Hispanic Heritage Month - Ancestry

So Which Term is Correct? Hispanic, Latino, or Latinx?

Despite its name, National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the histories and achievements of two different and partially overlapping groups: 

• Hispanic refers to the people and cultural practices of Spain and its former colonies in Latin America and the Caribbean. Some people object to the use of Hispanic to describe individuals from Latin America because the term places too much importance on Spanish colonization and not enough on the achievements of Latin Americans.
• Latino/a or Latinx refers to the people and cultural practices of Latin America, regardless of colonial history. The term “Latino” originates from “Latinoamericano,” the Spanish word for Latin American. Because the term is gendered, some use the term Latino/a to be more gender inclusive, while others have adopted Latinx or Latine as gender-neutral alternatives.

Hispanic and Latino individuals have distinct origins, histories, and cultural traditions resulting from their unique ancestral journeys.

Honoring National Hispanic Heritage Month by Discovering Family Records

Whether you know a lot about your family history or you’re just starting to explore it, researching your family’s Hispanic heritage can create a more meaningful connection to your ancestral roots and deep cultural traditions. Hispanic Heritage Month can be a special time for learning and sharing family stories.

As you search for the records of your ancestors, keep an open mind about where you might find them. Your ancestors may have lived in Texas for many generations, as Eva Longoria discovered during Faces of America with Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., but you might learn that some family members relocated multiple times over the years. People frequently crisscrossed national and community borders, such as those who took part in the Bracero Program of 1942.

How to begin your research? If you’re just starting to explore your family history, these Ancestry^® resources may be helpful.

U.S. Record Collections

• The 1950 U.S. federal census, the most recent one available, can be a good place to start your research.
• The search category, Immigration & Emigration, contains many different collections, from naturalization documents to more than 5.8 million records of border crossings from Mexico to the U.S.

Mexican Record Collections

• If your family came to the U.S. after 1930, you might be able to find relatives in the 1930 Mexico Census.
• Other records in the Mexico Genealogy & Mexico Family History Resources section include civil records and Catholic church records. Both can be treasure troves of information for those of Hispanic descent. These records may identify birthdates, birthplaces, marriages, burials, occupations, and addresses.

Central American Collections

• We have millions of records and images available from nearly every country in Central America. Use the search page to focus on a specific country or use the filters in the card catalog to filter by country.
• The largest numbers of available birth, marriage, and death records are for Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and El Salvador.
• There are also early colonial census records (in Spanish) for El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Guatemala, as well as Mexico.

Latin American Records

• The Latin American Records group page provides access to millions of searchable records to further research on Hispanic and Latino ancestors. It’s a rich resource for vital records from across the continent: Peru, Chile, Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Columbia, and Paraguay. It also contains some Central American records for Panama, for example.

As you search through historical records, you may come across symbols and spelling that can be confusing. Keep an eye out for abbreviations like qe for “que” or Ma for “María.”  You may also find physical and ethnic descriptors in U.S. and international records which may be considered derogatory or are no longer used , such as indio, negro, blanco/español, mestizo, lobo, mulato, trigueño, pardo, castizo, and coyote. One person may be identified by different descriptors throughout their lifetime, so be careful not to assume that each record is for a different person.

Honoring Your Hispanic and Latino Heritage

Researching your Hispanic roots on Ancestry^® during National Hispanic Heritage Month is a great way to learn more about your family’s place in history. Start a free trial today to find records that connect to your family story. And if you’re interested in discovering what your genes suggest about specific ancestral regions in Mexico, for example, an AncestryDNA test could provide new insights.