Azerbaijani Americans ( az, Amerikalı Azərbaycanlılar) are

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...

of the Azerbaijani ancestry from the Republic of Azerbaijan and

Iranian Azerbaijan Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan ( fa, آذربایجان, ''Āzarbāijān'' ; az-Arab, آذربایجان, ''Āzerbāyjān'' ), also known as Iranian Azerbaijan, is a historical region in northwestern Iran that borders Iraq, Turkey, the Nakhchivan ...

or people possessing Azerbaijani, Iranian, and/or American citizenship. Most Azerbaijani Americans have immigrated to the United States from

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, Georgia,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

History

The earliest identified immigrant from Azerbaijan to the United States was Merza Ali Akbar, resident of

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

who arrived at Ellis Island on the in June 1912. The first major wave of Azerbaijanis came to the U.S. in 1940s and 1950s, as many Azerbaijani émigrés and

POWs A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

left the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and Iran during and after World War II. Among those were also a number of

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

s, who fled to Turkey, Iran or parts of Europe upon the Soviet occupation of Azerbaijan in 1920, and in 1950s and 1960s, moved to the United States in pursuit of better economic opportunities. This wave of Azerbaijani immigrants settled mainly in

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 ...

and its

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

, which hosts the largest population of Azerbaijani-Americans, in Northern

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 Delaware ...

and

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

; and later in

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 to ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, especially in

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' ...

area where there is a large Iranian community, many of whom are Iranian Azerbaijanis. In 1957, a group of these Azerbaijani settlers in New Jersey founded the Azerbaijan Society of America, a first Azerbaijani-American community organization. By 1980 there were around 200 families that identified themselves as Azerbaijani in the United States, with about 80% of them being endogamic. In 1976,

Houston 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 ...

and Baku established the first sister-city association between the cities in the U.S. and Azerbaijan. It was followed with a sister city between

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, Hawaii and Baku in 1988, Newark, New Jersey and Ganja (second largest city in Azerbaijan) in the early 2000s (decade), and Monterey, California and Lankaran in 2011.

Demographics

The Azerbaijan Flag Raising in San Jose City Hall 16

According to the 2000 U.S. census, there were an estimated 14,205 Americans born in

, out of which 5,530 were naturalized U.S. Citizens and 5,553 identified themselves as Azerbaijani of either primary or secondary ancestry. Census 2000 did not count Azerbaijani-Americans born in countries other than Azerbaijan. According to the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

(DHS), in 2001–2010, a total of 9,391 people from Azerbaijan were naturalized as U.S. citizens. The table here presents the distribution for each year between 2001 and 2010. These statistics do not include the legal permanent residents (green card holders) who numbered 781 in 2010, refugees, legal non-immigrant aliens (temporary visitors) who numbered 4,938 in 2009, as well as a very large number of ethnic Azerbaijanis born in other countries, such as Iran, Russia and Turkey. Thus, based only on Census 2000 and DHS data, the official estimate of the U.S. citizens born in Azerbaijan is approximately 14,944, and the number of U.S. residents born in Azerbaijan is approximately 24,377, minus the natural decline. According to the U.S. Census 2000 data, the Azerbaijanis who immigrated from Azerbaijan have settled primarily in

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 * '' ...

(12,540),

(4,357),

(3,178),

(2,743), and

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 ...

(1,559). There is also a sizeable

Mountain Jewish Mountain Jews or Caucasus Jews also known as Juhuro, Juvuro, Juhuri, Juwuri, Juhurim, Kavkazi Jews or Gorsky Jews ( he, יהודי קווקז ''Yehudey Kavkaz'' or ''Yehudey he-Harim''; russian: Горские евреи, translit=Gorskie Yevrei ...

population in Brooklyn.

Socio-political activity

The first mention of the nascent Azerbaijani-Americans in the U.S. political life appears in the 1990 issue of ''The Economist''. By the late 1990s, the Azerbaijani-Americans became more active in the American sociopolitical life, including the U.S. Congress, mainly advocating Azerbaijani interests in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. By 2002, the Azerbaijani-Americans became active enough to be mentioned in the speeches in the U.S. Congress. In 2004, a group of Congressmen founded the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives. By 2011, the Azerbaijani-Americans have been honored in several U.S. legislative bills and resolutions.

Azerbaijani-themed parks, streets and monuments

The Azerbaijan Garden, a park, was dedicated on May 12, 2008, in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Khanlar Gasimov Goygol ( az, Göygöl , known as Helenendorf before 1931, Yelenino in 1931–1938, Khanlar in 1938–2008) is a city, municipality and the capital of the Goygol District in northwestern Azerbaijan. It is around south of Azerbaijan's second-larges ...

's sculpture "Hearth" stands at the center of the Garden. Made of polished stainless steel, the bowl-shaped sculpture allows viewers to see the reflection of the earth and sky in its exterior and interior curves. The Azerbaijani Garden is part of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens, which was opened in 1916, along Doan Brook in Cleveland's Rockefeller Park. The opening of the garden was celebrated by Congressman

Dennis Kucinich Dennis John Kucinich (; born October 8, 1946) is an American politician. A U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1997 to 2013, he was also a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States in 2004 and 2008. He ran for ...

