Panamanian Americans ( es, panameño-americano, or ) are

Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...

Panamanian Panamanians (Spanish: ''Panameños'') are people identified with Panama, a transcontinental country in Central America (a region within North America) and South America, whose connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For ...

descent. The

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

nian population at the 2010 Census was 165,456. The largest populations of Panamanians reside in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of ...

. Many Panamanians reside near army based cities. These cities include Fayetteville, NC -

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cu ...

Killeen, TX Killeen is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 153,095, making it the 19th-most populous city in Texas and the largest of the three principal cities of Bell County. It is the principal cit ...

Fort Hood Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquarter ...

Columbus, GA Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee Cou ...

Fort Stewart Fort Stewart is a United States Army post in the U.S. state of Georgia. It lies primarily in Liberty and Bryan counties, but also extends into smaller portions of Evans, Long and Tattnall counties. The population was 11,205 at the 2000 census. ...

Colorado Springs, CO Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

- Fort Carson, Clarksville, TN -

Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Divi ...

, El Paso, TX -

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of William Wallace Smith Bliss, LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President ...

and in the vicinity of

Fort Dix Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air Force ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

. Cities home to Navy and Air Force bases also lay claim to a concentration of Panamanians. These include

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic ...

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

and

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

History

The number of Panamanians who emigrated to the US prior to 1960 is unknown, as the Census Bureau included them in the category of "others". By the beginning of the 20th century, the number of immigrants entering the US from Panama was approximately 1,000 per year. After World War II, the number of Panamanians entering the U.S. country decreased but this changed in 1965, when immigration law allowed a maximum of 120,000 annual immigrants in the U.S. This law favored a remarkable migration from Panama, which made it one of the main migratory flows from Central America to the United States in the 1970s. Over 86,000 American people of Panamanian descent were registered in the 1990 US Census. Panamanian American. A Countries and Their Cultures: Panamanian American, by Rosetta Sharp Dean
Retrieved July 24, 2011.

Demographics

States

The 10 states with the largest population of Panamanians (Source: 2010 Census): #

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

- 28,741 #

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

- 28,200 #

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

- 17,768 #

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

- 13,994 #

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

- 8,678 #

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

- 7,180 #

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

- 5,708 #

- 5,431 #

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

- 5,341 #

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

- 3,234

Areas

The largest population of Panamanians are located in the following areas (Source: Census 2010): # New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA MSA - 29,619 #

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL MSA The Miami metropolitan area (also known as Greater Miami, the Tri-County Area, South Florida, or the Gold Coast) is the ninth largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the 34th largest metropolitan area in the world with a ...

- 13,529 #

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgin ...

- 7,322 #

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA MSA Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Co ...

- 6,353 #

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA MSA Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ...

- 5,599 #

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL MSA The Orlando metropolitan area, commonly referred to as Greater Orlando, Metro Orlando, Central Florida as well as for U.S. Census purposes as the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, is a metropolitan area in the ...

- 4,234 # Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA - 3,772 # Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX MSA - 3,350 # Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA - 3,162 #

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Val ...

- 2,841 # San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX MSA - 2,663 #

Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic ...

- 2,658 #

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA The Inland Empire (IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County to the west. It includes the cities ...

- 2,556 #

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA MSA The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

- 2,384 #

Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI MSA The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and ...

- 2,300 #

San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA MSA San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the ...

- 2,144 #

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA MSA The Seattle metropolitan area is an urban conglomeration in the U.S. state of Washington that comprises Seattle, its surrounding satellites and suburbs. It contains the three most populous counties in the state— King, Snohomish, and Pier ...

- 2,002 # Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA - 1,877 #

Fayetteville, NC MSA The Fayetteville Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is an area consisting of three counties – Cumberland, Harnett, and Hoke – in eastern North Carolina, anchored by the city of Fayette ...

- 1,788 #

Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH MSA Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern ar ...

- 1,749

US communities with largest population of people of Panamanian ancestry

The top 25 US communities with the highest populations of Panamanian (Source: Census 2010) #

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

- 22,353 #

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

- 2,131 #

San Antonio, TX ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

- 1,602 # Jacksonville, FL - 1,165 # Fayetteville, NC - 1,154 #

Miami, FL Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at the ...

- 1,113 #

Houston, TX Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

- 1,076 # San Diego, CA - 1,018 #

- 998 #

Chicago, IL (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

- 883 #

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morg ...

- 742 #

Boston, MA Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

# Hillcrest Heights, FL - 1.57% # Pemberton Heights, NJ - 1.40% # Indian Creek, FL - 4.65% # Lisbon, FL - 1.92%

US communities with high percentages of people of Panamanian ancestry

US communities with the highest percentages of Panamanians as a percent of total population (Source: Census 2010) #

Virginia Beach, VA Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

- 702 # Miramar, FL - 700 #

- 696 #

Pembroke Pines, FL Pembroke Pines is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is located 22 miles (35 km) north of Miami. The population of Pembroke Pines is 171,178 as of the 2020 census. It is a suburb of and the fourth-most populous ...

