United States exceed 4 million, but also include the large number of ethnic Hungarian immigrants, most of whom have emigrated from Romania, the former Czechoslovakia, or the former Yugoslavia.
The states with the largest Hungarian American populations include:[13][14]
| State | Population[13] |
|---|---|
| Ohio | 203,417 |
| New York | 157,863 |
| California | 133,988 |
| Pennsylvania | 132,184 |
| New Jersey | 115,615 |
| Michigan | 98,036 |
| Florida | 96,885 |
A plurality of Hungarian Americans within the United States reside on both the East and West Sides of the Greater Cleveland Metropolitan Area.[4] It has often been said that Metropolitan Cleveland has the most Hungarians outside of Hungary itself.[4] Once known as "Little Hungary," theBuckeye–Shaker neighborhood on the East Side of Cleveland proper was a cultural enclave for Hungarians and Hungarian Americans in the early to mid-twentieth century before many left for nearby suburbs, such asShaker Heights. In their place arrivedAfrican Americans and other groups in the 1960s. Remnants of Hungarian culture can still be seen in the Buckeye Road area today, namely in street names, restaurants and shops as well as occasionally hearing Hungarian on the streets as spoken by older residents who have never left the area. Other cities which include a significant Hungarian American presence include metropolitanNew York City,Buffalo, New York,Chicago, Illinois,Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas andVirginia Beach, Virginia.
The highest percentage of Hungarian Americans in any American town, village or city is inKiryas Joel, New York (the great majority of its residents areHasidicJews belonging to theSatmar Hasidic dynasty, which originated in Hungary) where 18.9%[15] of the total population claimed Hungarian as their ancestry. Other places with over 10% areFairport Harbor, Ohio (14.1%)[16] andWest Pike Run Township, Pennsylvania (11.7%[17]). About one hundred other municipalities have more than 5% of Hungarian-American residents, but the highest number of Hungarian Americans living in the same place is inNew York City.Wallingford, Connecticut, has a vibrant Hungarian-American Club and community.Columbus has a Hungarian American neighborhood namedHungarian Village. TheFifth Ward ofNew Brunswick, New Jersey remains the traditional heart of the Hungarian community.
Hungarian-born population in the U.S. since 2010:[18]
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 78,368 |
| 2011 |  77,485 |
| 2012 | 69,154 |
| 2013 |  74,213 |
| 2014 | 65,845 |
| 2015 | 70,255 |
| 2016 | 62,296 |
Estimated population by state according to the 2018American Community Survey.[1]
Ohio –183,170
New York –143,884
Pennsylvania –124,045
California –118,005
Florida –97,823
New Jersey –94,848
Michigan –89,785
Illinois –49,734
Texas –37,806
Indiana –35,595
Connecticut –33,115
Virginia –30,347
Arizona –27,223
North Carolina –26,349
Wisconsin –23,601
Maryland –23,161
Washington –22,365
Colorado –22,279
Massachusetts –18,807
Georgia –18,381
Missouri –15,516
Oregon –14,494
Minnesota –13,405
South Carolina –12,762
Nevada –11,958
Tennessee –11,181
West Virginia –7,903
Kentucky –7,348
Alabama –6,753
Utah –5,648
Louisiana –5,634
Kansas –5,257
New Hampshire –4,967
New Mexico –4,293
Maine –4,005
Oklahoma –3,986
Delaware –3,980
Iowa –3,723
Montana –3,483
Idaho –3,408
Vermont –3,276
Nebraska –3,187
District of Columbia –2,621
Arkansas –2,586
Hawaii –2,506
North Dakota –2,416
Rhode Island –2,097
Mississippi –1,987
Alaska –1,948
Wyoming –1,875
South Dakota –1,488Estimated percentage of the population by state according to the 2018American Community Survey rounded to the nearest hundredth of a percent.[1]
Ohio –1.57%New Jersey –1.07%Pennsylvania –0.97%Connecticut –0.92%Michigan –0.90%New York –0.73%Indiana –0.54%Vermont –0.52%Florida –0.47%West Virginia –0.43%Delaware –0.42%Nevada –0.41%Wisconsin –0.41%Colorado –0.40%Arizona –0.39%Illinois –0.39%Maryland –0.39%District of Columbia –0.38%New Hampshire –0.37%Virginia –0.36%Oregon –0.36%Montana –0.33%Wyoming –0.32%North Dakota –0.32% Washington –0.31%California –0.30%Maine –0.30%Massachusetts –0.28%Alaska –0.26%North Carolina –0.26%South Carolina –0.26%Missouri –0.25%Minnesota –0.24%New Mexico –0.21%Idaho –0.20%Rhode Island –0.20%Utah –0.19%Kansas –0.18% Georgia –0.18%Hawaii –0.18%South Dakota –0.17%Tennessee –0.17%Nebraska –0.17%Kentucky –0.17%Alabama –0.14%Texas –0.14%Louisiana –0.12%Iowa –0.12%Oklahoma –0.10%Arkansas –0.09%Mississippi –0.07%In entertainment, Szőke Szakáll, known asS. Z. Sakall, was a Hungarian-Jewish film character actor. He was in many films includingIn the Good Old Summertime,Lullaby of Broadway,Christmas in Connecticut andCasablanca in which he played Carl, the head waiter. The comic style ofErnie Kovacs influenced numerous television comedy programs for years to come. The Fox Film Corporation was formed byWilliam Fox. Comedian, actor and producerLouis C.K (born Louis Székely) is a U.S.