More Hispanics Are Calling Themselves White: What Is Driving Identity Shift?

Hispanics make up 16.7 percent of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, with an estimated 52 million residing in the country, making them the nation's largest ethnic minority. In fact, a recent report from the Pew Research Center found that the U.S.-born Latino population has been the fastest growing minority population and cited that since 1970, the Latino population has grown six-fold.

Despite this growing majority within a minority demographic, the actual identity of Hispanics in the United States is seeing a shift, according to newly reported findings. Research presented at the Population Association of America annual meeting, as reported by Pew Research, found that 2.5 million Americans of Hispanic origin change their race from "some other race" in 2000 to "white" in 2010 and 1.3 million changed their race from "white" to "some other race."

“Do Americans change their race? Yes, millions do,” said study co-author Carolyn A. Liebler, a University of Minnesota sociologist who worked with Census Bureau researchers, in a press release. “And this varies by group.”

By dictionary definition, Hispanic means a Spanish-speaking individual living in the United States hailing from Latin American origin. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the term Hispanic does not refer to race but to origin. As such, Hispanics can be divided into racial categories, including: White, Black, American Indian & Alaska Native and Asian & Pacific Islander.

The Pew Research Center also found that on the 2010 census form, as reported by a new Census report, one-third of Hispanics selected "some other race" and of those who selected that, 44.3 percent wrote in Mexican, Mexican American or Mexico; 22.7 percent wrote Hispanic, Hispano or Hispana; and 10 percent wrote in Latin American, Latino or Latin.

A previous Pew survey looking into Latino identity preference found that most prefer to be identified by their country of origin (i.e. Mexican, Dominican or Colombian) as opposed to one lump sum category. As for the age-old debate over Hispanic versus Latino, the survey found that majority do not have a preference but amongst those who do, the pan-ethnic term "Hispanic" is preferred two-to-one over "Latino."