Who are the English people and where do they originally come from?
The English people are an ethnic group native to England who descend primarily from two historical populations: the West Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons, Frisians, and Jutes) who settled eastern and southern Britain from southern Denmark and northern Germany in the 5th century AD, and the Romano-British Brittonic speakers already living there. Genetic studies also trace English ancestry to Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, Neolithic Anatolian farmers, and Yamnaya Steppe pastoralists.
What is the origin of the name 'English' and 'England'?
The name 'English' derives from the Angles, one of the Germanic peoples who settled in Britain around the 5th century AD. The Old English term 'Angelcynn' meant 'Angle kin' or 'English people'. England itself comes from 'Engla land', meaning 'Land of the Angles'.
When was England unified as a nation?
England was formally constituted as a unified nation on the 12th of July 927, when Æthelstan of Wessex concluded the Treaty of Eamont Bridge, bringing all Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and the Danelaw under a single rule. England remained permanently unified after 954.
How did the Norman Conquest change who was considered English?
After the Norman Conquest of 1066, the word 'English' came to include all natives of England regardless of whether they were of Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian, or Celtic origin, to distinguish them from the French-speaking Norman invaders. The Normans were gradually assimilated, and by the 14th century both rulers and subjects regarded themselves as English and spoke the English language.
How many people of English descent live in the United States?
In the 2020 United States census, 46.5 million Americans self-identified as having some English origins, representing 19.8% of the White American population. Demographers consider this an undercount because many people of English descent identify simply as American.
What is the difference between being English and being British?
England and Britain are distinct identities, though they are frequently confused. England is one of four constituent nations of the United Kingdom; Britain refers to the political union. In the 2021 UK census, 58.4% of respondents identified as British while only 14.9% identified as English. Researcher Krishan Kumar noted that the slip of saying 'English, I mean British' is made almost exclusively by English people themselves and by foreigners, not by Welsh or Scottish people.