Bulgarian Americans are people of Bulgarian descent living in the United States. Those can include Bulgarian Americans living in the US for one or several generations, dual Bulgarian American citizens, or any other Bulgarian Americans who consider themselves to be affiliated to both cultures or countries. Some Bulgarian Americans might be born in Bulgaria, the United States or other countries with ethnic Bulgarian population. Some Bulgarian Americans from Macedonian origin dating back to the end of the 19th century, first part of the 20th century, might also consider themselves to be Bulgarian American.

History

Some sources suggest that Bulgarian immigration to the US began sometime perhaps in the second part of the 19th century. Chicago was a good example of a city known in the past (and even now) for having Bulgarians. There was a book written by a Bulgarian writer Aleko Konstantinov called "To Chicago and back"(Bulgarian:"До Чикаго и назад") from that period. Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... Montreal skyline at night For alternate meanings see city (disambiguation) A city is an urban area that is differentiated from a town, village, or hamlet by size, population density, importance, or legal status. ... Author of Baui Ganyu. ... To Chicago & Back (Bulgarian: До Чикаго и назад) [ISBN 9549308243] is a book written by Bulgarian writer Aleko Konstantinov describing his journey from Bulgaria to the United States. ...

Periods

1989-present

As many as 300 000 Bulgarians immigrated or reside in other countries since the fall of communism in Bulgaria in 1989. The United States has one of the highest numbers of Bulgarians than any country in the world. As many as 100 000 Bulgarians are in the US according to the Agency for Bulgarians abroad. Many professionals and students came to the US. They are generally well educated and come from middle and upper-middle class families, looking for new or better opportunites. From the Eastern European countries,Bulgaria has the second highest number of students after Russia who study in the US. Eastern Europe is, by convention, a region defined geographically as that part of Europe covering the eastern part of the continent. ...

1945-1989

Demographics

There might be as many as 100,000 to 150,000 Bulgarians in the Unites States at the present time. Estimates of the Agency for Bulgarians Abroad for 2004 show that there are 100,000 Bulgarians in the US. The US Census for 2000 shows that there were 63,000 people of Bulgarian descent in the US. According to the same source the state with most Bulgarians is California, followed by Illinois, New York, Florida, and Ohio. The cities with highest numbers of Bulgarian Americans are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami. 17% of Bulgarian Americans hold a bachelors degree or higher. [1] Bulgarian Americans have an annual median household income of $44,578.[2] 28 % of Bulgarian Americans are married with children under the age of 18. [3] State nickname: The Golden State Official languages English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Senators Dianne Feinstein (D) Barbara Boxer (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 4. ... State nickname: Land of Lincoln, The Prairie State Official languages English Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) Senators Richard Durbin (D) Barack Obama (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 25th 149,998 km² 4. ... State nickname: The Empire State Official languages English Capital Albany Largest city New York City Governor George Pataki (R) Senators Charles Schumer (D) Hillary Clinton (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 13. ... State nickname: Sunshine State Official languages English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Governor Jeb Bush (R) Senators Bill Nelson (D) Mel Martinez (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 22nd 170,451 km² 17. ... State nickname: The Buckeye State Official languages None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Governor Bob Taft (R) Senators Mike DeWine (R) George V. Voinovich (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 34th 116,096 km² 8. ... The skyline of Lower Manhattan, with the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center (1973 – 2001). ... This article is about the largest city in California. ... Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... This article is about the city in Florida. ...

Language

According to the US Census 28,565 people indicated that they speak Bulgarian at home in 2000. Some Bulgarian Americans speak Bulgarian, especially the more recent immigrants, while others might not speak it at all, or speak Bulgarian mixed with English to a lesser or greater extent. Some Bulgarian Americans understand Bulgarian even though they might not be able to speak the language. There are cases where older generations of Bulgarians or descendents of Bulgarian immigrants from the early part of the 20th century are fluent in the Bulgarian language as well. This article is about the year 2000. ...

Bulgarian Americans

• John Atanasoff - the inventor of the first computer.
• Dan Koloff - world famous wrestler from the first part of the 20th century
• Leah LaBelle - singer, finalist in American Idol
• Peter Petroff - inventor, engineer, NASA scientist, and adventurer
• Asen Yordanov - aviation constructor with a global recognition
• Stephane Groueff - writer, journalist, wrote the "Manhattan Project"
• Rita Wilson - actress and producer, married to Tom Hanks

John Vincent Atanasoff (October 4, 1903-June 15, 1995) was a prominent American computer engineer of Bulgarian and Irish origin. ... A drawing of a desktop computer. ... Wrestling can be: Sport wrestling Professional wrestling Another term for grappling This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Categories: American Idol | Seattleites | Stub ... American Idol is the US version of British TV hit show Pop Idol. ... Peter Petroff (October 21, 1919 – February 7, 2003) was a Bulgarian-American inventor, engineer, NASA scientist, and adventurer of Bulgarian origin. ... NASA Logo Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-09-01, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... Asen Hristov Yordanov (Асен Йорданов, b. ... Stephane Groueff, a writer, journalist and a political refugee, was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1922. ... Control panels and operators for calutrons at the Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. ... Rita Wilson Rita Wilson (born Margarita Ibrahimoff October 26, 1956) is an American actress and producer of Bulgarian (Bulgarian father) and Greek (Greek mother) descent. ... Tom Hanks in February 2004 Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actor famous for playing notable roles in many popular and critically acclaimed movies. ...

Literature

Encyclopedia of Multiculturalism. Ed. Susan Auerbach. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1994. REF E 184 .A1 E58 1994

The Bulgarian Americans by Claudia Carlson (Chelsea House, out of print, 1990) ISBN: 087754865X

Peter Menikoff: The Story of a Bulgarian Boy in the Great American Melting Pot by Peter Dimitrov Yankoff (Cokesbury Press, out of print)

University of Minnesota. Immigration History Research Center. The Immigration History Research Center: A Guide to Collections. Compiled and edited by Suzanna Moody and Joel Wurl; foreword by Rudolph J. Vecoli. New York: Greenwood Press, 1991. xxiii, 446 pp., ill., bibliographies. LC call number: Z1361 .E4U58 1991 LH&G; MRR Alc LC control number: 91016262

Nikolay G. Altankov, The Bulgarian-Americans (Palo Alto, Calif.: Ragusan Press, 1979)