-Mexican dual citizen. His grandfather, Géza Székely Schweiger, immigrated to Mexico with his family from Hungary. ActressVilma Bánky starred in numeroussilent films oppositeHollywood actors such asRudolph Valentino andRonald Colman. ActorAdrien Brody's mother was Hungarian. ActorDean Norris most known for playing the DEA agentHank Schrader, in the critically acclaimed American crime drama seriesBreaking Bad is also of Hungarian descent from his father's side. ActressDrew Barrymore's mother is Hungarian.[19]
ActorTony Curtis has been in over 100 films, including his iconic roles inSome Like It Hot andThe Defiant Ones. ActressJessica Szohr ofGossip Girl is of partial Hungarian descent. ActorPeter Lorre became famous after his role as a murderer inFritz Lang'sM and went on to play manyantagonistic villain roles. ActorBéla Lugosi playedCount Dracula in the stage version andsubsequent film ofBram Stoker's classic.Academy Award winnerPaul Lukas is perhaps best remembered for his acclaimed role in the filmWatch on the Rhine and for his portrayal as Professor Aronnax inWalt Disney's 1954 film version ofJules Verne's 1870 novelTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas.
ActressIlona Massey was frequently billed as "the newDietrich" and famously played the role of afemme fatale inLove Happy. Sex symbolZsa Zsa Gabor was perhaps better known for her status as a socialite and nine marriages than her stint as an actress.[citation needed] Her younger sisterEva Gabor was known for her role on the television showGreen Acres, and her older sisterMagda Gabor famously helped save the lives of 240 Jewish families during theWorld War II because of her relationship with aPortugueseambassador.Harry Houdini, considered by many to be the greatestmagician of all time, was an expertescapologist, introducing it as an art form. He was also a major critic and investigator ofSpiritualists.
In filmmaking,Vilmos Zsigmond was nominated for fourAcademy Awards forCinematography (won the Oscar forClose Encounters of the Third Kind).Laszlo Kovacs, most famous for his work onEasy Rider andFive Easy Pieces, won threeLifetime Achievement Awards for cinematography.Ernest Laszlo, who worked on over 60 films, won anAcademy Award for cinematography for 1965'sShip of Fools.Andrew Laszlo, worked first in television (Ed Sullivan'sBeatles atShea Stadium and theminiseriesShogun withRichard Chamberlain) and made over 30 films including the cult classicThe Warriors.
DirectorFrank Darabont, nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Director three times, is most popular forStephen King adaptations, includingThe Shawshank Redemption, ranked among audience polls as one of thegreatest films of all time.Michael Curtiz was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Directing four times, finally winning forCasablanca, considered by many critic polls to beone of the greatest films ever made.George Cukor, who was of Jewish descent, won an Academy Award for Best Director forMy Fair Lady.King Vidor was nominated for the same Academy Award five times. Independent directors and the films that have brought them acclaim includeNimród Antal for his cult filmKontroll;Peter Medak, infamous for hisB-movies; andLászló Benedek for theGolden Globe Award-winning film rendition ofDeath of a Salesman.
Joe Eszterhas wrote the screenplay forBasic Instinct, dubbed a cult classic.Andrew G. Vajna produced theDie Hard,Rambo andThe Terminator sequels.Ladislas Farago wrote numerous books onWorld War II espionage, including a screenplay for the filmTora! Tora! Tora!. AnimatorGábor Csupó created theRugrats series, a popular children's show.
AnimatorGeorge Pal was known for producing landmarkscience fiction films, considered to be first to introduce the genre to film. TheAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences founded the "George Pal Lecture on Fantasy in Film" series in his memory.
