What is an American? Not in some social-historical sense. Just practically: Are there around 350 million Americans or more than a billion? People in Maine and Idaho call themselves Americans. But so do people all across what you might call “the Americas,” way down through Chile and Argentina, some of whom consider it pretty typical that a certain nation would arrogate that description all to itself. Arguments about this have gone on for centuries — including here in the United States of America. From the nation’s very beginnings, citizens worried about that title: It communicated a sense of union and a very general location, but it wasn’t much of a name. Many, many suggestions were made for fixing this. But is such stuff even fixable? Look around the world, and you’ll find similar tangles of names almost everywhere — from Micronesia to Guinea, Ecuador and Equatorial Guinea. Stay in touch: Like this email? Forward it to a friend and help us grow. Loved a story? Hated it? Write us a letter at magazine@nytimes.com. Did a friend forward this to you? Sign up here to get the magazine newsletter.
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