Thai Americans ( th, ชาวอเมริกันเชื้อสายไทย; formerly referred to as Siamese Americans) are Americans of

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

ancestry.

History in the US

The

1930 Census The United States census of 1930, conducted by the Census Bureau one month from April 1, 1930, determined the resident population of the United States to be 122,775,046, an increase of 13.7 percent over the 106,021,537 persons enumerated during ...

recorded just 18 ‘Siamese’ Americans. According to the MPI Data Hub, there have been a total of 253,585 Thai people who have immigrated to the United States as of 2016. That year, they were 0.0057% of all immigrants. In comparing data from the MPI Data Hub to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are significant inconsistencies of total current population. According to the U.S. Census, there are currently 300,319 Thai people living in the United States today, with an error margin of +/- 14,326. Thai-US Citizen Population over time

Thai immigration to the United States proceeded very slowly. It began in earnest during and after the Vietnam War, in which Thailand was an ally of the US and South Vietnam. Records show that in the decade between 1960 and 1970, some 5,000 Thais immigrated to the United States. In the following decade, the number increased to 44,000. From 1981 to 1990, approximately 64,400 Thai citizens moved to the United States. The general trend of Thai immigration can be stated at a relatively steady rising pace save for the peak in 2006, which marks the dissolution of the Thai Parliament in February and a subsequent coup in the following September. From 2007 to 2008, numbers dip back down to regular rate until 2009, which proceeded a year of military and political turmoil due to the disconnect between the monarchic Royal Army and the relatively newly established democratic government in 2006. According to the 2000 census there were 150,093 Thais in the United States. In 2009, 304,160 US residents listed themselves as Thais.

Demographics

Los Angeles, California, has the largest Thai population outside of Asia. It is home to the world's first Thai Town. In 2002, it was estimated that over 80,000 Thais and Thai Americans live in Los Angeles. Other large or sizeable Thai communities are in Clark County, Nevada; Cook County, Illinois; Tarrant County, Texas; Orange County, California; San Bernardino County, California;

San Diego County, California 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 fi ...

; San Francisco, California; Fresno, California; Sacramento, California; King County, Washington;

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Albuquerque, NM; Queens, New York; Madison, Wisconsin; Seattle, Washington; and

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...

. The 2010 U.S. census counted 237,629 Thai Americans in the country, of whom 67,707 live in California.

Statistics

: Data from Migration Policy Institute Thai-born population: New legal permanent residents: Thais who acquire US citizenship:

Cultural influence on America

Thai Americans are famous for bringing Thai cooking to the United States. Thai cuisine is popular across the country. Even non-Thai restaurants may include Thai-influenced dishes on their menu like Pad Thai and Thai tea. Thai culture's prominence in the United States is disproportionate to their numbers. The stationing of American troops in Thailand during the Vietnam War exposed the GIs to Thai culture and cuisine, and many of them came home with Thai wives.

Political involvement

In 2003, two Thai Americans ran in municipal elections, one in Anaheim, California, the other in

Houston, Texas 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 in ...

. Both lost. However, on November 7, 2006, Gorpat Henry Charoen became the first US official of Thai origin, when he was elected to the La Palma City Council in California. On December 18, 2007, he became the first Thai American mayor of a US city. In 2010, Charles Djou became the first Thai-American elected to Congress; he had previously served in the

Hawaii State House The Hawaii House of Representatives is the lower house of the Hawaii State Legislature. Pursuant to Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution of Hawaii, amended during the 1978 constitutional convention, the House of Representatives consists ...

and Honolulu City Council. Tammy Duckworth, a Thai American Iraq War veteran, ran for Congress as a Democrat in Illinois's 6th district in the 2006 mid-term election. She was narrowly defeated, and served for two years as Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. She was previously the director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs. She was considered a likely nominee for appointment to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by Barack Obama's election to the Presidency of the United States; however, Roland Burris was appointed instead. On November 6, 2012 Duckworth was elected to the US Congress to represent the 8th District of Illinois. On November 8, 2016, she was elected as the junior Senator from Illinois, the seat previously held by Barack Obama. Bhumibol Adulyadej, the previous King and Head of the State of Thailand, was born at the Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on December 5, 1927. At the time, his father was studying at Harvard University. He is the only American-born monarch in history. In 2017, Ekamon "Ek" Venin was appointed and later elected to the Borough Council in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey. In 2020, he served as Council President and was re-elected to another 3-year term.

