{{Short description|Americans of Coptic birth or descent}} {{infobox ethnic group | group = Coptic Americans | flag = {{flagicon|USA}} | image = | pop = {{Circa}} '''500,000''' (2018 est.)<ref name=Telushkin/> | popplace = Northern New Jersey and the New York City Metropolitan Area;<ref name=Wallace/><ref name="Immigration stats">{{cite web|url=https://www.dhs.gov/yearbook-immigration-statistics-2012-lega-permanent-residents|title=Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2012 Supplemental Table 2|publisher=United States Department of Homeland Security|access-date=2013-04-01}}{{dead link|date=March 2020|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref name="Immigration stats two">{{cite web|url=https://www.dhs.gov/files/statistics/publications/LPR11.shtm|title=Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2011 Supplemental Table 2|publisher=United States Department of Homeland Security|access-date=2013-04-01}}</ref><ref name="Immigrations stats three">{{cite web|url=https://www.dhs.gov/files/statistics/publications/LPR10.shtm|title=Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2010 Supplemental Table 2|publisher=United States Department of Homeland Security|access-date=2013-04-01}}</ref> as well as Southern California<ref name=Wallace/> | langs = American English <br>Mainly older people: Arabic (Egyptian Arabic, Sudanese Arabic, Libyan Arabic) <br>Liturgical: Coptic language | rels = Primarily Coptic Orthodoxy;<ref name=Telushkin/><ref>Lily Kuo, [https://www.reuters.com/article/film-protests-coptic/coptic-christians-live-quietly-in-new-jersey-town-idUSL1E8KE1H220120914 Coptic Christians live quietly in New Jersey town], Reuters (September 14, 2019).</ref> minority Coptic Catholic<ref>Estefania Aguirre, [https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/26400/new-coptic-catholic-leader-receives-popes-approval New Coptic Catholic leader receives Pope's approval], Catholic News Agency (January 18, 2013): "The Coptic Catholic Church was established in 1824 and there are five parishes in the United States and in Canada."</ref> | native_name = ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ `ⲛⲁⲙⲉⲣⲓⲕⲏ | native_name_lang = | related_groups = }}
'''Coptic Americans''' ({{Langx|cop|ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲁⲙⲉⲣⲓⲕⲏ|niremenkāmi enamerika}}) are American citizens of Coptic descent or persons of Coptic descent residing in the United States. As of 2018, there were some 500,000 Copts living in the United States.<ref name=Telushkin/>
==Immigration history== thumb|right|250px|St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church of Bellaire, Texas
The immigration of Copts to the United States started as early as the late 1940s. After 1952, the rate of Coptic immigration from Egypt to the United States increased because of persisting persecution and discrimination against Christians in a Muslim majority nation, political turmoils and revolutions. The first Coptic Orthodox church in the United States is St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church, which was established in the late 1960s in Jersey City.
As of 2013, researchers estimated that there were about 350,000 Coptic Christians who settled in the United States before the 2011 Egyptian revolution, with up to 100,000 additional Copts who settled in the US after the revolution, fleeing instability and violence in Egypt.<ref name=Wallace>{{cite news|last=Wallace|first=Bruce|title=Amid Instability In Egypt, Coptic Christians Flee To U.S.|url=https://www.npr.org/2013/01/04/168609672/amid-instability-in-egypt-coptic-christians-flee-to-u-s|publisher=NPR|work=All Things Considered|date=January 4, 2013}}</ref> Many moved to the US on grants of asylum.<ref name=Wallace/> The new post-2011 migrants to the United States included both educated middle-class Copts and poorer, more rural Copts.<ref name=Wallace/> As of 2018, it was estimated that a half-million Copts lived in the United States.<ref name=Telushkin>Shira Telushkin, [https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/03/coptic-church/555515/ The Americanization of an Ancient Faith], ''The Atlantic'' (March 28, 2018).</ref>
The historic centers of Coptic American life have been in New York, New Jersey, and Southern California.<ref name=Wallace/>
In the 1990s, there were more than 50 Coptic congregations in the United States. By 2018, there were more than 250 Coptic congregations in the United States.<ref name=Telushkin/>
==Notable people== {{Americans}} <!--When adding names to the list, please include a reliable source that describes the person added as "Coptic" or "Coptic-American" (or a source where the person describes themselves as such), in accordance with Wikipedia's No Original Research policies.--> This is a list of '''notable Coptic Americans''', including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants.
<!-- To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Coptic American or must have references showing they are Coptic American and are notable. Please do not add yourself, non-notable people or fictional characters. Please add citations where appropriate ---> * Nader Anise, founder of Coptic American Chamber of Commerce (Coptic Chamber) and attorney * Peter Attia, physician known for his work in longevity medicine * Halim El-Dabh, composer and ethnomusicologist * Fadi Chehade, founder of RosettaNet * Gamal Helal, retired interpreter and diplomat * George Helmy, former U.S. senator from New Jersey * Raymond Ibrahim, author and commentator * Magdi Khalil, commentator * Marty Makary, scientist and author, 27th commissioner of food and drugs * Rami Malek, actor * Reda Mankbadi, college dean and NASA scientist * Emil Michael, businessman, former vice president of Uber * Michael Mina, award-winning chef and restaurateur * Dina Powell, former Deputy National Security Advisor * Morris Sadek, attorney and activist * Fayez Sarofim, billionaire and heir to the Sarofim family fortune * Matthew Shenoda, poet, writer, and professor * Bassem Youssef (FBI agent), Unit Chief in the FBI Counterterrorism Division * Nabih Youssef, structural engineer
==See also== * Coptic diaspora * Copts * Coptic Orthodox Church in the United States * List of Coptic Orthodox churches in the United States ** St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church (Jersey City, New Jersey) ** St. Abraam Coptic Orthodox Church (Woodbury, New York) * Coptic Canadians * Coptic Australians * Copts in Sudan * Copts in Libya * Egyptian Americans * North Africans in the United States
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.unionbetweenchristians.com/2020/09/coptic-orthodox-dioceses-in-usa-2020.html Coptic Orthodox Dioceses in the USA 2024]
{{Coptic diaspora}} {{North African American}} {{Middle Eastern American}} {{African immigration to the United States}}
* Category:Coptic diaspora in North America Category:Coptic diaspora in the United States Category:North African diaspora in the United States Category:Asian diaspora in the United States Category:Ethnic groups in the United States