South African Americans 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 ...

who have full or partial ancestry from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. As of 2012, there were approximately 80,000 people born in South Africa who were living in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

(according to the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

). As of 2019, there were approximately 85,000 people born in South Africa who were living in the

Demography

The majority of overseas South Africans live in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, countries with similar cultural and linguistic heritage to many South Africans, as well as similar climates and latitude positioning. There were also a large number of South African immigrants that went to the US. Many White South Africans, both before and after the end of apartheid, emigrated to Midwestern states such as

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, has a large population of

South African Jews The history of the Jews in South Africa began during the period of Portuguese exploration in the early modern era, though a permanent presence was not established until the beginning of Dutch colonisation in the region. During the period of ...

. Also, a number of South Africans live in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and Mid-Atlantic states such as

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 to ...

. Most South African immigrants in the US are White people of European origin. Of the 82,000 South Africans that were living in this country between 2008 and 2009, about 11,000 of them were Black South Africans. In the 2000 Census, 509 South African Americans reported their ethnic origins as Zulu. The majority of these immigrants are English speaking, with a moderate proportion of these being

. In the US, South Africans in general—both white and black—live in the US individually, rather than in communities of South African Americans.Everyculture: South African American
Posted by Judson Knight and Lorna Mabunda. Retrieved September 2, 2012, to 2:50pm. One area with many South Africans in the US is

San Diego, California 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 Stat ...

, while smaller populations reside elsewhere in the Western United States, including the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

. There are 28,400 Afrikaans language speakers in the US, recorded in 2016.

South African-born population

South African-born population in the US since 2010:PLACE OF BIRTH FOR THE FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES. Universe: Foreign-born population excluding population born at sea. 2017 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates
Factfinder.com

Organizations

Indaba ("discussion" in Zulu) is an example of an organization set up by South Africans to promote community involvement. It was founded in the 1990s and sponsors community events and activities. In addition, this organization allows the exchange of information through a web site and a mailing list, keeping South Africans informed about international and local events. The South African consulate in Chicago has close ties with many expatriates and hosts regular events and speakers, including an annual celebration of Freedom Day on 27 April. In 2001, the hosts founded the African Group of the U.S. Women's Action to boost the knowledge and understanding of South Africa among Americans. The South Africans are also in many other forums, such as informal parties, religious activities and rugby matches.
Posted by Tracy Steffes.

Notable people

Adam Friedland Adam Dean Friedland ( ; born April 10, 1987) is an American stand-up comedian, talk-show host and podcaster based in New York City. He is best known as a host of the comedy podcast ''The Adam Friedland Show'' and its predecessor ''Cum Town''. E ...

, comedian *

Adam Rose Raymond John Leppan (born 20 July 1979) is a South African retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE under the ring name Adam Rose. Making his debut on the South African independent circuit in 1995, Leppan signed with ...

, professional wrestler * Andrew Parkinson, soccer player *

Andrew Pattison Andrew Pattison (born 30 January 1949) is a former South African-born Rhodesian and later Zimbabwean tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking was world No. 24, which he reached on 24 September 1974. Pattison won four singles tourna ...

, tennis player *

Angela Hawken Angela Hawken is a professor of public policy and director of Litmus at the Marron Institute of Urban Management at New York University. Her research focuses primarily on drugs, crime, and corruption, and combines experimental and quantitative ...

, academic *

Arnold Vosloo Arnold Vosloo (born 16 June 1962) is a South African-American actor. He is famous for roles such as Imhotep in '' The Mummy'' and ''The Mummy Returns'', Colonel Coetzee in ''Blood Diamond'', Pik van Cleef in ''Hard Target'', Dr. Peyton Westlak ...

, actor *

Ben Viljoen Benjamin Johannes "Ben" Viljoen (7 September 1869 – 14 January 1917) was an Afrikaner-American Consul, soldier, farmer, Maderista, and Boer general. Viljoen was born in a cave in the Wodehouse district of the Cape Colony to Susanna Magdalen ...

, Boer general, politician and author *

Candice Pillay Candice Pillay (born June 10, 1981) is a South African singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles. She is best known for writing songs for artists including Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, Calvin Harris, Christina Aguilera, Dr. Dre, Eminem, ScHoolboy Q, ...

, singer, songwriter *

Caron Bernstein Caron Bernstein (born 16 August 1970) is a South African model, actress and singer. Biography Caron Bernstein was born in Johannesburg. She majored in painting while studying at the School of the Arts in Johannesburg. At the age of fourteen ...