In music,Miklós Rózsa composed numerousfilm scores; perhaps his most recognizable score was for the 1959 epicBen-Hur. In classical music,Eugene Ormandy, music director for thePhiladelphia Orchestra, was appointed an honorary Knight Command ofThe Order of the British Empire[citation needed] by theQueen of the United Kingdom and received thePresidential Medal of Freedom. In rock music,Tommy Ramone andGene Simmons, both of Jewish descent, founded bandsThe Ramones andKiss respectively
In sports,Monica Seles won nineGrand Slam singles titles and is the former No. 1 professionaltennis player in the world.Joe Namath is a member of thePro Football Hall of Fame, asLarry Csonka orLou Groza, too. Notable players were the Gogolak brothers, especiallyPete Gogolak, who invented the soccer style kicking. Famous coach wasDon Shula. Former Mr. UniverseMickey Hargitay hit the spotlight when he marriedJayne Mansfield. Olympic gymnastics coachBéla Károlyi coached nine Olympic champions, fifteen world champions, and six U.S. champions.Al Hrabosky was a popularMajor League Baseball player, nicknamed "the Mad Hungarian".Gene Mako won four Grand Slam doubles titles in the 1930s. Involleyball,Karch Kiraly is the only person to have wonOlympic gold medals (or indeed medals of any color) in both indoor andbeach volleyball.Joe Kovacs is two-timeworld champion inshot put and is currently[when?] the fourth best shot putter in history.[citation needed]
Jewish physicistEdward Teller[20] acquired the title of "the father of thehydrogen bomb," for his concept of a thermonuclear weapon that uses the energy of nuclear fusion. But he also worked in theManhattan Project along with other Hungarian physicists likeEugene Wigner (who won theNobel Prize in Physics in 1963 for his work on the discovery and application of fundamental symmetry principles of elementary particles) andLeó Szilárd. It was Szilárd who persuadedAlbert Einstein to write his historic letter toFranklin Roosevelt concerningatomic warfare.Theodore von Kármán was responsible for a number of key theories inaeronautic andastronautics research and development.László Bíró made "biro" theballpoint pen.
In computer science,John George Kemeny co-developed theBASIC programming language in 1964 withThomas Eugene Kurtz. Computer software businessmanCharles Simonyi[21] oversaw the creation ofMicrosoft Office and invented the concept of "intentional programming."Leslie L. Vadász andAndrew Grove[20] were key leaders in the history of theIntel Corporation.
In sociology,Thomas Szasz was a prominent figure in theantipsychiatry movement, as well as a vocal critic of state control overmedicine.
In astronomy,Victor Szebehely became a leading figure inNASA'sApollo program.
In biology and chemistry,Albert Szent-Györgyi[20] won theNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1937 for discovering the biological process ofVitamin C in the human body.Georg von Békésy won theNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research on the mammalian ear.George Andrew Olah won theNobel Prize in Chemistry for his research oncarbocations, and laterhydrocarbons and their applicability toethanol fuel.Ernő László, a prominentdermatologist, found the Erno Laszlo Institute for cosmetic research.Andor Szentivanyi discovered "The Beta Adrenergic Theory of Asthma."
In mathematics,Paul Halmos contributed significantly toprobability theory,statistics, andlogic.Cornelius Lanczos developed numerous techniques for mathematical calculations, of which theLanczos algorithm andLanczos approximation are named after him. Jewish mathematicianJohn von Neumann, acknowledged as one of the foremost mathematicians[20] of the 20th century, contributed to a wide variety of fields, includingcomputer science,economics,quantum theory,statistics, andhydrodynamics. Neumann's work onnuclear physics was influential in theManhattan Project. TheJohn von Neumann Theory Prize and theIEEE John von Neumann Medal are named in his honor.Peter Lax is a winner of theWolf Prize in Mathematics and theAbel Prize known for his contributions in several mathematical fields.
In art,Bauhaus artistMarcel Breuer became known as one of the firstmodernists for his modular construction and simple forms. AnotherBauhaus artistLászló Moholy-Nagy, highly influenced byRussianconstructivism, helped introduce the movement to the United States; he was a strong advocate of the integration of technology and industry into the arts.Lajos Markos was a significant portrait artist, having created portraits for iconic celebrities such asJohn Wayne. PhotographerSylvia Plachy published several photobooks detailing her personal history inCentral Europe.
In politics,Tom Lantos was aU.S. Representative forSan Francisco, being the onlyHolocaust survivor to serve in theU.S. Congress. The father of formerNew York governorGeorge Pataki is ethnic Hungarian;[22] he still speaks some Hungarian today.[22]Peter R. Orszag, theDirector of the Office of Management and Budget under President Obama has Hungarian roots.[23] Besides U.S. Representative Lantos there were other Hungarians in the Congress, likeErnest Istook,Joseph M. Gaydos,Eugene Jerome Hainer orErnie Konnyu. Current U.S. Ambassador to Myanmar,Thomas Vajda, is also of Hungarian descent.
Others include famousHolocaust survivorNobel Peace Prize winnerElie Wiesel known for hisactivism and for writing the critically acclaimedNight.Agoston Haraszthy, a famous traveler and writer, became known as the "Father of California Viticulture" and perhaps one of the most accomplishedviticulturists in US history.Joseph Pulitzer, a journalist of Jewish descent famous for helping create "yellow journalism" and posthumously establishing thePulitzer Prizes.Csaba Csere[24] waseditor-in-chief ofCar and Driver from 1993 to 2008. In the world of business, billionaire aircraft leasing, philanthropistSteven F. Udvar-Házy, billionaire-philanthropist-political activistGeorge Soros, a Jewish Holocaust survivor, are notable Hungarian Americans.[20]
American Hungarian language use has been studied by several Hungarian linguists, including Elemér Bakó, Endre Vázsonyi, Miklós Kontra (in South Bend, Indiana), Csilla Bartha (in Detroit, Michigan), and Anna Fenyvesi (in McKeesport, Pennsylvania).[25]
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