Umbrella terms referring to residents or citizens of the United States with Latin American ancestry. Latina is the feminine form of Latino and means a woman or girl. Use Latina(s) for a woman or women; use Latino(s) for a man or men. Latino is principally used west of the Mississippi, where it has displaced Chicano and Mexican American. In 2011, the Los Angeles Times amended its style guide to advise journalists to use Latino over Hispanic in virtually all circumstances “in keeping with the practices and sensibilities of residents of our region.”
Federal policy defines “Latino” not as a race, but as an ethnicity; it notes that Latinos can be of any race. The U.S. Census Bureau uses terms such as “Hispanic or Latino” and “non-Hispanic or Latino” in its survey questions on ethnicity.
See Chicana/Chicano, Chican@, Hispanic, Latin@, Latine and Latinx.
Updated March 2024