, model and actress * Charlize Theron, model and actress *

Cliff Drysdale Eric Clifford Drysdale (born 26 May 1941) is a South African former tennis player. After a career as a highly ranked professional player in the 1960s and early 1970s, he became a well-known tennis announcer. Drysdale won the singles title at t ...

, tennis player *

Colin Cowie Colin Andrew Wilkie Cowie (born 3 January 1962) is an African-born American lifestyle advisor, author, interior designer and party planner. Biography Colin Cowie was born in Kitwe, Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (now Zambia), and educ ...

, lifestyle guru * Da L.E.S, hip hop artist and record producer * Daniel Mindel, cinematographer * Dave Matthews, musician *

Dave Wittenberg Dave Wittenberg, sometimes credited as Dave Lelyveld, is a South African-born American voice actor and scriptwriter. Early life Wittenberg was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was raised in the Los Angeles area. Career Wittenberg voices ...

, anime and video game voice actor *

David DeCastro David William DeCastro (born January 11, 1990) is a former American football guard. He played college football for Stanford University, and earned unanimous All-American honors. The Pittsburgh Steelers selected him in the first round of the 20 ...

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player * David O. Sacks, entrepreneur *

Denise Scott Brown Denise Scott Brown (née Lakofski; born October 3, 1931) is an American architect, planner, writer, educator, and principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates in Philadelphia. Scott Brown and her husband and partner, Robert Venturi, ...

, architect and urban planner *

Doja Cat Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini (born October 21, 1995), known professionally as Doja Cat ( ), is an American rapper and singer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began making and releasing music on SoundCloud as a teenager. Her song ...

, singer and rapper *

Earl Sweatshirt Thebe Neruda Kgositsile (born February 24, 1994), also known by his stage name Earl Sweatshirt, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Kgositsile was originally known by the moniker Sly Tendencies when he began rapping in 2008, ...

, rapper * Elizabeth Furse, US politician *

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The ...

, entrepreneur * Embeth Davidtz, actress *

Gary Barber Gary Barber (born 1957) is a South African-born American film producer. Barber was the chairman and CEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He is also co-founder of Spyglass Entertainment. Biography Barber was born to a Jewish family in Johannesburg, So ...

, producer *

Goapele Goapele Mohlabane (; born July 11, 1977), is an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. Her name means ''to move forward'' in Setswana, a Southern African language. Early life Goapele's South African father Douglas Mohlabane was an exiled po ...

, rhythm & blues artist *

Gregory Alan Isakov Gregory Alan Isakov (born October 19, 1979) is a South African-born singer-songwriter currently based in Boulder, Colorado. He and his family immigrated to the United States in 1986 and he was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Isakov's musi ...

, singer-songwriter * Jason Lewis, state politician *

Johan Kriek Johan Christiaan Kriek (born April 5, 1958) is a South African-American retired tennis player and founder of the Global Water Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to delivering clean water to the world's neediest communities. He won ...

, tennis player *

Jonathan Butler Jonathan Kenneth Butler (born 10 October 1961) is a South African singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music is often classified as R&B, jazz fusion or worship music. Biography Born and raised in Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa, during Apa ...

, musician, guitarist *

Jonathan Westphal Jonathan Westphal (born 1951) is an academic philosopher working on the philosophy of mind, metaphysics, philosophy of science, logic and philosophy of language and aesthetics. More recently he has become interested in issues in the philosophy o ...

, philosopher * Jordan Taylor, professional racing driver * Julian Krinsky, American, former South African, professional tennis player *

Justin Gabriel Phillip Paul Lloyd (born 3 March 1981) is a South African-American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE, under the ring name Justin Gabriel. He is currently wrestling under the ring name P. J. Black. A second-generation ...

, professional wrestler *

Katrina Pierson Katrina Lanette Pierson (née Shaddix; born ) is an American activist and communications consultant. She was the national spokesperson for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Early life and education Pierson was born in Kansas to a whit ...

, CNN and Fox News Contributor * Kongos brothers, musicians *

Liezel Huber Liezel Huber (née Horn; born 21 August 1976) is a South African-American retired tennis player who represented the United States internationally since August 2007. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Blac ...