Notable Thai Buddhist temples

* Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery, Redwood Valley, California *

San Fran Dhammaram Temple The San Fran Dhammaram Temple is the only Thai Buddhist temple in the city of San Francisco. Congregation and ministry There are over 600 worshipers in the congregation. Thai language classes for children and adults are offered. Monks who speak ...

, San Francisco *

Vajiradhammapadip Temple Vajiradhammapadip Temple is a Theravada Buddhist temple in New York, United States. There are two locations: one being in Mount Vernon, and the more recent being in Centereach, New York. Location Vajiradhammapadip Temple filed as a not-for-profit ...

, Centereach and Mount Vernon in New York *

Wat Boston Buddha Vararam Wat Boston Buddha Vararam (Abbreviated BBVT) is a Thai Theravada Buddhist Temple or Wat located in Bedford, Massachusetts. It is one of two Thai Buddhist Temples in Massachusetts, the other being Wat Nawamintararachutis. The main community ...

, Bedford, Massachusetts * Wat Buddhananachat of Austin, Del Valle, Texas *

Wat Buddhasamakeevanaram Wat Buddhasamakeevanaram is a Thai Theravada Buddhist temple located in Bossier City, Louisiana. The temple belongs to the Dhammayuttika Nikaya Dhammayuttika Nikāya (Pali; th, ธรรมยุติกนิกาย; ; km, ធម្ម� ...

, Bossier City, Louisiana * Wat Buddhanusorn, Fremont, California * Wat Carolina Buddhajakra Vanaram, Bolivia, North Carolina * Wat Florida Dhammaram, Kissimmee, Florida * Wat Mettāvarānaṁ, Valley Center, California * Wat Mongkolratanaram, Berkeley, California * Wat Mongkolratanaram, Tampa, Florida *

Wat Nawamintararachutis Wat Nawamintararachutis ( th, วัดนวมินทรราชูทิศ) is a working Thai Theravada Buddhist temple or "wat" in Raynham, Massachusetts, which is about 45 minutes south of Boston, Massachusetts, USA. It is one of only ...

, Raynham, Massachusetts * Wat Pasantidhamma, Carrollton, Virginia

Notable people

* Pornthip Nakhirunkanok Simon, Miss Universe 1988 * Allison Sansom, Miss Universe Thailand 2014 * Anthony Ampaipitakwong, professional soccer player * Todd Angkasuwan, music video and documentary film director * Chang and Eng Bunker, Siamese twins *

Anthony Burch ''Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'?'' (''HAWP'') is an independently produced series of sketch comedy videos created by siblings Anthony Burch and Ashly Burch. The series uses surreal humor and comical sibling rivalry to examine the themes, industry t ...

, writer of video game ''

Borderlands 2 ''Borderlands 2'' is a 2012 first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games. Taking place five years following the events of ''Borderlands'' (2009), the game is again set on the planet of Pandora. T ...

'' *

Amanda Mildred Carr Amanda Mildred Carr ( th, อะแมนดา มิลเดรด คาร์; born June 24, 1990) is a Thai BMX cyclist. Early life Carr started BMX when she was 5, after being convinced by her cousins. Carr attended Charlotte High School ...

, BMX racer *

Lisa Changadveja Lisa Changadveja is an American political strategist who has worked in multiple capacities on presidential campaigns for Hillary Clinton. She is currently chief of staff at MoveOn. She is also an author and illustrator of two children's picture ...

, political strategist and author *

Michael Chaturantabut Michael Chaturantabut (born April 30, 1975) is a Thai American actor, martial artist and stuntman, best known for his role as Chad Lee, the Blue Ranger in ''Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue''. He was born in Rayong Province, Thailand. Extreme m ...

, actor and martial artist *

Cherry Chevapravatdumrong Cherry T. Chevapravatdumrong (; born 1977), also known as Cherry Cheva, is an American author, screenwriter, comedian, and producer. She serves as an executive producer of ''Family Guy'' and a co-executive producer of ''The Orville'' and ''Resi ...

, producer and story editor on ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

'' * Johnny Damon, MLB player * Charles Djou, politician * Tammy Duckworth, politician and military officer * Myra Molloy, singer and actress *

Lada Engchawadechasilp Lada Engchawadechasilp ( th, ลดา เองชวเดชาศิลป์) is a Thai-American model and beauty pageant titleholder who won the Miss Thailand World pageant in 2001. Born in Los Angeles, California, she represented Thailand i ...