- 676 # Tampa, FL - 656 #

- 642 #

Newport News, VA Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Unit ...

- 615 #

Charlotte, NC Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

- 608 #

Austin, TX Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city i ...

- 607 #

Orlando, FL Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

- 596 # Clarksville, TN - 588 # El Paso, TX - 551 #

Dallas, TX Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wi ...

- 458 #

Philadelphia, PA Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

- 737

Notable people

Tatyana Ali Tatyana Marisol Ali is an American actress and singer best known for her role as Ashley Banks on the NBC sitcom ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' from 1990 to 1996. She starred as Tyana Jones on the TV One original series '' Love That Girl!'', a ...

- actress and singer * Linda Martín Alcoff - philosopher * Ra Un Nefer Amen - founder of the Pan-African religious organization Ausar Auset Society, dedicated to providing Afrocentric-based spiritual training to people of African descent *

Cirie Fields Cirie Tiffany Fields (born July 18, 1970) is an American nurse and reality TV personality who competed on four seasons of '' Survivor''. She first appeared in 2006 on '' Survivor: Panama'', finishing in 4th place. In 2008, she returned and placed ...

- American reality TV contestant, famously known for competing on ‘Survivor’. * Nancy Ames - American folk singer and songwriter; granddaughter of former President of Panama Ricardo Joaquín Alfaro *

Gwen Ifill Gwendolyn L. Ifill ( ; September 29, 1955 – November 14, 2016) was an American journalist, television newscaster, and author. In 1999, she became the first African-American woman to host a nationally televised U.S. public affairs program ...

- American Peabody Award-winning journalist, television newscaster, and author, daughter of a Panamanian immigrant of Bajan descent *

Braulio Baeza Braulio Baeza (born March 26, 1940) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey and one of the master Thoroughbred jockeys of our time. In 1963, he was the first Latin American jockey to win the Kentucky Derby. Baeza began his ra ...

- American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey * Cliff Clinkscales - basketball player * Tyson Beckford - actor and model *

Uri Berenguer Uri Berenguer-Ramos (born 1982 in Panama) is a play-by-play announcer for the Boston Red Sox Spanish Beisbol Network. Berenguer joined the Spanish Beisbol Network in 2000 as a statistician, engineer, pregame and postgame host, and play-by-play an ...

- play-by-play announcer for the Boston Red Sox Spanish Beisbol Network *

A. R. Bernard Alfonso R. Bernard, Sr. (born August 10, 1953) is the founder, CEO and pastor of the Christian Cultural Center Megachurch in Brooklyn, New York. In the 2020s, the CCC is a 37,000+ member church that sits on an -acre campus in Brooklyn, New York. ...

- founder, Senior Pastor and CEO of

Christian Cultural Center The Christian Cultural Center (CCC) is a non-denominational Christian megachurch located in the Starrett City section of Brooklyn, New York City, with a satellite campus in Smithtown on Long Island. It is the largest Evangelical Evangeli ...

(CCC), in Brooklyn, New York; born in Panama and emigrated to New York with his family when he was four *

Aloe Blacc Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally by his stage name Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for his singles "I Need a Dollar", " The Man", which topped the charts in th ...

- singer * Roberto Blades - Panamanian salsa singer *

Rubén Blades Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948), known professionally as Rubén Blades (, but in Panama and within the family), is a Panamanian musician, singer, composer, actor, activist, and politician, performing musically most often in th ...

- salsa singer *

Jordana Brewster Jordana Brewster (born April 26, 1980) is a Panamanian-American actress. Best known for her role as Mia Toretto in the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise, she made her acting debut in an episode of ''All My Children'' in 1995 and next took on the recu ...

- actress * Pop Smoke - rapper form New York; of Panamanian and Jamaican descent *

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...

(1966–1997) - American singer-songwriter and guitarist; son of musician

Tim Buckley Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an American musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years. Buckley began his career based in folk music, but his subsequent albums experimented with ...

; his mother was a Panama Canal Zonian of mixed

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, American and

nian descent *

Rod Carew Rodney Cline Carew (born October 1, 1945) is a Panamanian former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman, second baseman and designated hitter from 1967 to 1985 for the Minnesota Twins ...

- Baseball Hall of Famer * Eddie Castro - Panamanian-born jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing * El Chombo - American-born Panamanian producer and artist *

Billy Cobham William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He was inducted into the ''Mode ...