, tennis player *

Lyndon Rive Lyndon Rive (born 22 January 1977) is a South African businessman known as the co-founder of SolarCity, and its CEO until 2016. SolarCity is a provider of photovoltaic systems and related services. Rive co-founded SolarCity with his brother Pet ...

, businessman, cousin of Elon Musk *

Madelaine Petsch Madelaine Grobbelaar Petsch (born August 18, 1994) is an American actress and YouTuber. She is known for portraying Cheryl Blossom on The CW television series '' Riverdale'' and Marissa in ''F the Prom''. Early life Petsch was born on August 1 ...

, actress * Mark Mathabane, author * Mike Connell, professional footballer * Nana Meriwether,

Miss USA 2012 Miss USA 2012 was the 61st Miss USA pageant, held on June 3, 2012, at The AXIS in Las Vegas, Nevada and it was televised live on NBC. Alyssa Campanella of California crowned her successor Olivia Culpo of Rhode Island at the end of the event. This ...

Patrick Soon-Shiong Patrick Soon-Shiong (born July 29, 1952) is a Chinese-South African transplant surgeon, billionaire businessman, bioscientist, and media proprietor. He is the inventor of the drug Abraxane, which became known for its efficacy against lung, bre ...

, entrepreneur * Richard W. Fisher, politician and banker *

Ricky Taylor Ricky Taylor (born August 3, 1989) is an American racing driver, most notably in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. His career highlights include an IMSA Series Championship in 2017, as well as marquee wins at the Daytona 24, 12 Hours o ...

, professional racing driver * Robert Hamerton-Kelly, theologian *

Robert Schneider Robert Peter Schneider (born March 9, 1971) is an American musician and mathematician. He is the lead singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer of rock/pop band the Apples in Stereo and has produced and performed on albums by Neutral Milk H ...

, musician and producer * Robert Z. Lawrence, economist * Rodney Howard Browne, theologian and author *

Roy Wegerle Roy Wegerle (born March 19, 1964) is a former United States men's national soccer team, United States international association football, soccer player who appeared for the national team 41 times between 1992 and 1998. Born and raised in South Afr ...

, soccer player *

Sasha Pieterse Sasha Pieterse-Sheaffer (; born February 17, 1996) is a South African-born American actress, singer and songwriter. She is known for her role as Alison DiLaurentis in the Freeform series '' Pretty Little Liars'' and its spin-off '' Pretty Litt ...

, actress *

Selema Masekela Selema "Sal" Mabena Masekela (born August 28, 1971) is an American television host, sports commentator, actor and singer. Life and career Masekela was born in Los Angeles, the son of a Haitian mother and South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela. ...

, sports broadcaster, son of

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for ...

* Stelio Savante, actor * Stephen Simpson, professional racing driver *

Styles P David R. Styles (born November 28, 1974), better known by his stage name Styles P (also known mononymously as Styles), is an American rapper, best known as a member of hip hop group the Lox, alongside childhood friends Sheek Louch and Jadakiss ...

, rapper *

Tammin Sursok Tammin Sursok (born 19 August 1983) is a South African-born Australian actress and singer. She is known for her roles on television as Dani Sutherland on '' Home and Away'', Colleen Carlton on ''The Young and the Restless'', and Jenna Marsha ...

, actor, singer, composer and guitarist *

Trevor Denman Trevor Denman (born 24 September 1952) is a South African American sportscaster and public-address announcer specializing in Thoroughbred horse racing. Background Denman was born in Germiston, Gauteng, South Africa. A part-time jockey and exe ...

, thoroughbred race caller *

Trevor Rabin Trevor Charles Rabin (; born ) is a South African rock musician and composer. Born into a musical family and raised in Johannesburg, Rabin took up the piano and guitar at an early age and became a session musician, playing and producing with a va ...

, musician *

Tshego Tshegofatso Ketshabile, known professionally as Tshego is a South African-American singer-songwriter. He gained prominence in 2016, after releasing his hit single "Hennessy" and release of his debut album ''Pink Panther'' (2019). Early life ...

, musician *

Victor Nogueira Victor Nogueira (born July 17, 1959 in Mozambique) is a retired American soccer goalkeeper. Nogueira spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League, but gained his greatest recognition in over twenty seasons in three indoor leagues, the Ma ...

, soccer goalkeeper * Zinzi Clemmons, writer

References

External links

EveryCulture — South African-Americans
{{South African diaspora Southern Africans in the United States

Demography

South African-born population

Organizations

Notable people

See also

References

External links