, beauty pageant queen *

Kevin Kaesviharn Kevin Robert Kaesviharn (born August 29, 1976) is a former American football safety. He was signed by the Iowa Barnstormers as a street free agent in 1998. He played college football at Augustana. Kaesviharn was also a member of the San Franci ...

, football player *

Sanit Khewhok Sanit Khewhok ( th, สนิท คิ้วฮก;born 1944) is a painter, sculptor, curator, and conservator. Early life and education He was born in Trang, Thailand, in 1944, and, in 1969, graduated from Silpakorn University in Bangkok wit ...

, artist * Eric Koston, professional skater * Lynn Kriengkrairut, ice dancer * Nichkhun, singer * Thakoon Panichgul, fashion designer * Utt Panichkul, actor, model and VJ *

Ben Parr Ben Parr (born February 12, 1985) is an American journalist, author, venture capitalist and entrepreneur. He is the author of ''Captivology: The Science of Capturing People's Attention'', a book on the science and psychology of attention and how ...

, author * John Pippy, politician *

Stacy Prammanasudh Stacy Prammanasudh (born September 23, 1979) is a retired American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour from 2004 to 2013. Amateur career Prammanasudh was born in Enid, Oklahoma, to an American mother and a native Thai father who im ...

, golfer * Jocelyn Seagrave, television actress * Alex Sink, former Chief Financial Officer for the state of Florida *

Prim Siripipat Prim Siripipat ( th, พริม สิริพิพัฒน์; ; born January 15) is an American former tennis player. She was previously a television anchor on ESPN. Siripipat was the co-host of "Spain and Prim" on ESPN Radio. Early year ...

, sportscaster * Brenda Song, actress * Ashly Burch, actress * Tamarine Tanasugarn, professional tennis player * Kevin Tancharoen, dancer, choreographer, television producer and film director * Maurissa Tancharoen, actress, singer, dancer, television producer/writer and lyricist *

Chrissy Tiegen Christine Diane Teigen (born November 30, 1985) is an American model and television personality. She made her professional modeling debut in the annual ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue in 2010 and later appeared on the 50th anniversary co ...

, model, TV host, food blogger * Traphik or

Timothy DeLaGhetto Tim Chantarangsu (born March 6, 1986), formerly known as Timothy DeLaGhetto (and previously Traphik), is an American internet and television personality. He is best known from the improv comedy show ''Wild 'N Out'' where he was a cast member bet ...

, rapper, comedian, and videographer on YouTube *

David Wagner (soccer) David Wagner (born 19 October 1971) is a German-American professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the current head coach of EFL Championship club Norwich City F.C., Norwich City. Wag ...

, United States men's national soccer team striker of Thai descent. * Tiger Woods, professional golfer * Tata Young, singer, actress and former model who lives in Bangkok * Janie Tienphosuwan, actress *

Prince Gomolvilas Prince Gomolvilas (born August 28, 1972) is a Thai American playwright. He has written many plays which have been produced in the United States and won several distinctive awards, including a PEN Center USA West Literary Award for Drama. He was ...

, playwright * Pop Mhan, comic book writer * Dan Santat, author and winner of the 2015 Caldecott Medal. * Jet Tila, celebrity chef and restaurateur *

Matt Braly Matthew Benjakarn Braly ( ; born November 8, 1988) is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, writer, and producer. He is best known as the creator and executive producer of the Disney Channel animated series ''Amphibia (TV series)''. ...

, creator of '' Amphibia'' * Vicha Ratanapakdee, Thai-American man who was murdered in San Francisco

Thai Americans in popular culture

* Anne Boonchuy and her parents from the animated TV series '' Amphibia'' are Thai-Americans. * Molly McGee, Darryl McGee and their mother Sharon McGee from the animated TV series '' The Ghost and Molly McGee'' are Thai-Americans. * Stonecutter (Utama Somchart) and Avenger X (Cressida) from Marvel Comics are Thai-Americans.

Sources

We the People Asians in the United States Census 2000 Special ReportsVong, Pueng. Unrest in the Homeland Awakens the Thai Community IMDiversity March 29, 2006Asian American Action Fund 2006 endorsed candidates