Hungarian Americans (, ) are Americans of Hungarian 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.
U.S. cities with large Hungarian American populations are largely concentrated in Ohio (203,417), New York (157,863), California (133,988), Pennsylvania (132,184), New Jersey (115,615), Michigan (98,036), and Florida (96,885). One of the largest concentrations is in the Greater Cleveland metropolitan area in Northeast Ohio; at one time, the presence of Hungarians within Cleveland was so great that the city was known as the "American Debrecen," with one of the highest concentrations of Hungarians in the world.
History In 1583, Hungarian poet Stephanus Parmenius joined Humphrey Gilbert's expedition to North America with the intention of writing a chronicle of the voyage and its discoveries. Parmenius reached Newfoundland, likely becoming the first Hungarian in the New World.
Hungarians have long settled in the New World, such as Michael de Kovats, the founder of United States Cavalry, active in the American 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 in Wisconsin in 1840, was the first Hungarian to settle permanently in the United StatesBrian McGinty, Strong Wine: The Life and Legend of Agoston Haraszthy (Stanford University Press, 1998), 1. and the second Hungarian to write a book about the United States in his native language.Útazás Éjszakamerikáában (Travels in North America), Pest, 1846, 2d ed., Pest, 1850; McGinty, Strong Wine: The Life and Legend of Agoston Haraszthy, 101. After he moved to California in the Gold Rush of 1849, Haraszthy founded the Buena Vista Vineyards in Sonoma (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."Pinney, Thomas, A History of Wine in America (University of California Press, 1989), 269; McGinty, Strong Wine: The Life and Legend of Agoston Haraszthy, 1.
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 the Hungarian 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.Steven Béla Vardy, "Lajos Kossuth and the Slavery Question in America," East European Quarterly (2005) 39#4 pp 449-464. 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.Istvn Korn'l Vida, Hungarian Emigres in the American Civil War: A History and Biographical Dictionary (2011) excerpt and text search
An increase of immigration from Hungary was also observed after World War II and The Holocaust, a significant percentage of whom were Jewish.
Andrew Grove (1936–2016), one of the three founders of Intel Corporation summarized his first twenty years of life in Hungary in his memoirs:
In 1956, Hungary was again under the power of a foreign state, this time the Soviet Union, and again, Hungarians rose up in revolution. Like the 1848 revolution, the Hungarian 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 the end of communism in Hungary during the 1990s to 2000s.
Hungarian Roma musicians also immigrated to the United States.
Demographics
According to the 2010 U.S. census, there were 1,563,081 persons of Hungarian ancestry in the United States as of 2006, with − according to 2000 census data − 1,398,724 of them indicating Hungarian as their first ancestry. 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: State Population 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. It has often been said that Metropolitan Cleveland has the most Hungarians outside of Hungary itself. Once known as "Little Hungary," the Buckeye–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 as Shaker Heights. In their place arrived African 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 metropolitan New York City, Buffalo, New York, Chicago, Illinois, Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas and Virginia Beach, Virginia.
The highest percentage of Hungarian Americans in any American town, village or city is in Kiryas Joel, New York (the great majority of its residents are Hasidic Jews belonging to the Satmar Hasidic dynasty, which originated in Hungary) where 18.9% of the total population claimed Hungarian as their ancestry. Other places with over 10% are Fairport Harbor, Ohio (14.1%) and West Pike Run Township, Pennsylvania (11.7%). 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 in New York City. Wallingford, Connecticut, has a vibrant Hungarian-American Club and community. Columbus has a Hungarian American neighborhood named Hungarian Village. The Fifth Ward of New Brunswick, New Jersey remains the traditional heart of the Hungarian community.
Hungarian-born population Hungarian-born population in the U.S. since 2010:
YearNumber 2010 78,368 2011 77,485 2012 69,154 2013 74,213 2014 65,845 2015 70,255 2016 62,296
By state totals
Estimated population by state according to the 2018 American Community Survey.
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By percentage of total population
Estimated percentage of the population by state according to the 2018 American Community Survey rounded to the nearest hundredth of a percent.
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Notable people
In entertainment, Szőke Szakáll, known as S. Z. Sakall, was a Hungarian-Jewish film character actor. He was in many films including In the Good Old Summertime, Lullaby of Broadway, Christmas in Connecticut and Casablanca in which he played Carl, the head waiter. The comic style of Ernie Kovacs influenced numerous television comedy programs for years to come. The Fox Film Corporation was formed by William Fox. Comedian, actor and producer Louis 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. Actress Vilma Bánky starred in numerous silent films opposite Hollywood actors such as Rudolph Valentino and Ronald Colman. Actor Adrien Brody's mother was Hungarian. Actor Dean Norris most known for playing the DEA agent Hank Schrader, in the critically acclaimed American crime drama series Breaking Bad is also of Hungarian descent from his father's side. Actress Drew Barrymore's mother is Hungarian.
Actor Tony Curtis has been in over 100 films, including his iconic roles in Some Like It Hot and The Defiant Ones. Actress Jessica Szohr of Gossip Girl is of partial Hungarian descent. Actor Peter Lorre became famous after his role as a murderer in Fritz Lang's M and went on to play many antagonistic villain roles. Actor Béla Lugosi played Count Dracula in the stage version and subsequent film of Bram Stoker's classic. Academy Award winner Paul Lukas is perhaps best remembered for his acclaimed role in the film Watch on the Rhine and for his portrayal as Professor Aronnax in Walt Disney's 1954 film version of Jules Verne's 1870 novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas.
Actress Ilona Massey was frequently billed as "the new Dietrich" and famously played the role of a femme fatale in Love Happy. Sex symbol Zsa Zsa Gabor was perhaps better known for her status as a socialite and nine marriages than her stint as an actress. Her younger sister Eva Gabor was known for her role on the television show Green Acres, and her older sister Magda Gabor famously helped save the lives of 240 Jewish families during the World War II because of her relationship with a Portuguese ambassador. Harry Houdini, considered by many to be the greatest magician of all time, was an expert escapologist, introducing it as an art form. He was also a major critic and investigator of Spiritualists.
In filmmaking, Vilmos Zsigmond was nominated for four Academy Awards for Cinematography (won the Oscar for Close Encounters of the Third Kind). Laszlo Kovacs, most famous for his work on Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces, won three Lifetime Achievement Awards for cinematography. Ernest Laszlo, who worked on over 60 films, won an Academy Award for cinematography for 1965's Ship of Fools. Andrew Laszlo worked first in television (Ed Sullivan's Beatles at Shea Stadium and the miniseries Shogun with Richard Chamberlain) and made over 30 films including the cult classic The Warriors.
Director Frank Darabont, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director three times, is most popular for Stephen King adaptations, including The Shawshank Redemption, ranked among audience polls as one of the greatest films of all time. Michael Curtiz was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Directing four times, finally winning for Casablanca, considered by many critic polls to be one of the greatest films ever made. George Cukor, who was of Jewish descent, won an Academy Award for Best Director for My Fair Lady. King Vidor was nominated for the same Academy Award five times. Independent directors and the films that have brought them acclaim include Nimród Antal for his cult film Kontroll; Peter Medak, infamous for his B-movies; and László Benedek for the Golden Globe Award-winning film rendition of Death of a Salesman.
Joe Eszterhas wrote the screenplay for Basic Instinct, dubbed a cult classic. Andrew G. Vajna produced the Die Hard, Rambo and The Terminator sequels. Ladislas Farago wrote numerous books on World War II espionage, including a screenplay for the film Tora! Tora! Tora!. Animator Gábor Csupó created the Rugrats series, a popular children's show.