TV, radio, media and newspapers

* Gunaz TV (TV broadcast from Chicago via satellite and Internet, in Azerbaijani language only)
Azerbaijani Radio Hour
(Weekly at Sunday noon radio on WUST 1120AM in Baltimore and Washington DC and via Internet, iTunes and RSS feed in English)
''Azerbaijan International''
(Los Angeles based quarterly magazine published since 1993, in English) *''Azerbaijan Review'' (monthly newspaper published in New York since 2007, in Azerbaijani, Russian and English) *''Caspian Crossroads'' (Washington D.C.-based quarterly journal published since 1996, in English)

Notable people

Sona Aslanova Sona Aslanova (4 October 1924 – 9 March 2011) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani soprano, Meritorious Artist of Azerbaijan Republic known for her historic performances of Azerbaijani, Russian, and an international classical and folk vocal music re ...

, Soviet and Azerbaijani soprano * Semyon Bilmes, Azerbaijani-American painter * Max Black, philosopher, physicist, mathematician * Sibel Edmonds, former

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

translator and founder of the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC) *

Haydar Hatemi Haydar Hatemi (born March 3, 1945 in Hadishahr) is an Iranian artist whose work is based on blends of classical oriental styles such as miniature and tazhib, with some modern elements. His early studies in art started at Tabriz's Art Academy af ...

, Iranian artist *

Shireen Hunter Shireen Tahmaaseb Hunter is an independent scholar. Until 2019, she was a Research Professor at the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU) at Georgetown University in Wa ...

, academic *

Rustam Ibragimbekov Rustam Mammad Ibrahim oghlu Ibrahimbeyov (or Ibrahimbekov; az, Rüstəm Məmməd İbrahim oğlu İbrahimbəyov; russian: Рустам Мамед Ибрагим оглы Ибрагимбеков; 5 February 1939 – 11 March 2022) was a Soviet a ...

, Soviet-Azerbaijani screenwriter, dramatist and producer * Ali Javan, professor of physics, inventor of gas laser, Massachusetts Institute of Technology *

Cihangir Ghaffari Cihangir Ghaffari (born 9 September 1940) is an Iranian actor and film producer, known for ''Les démons'' (1973), ''Dick Turpin'' (1974) and '' Bloodsport'' (1988). Career Ghaffari starred in a large number of Turkish film productions mainly in ...

, Azerbaijani-born Iranian-American actor and producer *

Ella Leya Ella Leya is an Azeri-United States, American composer, singer, and writer born in Baku, Azerbaijan. Her album releases include "Queen of Night," "Russian Romance" and "Secret Lives of Women." "Queen of Night" — and especially the songs Kabb ...

, composer, singer, and writer, born in Baku * Hamid Mowlana, Iranian-American advisor to the Iranian President

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),

* Spencer Nelson, basketball player for the Azerbaijani national team * Stepan Pachikov, businessman *

Firouz Partovi Firouz was a wealthy Armenians, Armenian Christians, Christian convert to Islam and armor maker who held a high post in Yaghi-Siyan's Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkish government during the Crusades. Notably, he also served as a spy for Bohemond I of A ...

, physicist *

Alec Rasizade Alec (Alirza) Rasizade ( az, Əli Rasizadə) is a retired Azerbaijani-American professor of history and political science, who specialized in Sovietology, primarily known for the typological model (or "algorithm" in his own words), which describ ...

, professor of history and political science *

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was wel ...

, conductor, cellist *

Chingiz Sadykhov Chingiz Sadykhov ( az, Çingiz Sadıxov), also spelled Sadikhov or Sadighov (5 April 1929, in Baku – 30 December 2017, in California), was a Soviet and Azerbaijani musician and pianist. He was active in Baku and San Francisco. Biography H ...

, pianist from Azerbaijan * Hassan Sattar, Iranian musician * Zecharia Sitchin, Azerbaijani-born American author *

Sina Tamaddon Sina Tamaddon ( fa, سینا تمدن, ) was senior vice president of Application software, applications for Apple Inc. Sina Tamaddon joined Apple in September 1997. He also served the company in the position of senior vice president of worldwid ...

, Senior Vice President of Applications for

Apple Inc Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...

Behrouz Vossoughi Khalil Vossoughi ( fa, خلیل وثوقی; born 11 March 1938) known professionally as Behrouz Vossoighi (بهروز وثوقی), is an Iranian actor. He has also worked in television, radio and theater. His work has earned him recognition at sev ...

, Iranian actor * Norm Zada, founder of '' Perfect 10'' magazine *

Lotfi A. Zadeh Lotfi Aliasker Zadeh (; az, Lütfi Rəhim oğlu Ələsgərzadə; fa, لطفی علی‌عسکرزاده; 4 February 1921 – 6 September 2017) was a mathematician, computer scientist, electrical engineer, artificial intelligence researcher, an ...

, mathematician, electrical engineer and computer scientist, University of California, Berkeley *

Tony Zarrindast Tony Zarrindast ( fa, محمد زرین‌دست also known as Mohammad Zarrindast) was an Iranian American film producer, film director and cinema actor. He was considered by some as the "Persian Ed Wood". His 1996 film ''Werewolf'' was featured ...

, artist

History

Demographics

Socio-political activity

Azerbaijani-themed parks, streets and monuments

TV, radio, media and newspapers

Notable people

See also

References

Further reading