Hispanic

The unofficial cultural Hispanic flag.

Hispanic (Spanish: Hispano, hispánico) is a word that originally meant a relationship to Hispania. This is the Iberian Peninsula and includes Portugal, Andorra, Gibraltar and Spain. Now the word is used with a more limited meaning. In the United States it is often used to mean a person of (usually) mixed race with a Spanish surname. In North America generally, the word Hispanic has lost its link to Spain and Portugal, and is mainly used to mean Latin America.

Hispanic has also been used to mean the culture and people of the former Spanish and Portuguese Empires in America. Known as Hispanic America, this region includes Mexico, most of the Central and South American countries, and the Spanish-speaking island-nations of the Caribbean.

Spanish names, the Spanish language, and Spanish customs can also be found in other areas that were part of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires, such as in Equatorial Guinea in Africa, or in the Spanish East Indies (e.g. Philipines) and the Portuguese Brazil.