Azerbaijani Americans

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Azerbaijani Americans
ABŞ Azərbaycanlıları
Azerbaijani community of Dallas, Texas
Total population
75,500
Regions with significant populations
New York metropolitan area,[1] Greater Houston, Greater Los Angeles, Chicago Metropolitan Area, Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex
Languages
Azerbaijani, Russian, American English
Religion
Secularity and Shia Islam
Related ethnic groups
Azerbaijani Canadians, Turkish Americans, Iranian Americans

Azerbaijani Americans (Azerbaijani: ABŞ Azərbaycanlıları, or Amerikalı Azərbaycanlılar) are Americans of Azerbaijani descent that have immigrated to the United States from Azerbaijan and neighboring countries such as Iran, Georgia, Russia and Turkey.[2][3][4]

History

The earliest identified immigrant from Azerbaijan to the United States was Merza Ali Akbar, resident of Baku who arrived at Ellis Island on the RMS Mauretania in June 1912.[5]

The first major wave of Azerbaijanis came to the U.S. in the 1940s and 1950s, as many Azerbaijani émigrés and POWs left the Soviet Union and Iran during and after World War II. Among those were also a number of expatriates, who fled to Turkey, Iran, or parts of Europe upon the Soviet occupation of Azerbaijan in 1920, and in the 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 and its metropolitan area, which hosts the largest population of Azerbaijani-Americans, in Northern New Jersey and Massachusetts; and later in Florida, Texas, and California, especially in Los Angeles 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, the first Azerbaijani-American community organization.[6][7] By 1980, there were around 200 families that identified themselves as Azerbaijani in the United States, with about 80% of them being endogamic.[6] In 1976, Houston 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, Hawaii, and Baku in 1988,[8] Newark, New Jersey, and Ganja (second largest city in Azerbaijan) in the early 2000s (decade); and Monterey, California and Lankaran in 2011.[9]

Demographics

According to the 2000 U.S. census, there were an estimated 14,205 Americans born in Azerbaijan,[10] out of which 5,530 were naturalized U.S. Citizens[10] and 5,553 identified themselves as Azerbaijani of either primary or secondary ancestry.[11] Azerbaijanis who immigrated from Azerbaijan have settled primarily in New York (12,540), New Jersey (4,357), Texas (3,178), California (2,743), and Minnesota (1,559). Census 2000 did not count Azerbaijani-Americans born in countries other than Azerbaijan.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, additional ~24,000 individuals born in Azerbaijan successfully adjusted to or entered on permanent residency (Green Cards) between 2000 and 2023, heavily driven by the Diversity Visa Lottery. [12] An estimated ~6,500 ethnic Azerbaijanis arrived from other former Soviet Union countries (e.g., the Borçali region of Georgia).

Applying standard U.S. population growth trends (historical Total Fertility Rate averaging ~1.85 children per household) across a staggered 26-year timeline since 2000, produces the most up to date estimate of 75,500 Azerbaijani Americans as of 2026. This number does not include Iranian Azerbaijanis.

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.[13] By the late 1990s, the Azerbaijani-Americans became more active in the American sociopolitical life, including the U.S. Congress,[14] mainly advocating Azerbaijani interests in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.[15] By 2002, the Azerbaijani-Americans became active enough to be mentioned in the speeches in the U.S. Congress.[16] In 2004, a group of Congressmen founded the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives.[17] By 2011, the Azerbaijani-Americans have been honored in several U.S. legislative bills and resolutions.[18]

Organizations

The Azerbaijan Flag Raising at San Jose City Hall in June 2022

Below is the list of Azerbaijani American organizations registered in the United States as of 2026. [19]

Azerbaijani-themed parks, streets and monuments

Azerbaijani community of North Texas in March 2026

The Azerbaijan Garden, opened on May 12, 2008, in Cleveland, Ohio as part of Cleveland Cultural Gardens. Khanlar Gasimov'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.[20] 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.[21]

TV, radio, media, and newspapers

Notable people

See also

References

  1. "Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2010 Supplemental Table 2". U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
  2. Atabaki, Touraj; Mehendale, Sanjyot (December 2004). Central Asia and the Caucasus. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780203495827. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  3. "Iran: A Vast Diaspora Abroad and Millions of Refugees at Home". migrationpolicy.org. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  4. "Iranians". encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  5. Ellis Island Immigration Station (June 7, 1912). "Passenger Record: Merza Ali Akbar". The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  6. Thernstrom, Stephan; Orlov, Ann; Handlin, Oscar, eds. (1980). "Azerbaijanis". Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups. Harvard University Press. p. 171. ISBN 0674375122. OCLC 1038430174.
  7. Pope, Hugh (2005). Sons of the conquerors: The rise of the Turkic world. Overlook Duckworth. p. 371. ISBN 978-1-58567-641-5.
  8. "Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism". Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  9. "City of Monterey, California and Lankaran, Azerbaijan establish Sister City relations" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 1, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  10. "Table FBP-1. Profile of Selected Demographic and Social Characteristics" (PDF). Census 2000 Special Tabulations (STP-159). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  11. "Table 1. First, Second, and Total Responses to the Ancestry Question". Census 2000 PHC-T-43. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  12. "U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Persons Obtaining Lawful Permanent Resident Status by Region and Country of Birth". dhs.gov. Retrieved May 26, 2026.
  13. The Economist. 1990. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  14. Cheney, Richard B. (1999). "Defending Liberty in a Global Economy". In Singleton, Solveig; Griswold, Daniel T. (eds.). Economic casualties: how U.S. foreign policy undermines trade, growth, and liberty. Washington, D.C.: CATO Institute. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-882577-74-3.
  15. Perlmutter, Philip (1996). The dynamics of American ethnic, religious, and racial group life: an interdisciplinary overview. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-275-95533-5.
  16. Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations ... - United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs - Google Books. 2002. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  17. Boren, Dan (May 26, 2011). "Honoring the Republic of Azerbaijan on its 93rd anniversary of "Republic Day": Statement by Hon. Dan Boren of Oklahoma". Congressional Record, Extension of Remarks. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. E973.
  18. "SP0512, item 1, JOINT RESOLUTION HONORING THE AZERBAIJAN COMMUNITY OF MAINE". Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  19. "Member Organizations". Alliance of Azerbaijani American organizations. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  20. "Azerbaijan Cultural Garden - Cleveland Historical". Cleveland Historical. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  21. "IN HONOR OF THE AZERBAIJANI CULTURAL GARDEN, HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH OF OHIO IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Wednesday, May 7, 2008" (PDF). gpo.gov. Retrieved August 27, 2015.

Further reading

  • Waitman, Grace. "Azerbaijani Americans." Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, 3rd ed., vol. 1, Gale, 2014, pp. 203-210. online