- Panamanian American jazz drummer, composer and bandleader; Panamanian born, American raised allmusic Billy Cobham Biography/ref> * Emayatzy Corinealdi - American film and television actress * Ed Cota - American professional basketball player *

Melissa De Sousa Melissa De Sousa is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Shelby in the 1999 romantic comedy-drama film '' The Best Man'', its 2013 sequel ''The Best Man Holiday'' and the 2022 Peacock series '' The Best Man: The Final Chapters' ...

- actress *

Ruben Douglas Ruben Enrique Douglas (born October 30, 1979) is a Panamanian-American professional basketball player. He is a 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 210 lb (95 kg) point guard-shooting guard. High school Douglas played high school basketball at Bel ...

- professional basketball player *

Roberto Durán Roberto Durán Samaniego (born June 16, 1951) is a Panamanian former professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 2001. He held world championships in four weight classes: lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight and middleweight, as ...

- Boxing Hall of Famer *

Adrian Fenty Adrian Malik Fenty (born December 6, 1970) is an American politician who served as the sixth mayor of the District of Columbia. He served one term, from 2007 to 2011, losing his bid for reelection at the primary level to Democrat Vincent C. Gra ...

- American politician who served as the sixth mayor of the District of Columbia * Gary Forbes - Panamanian professional basketball player who plays for the Houston Rockets *

Hulk Hogan Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...

- professional wrestler; of Italian, French and Panamanian descent * Sam Hoger - American mixed martial artist * David Iglesias - American attorney from Albuquerque, New Mexico *

Shoshana Johnson Shoshana Nyree Johnson (born January 18, 1973) is a Panamanian-born former United States soldier, and the first black female prisoner of war in the military history of the United States. Johnson was a Specialist of the U.S. Army 507th Mainte ...

- former United States soldier; first black or Latina prisoner of war in the military history of the US; Panamanian born and American raised *

Clark Kent Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

* Olga F. Linares - Panamanian–American academic anthropologist and archaeologist *

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

- American politician, long-time

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

from

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

from 1987-2018, and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Republican nominee for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

; was born in Panama to parents who were serving in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

, but raised in the United States * Scott A. Muller - American-born Panamanian Olympic slalom canoer *

Sigrid Nunez Sigrid Nunez is an American writer, best known for her novels. Her seventh novel, '' The Friend'', won the 2018 National Book Award for Fiction. She is on the faculty of the MFA Creative Writing Program at Hunter College (CUNY). Biography Sigri ...

- American writer *

Demitrius Omphroy Demitrius Irving Tolentino Omphroy (born May 30, 1989) is a painter with a contemporary expressionistic style and a former footballer who played as a defender and a midfielder. Born and raised in the United States, which he represented at u ...

- American-born Panamanian footballer; of Panamanian and Filipino descent *

Jeremy Renner Jeremy Lee Renner (born January 7, 1971) is an American actor and musician. He began his career by appearing in independent films such as '' Dahmer'' (2002) and '' Neo Ned'' (2005), then supporting roles in bigger films, such as '' S.W.A.T.'' ...

- American actor; maternal grandmother was born in Colón *

J. August Richards Jaime Augusto Richards III (born August 28, 1973), commonly known as J. August Richards, is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Charles Gunn on The WB television series ''Angel'' and Mike Peterson on ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ...

- American actor; known for his portrayal of

vampire hunter Vampire hunter or vampire slayer is a fictional occupation in history and fiction which specializes in finding vampires, and sometimes other supernatural creatures. A vampire hunter is usually described as having extensive knowledge of vampires a ...

Charles Gunn on the WB cult television series ''

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles ...

''; of Panamanian descent *

Mariano Rivera Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and "Sandman", he spent most ...

- New York Yankees pitcher * Michele Ruiz - broadcaster and founder of SaberHacer.com * Christian Duke - American lawyer and activist * Clarence Samuels (1900–1983) - first photographer of Latino American of African descent in the United States Coast Guard and first to command a cutter *

Tessa Thompson Tessa Lynne Thompson (born October 3, 1983) is an American actress. She began her professional acting career with the Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company while studying at Santa Monica College. She appeared in productions of '' The Tempes ...

- American actress of Afro-Panamanian and Mexican descent * Daphne Rubin-Vega - Panamanian-born American dancer, singer-songwriter and actress. * Jorge Velásquez - thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey *

Nick Verreos Nick Verreos (born February 13, 1967 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American fashion designer, fashion commentator, former ''Project Runway'' contestant, educator and author. Early life and education Verreos was born in Missouri on February 13, 1 ...

- American fashion designer and contestant on the second season of the reality television program ''Project Runway''; Greek-American father and Panamanian mother * Juan Williams - journalist and political analyst * Anthony Michaels - tattoo artist