What Do You Call Someone From El Salvador? (Answered!)

Someone from El Salvador is called a Salvadoran. This is the term for anyone of Salvadoran nationality, though there could also be connections such as in one’s ancestry or other areas. They are also sometimes called Salvadorian or Salvadorean, though these are not considered standard. Questions of Salvadoran ethnicity can be more complex.

The short answer, then, is that someone who is a citizen of the modern nation state of El Salvador is called a Salvadoran.

This is the common, standard, and widely accepted term used by people in the English speaking world and accepted by Salvadorans themselves.

As with any nation, though, the real picture is always more complex.

Let’s find out more.

In This Article

What is someone from El Salvador called?

Someone from El Salvador is called a Salvadoran.

This is the short answer, and is the easiest way to think about it. In the modern day, of course, El Salvador is now a nation state with citizenship and all the legal questions that come with that.

If you are a person in the modern world, you have citizenship of some kind or another except in special cases.

Historically, the question is a lot more complicated, though; many indigenous groups have been living in El Salvador since long before the area was called this or was parcelled up and bordered off by Europeans.

There are, then, multiple different ethnic groups in El Salvador, all of which could feel something entirely different about their own identity.

The vast majority of the Salvadoran population are what is called Mestizo in ethnicity.

Mestizo people are those descended from an admixture of both local, indigenous populations and European settlers.

The same is true of many countries in Latin America. Mestizos represent around 86% of the population.

Most Mestizos likely feel themselves to be Salvadoran, but at the same time they may prefer to think of themselves as Mestizo first.

Around 1% of the population of El Salvador today is made up of indigenous groups who have not mixed much with European settlers.

There are many such groups: the Lenca people represent the largest group, with around 90,000 such people living in El Salvador.

There are also the Cacaopera people, the Xinca and multiple others.

Though proportionally they represent a small section of the population, they are nonetheless Salvadoran in some sense—and yet most of these people likely feel their ethnic identity to be far more important than their national one.

Where does the name “El Salvador” come from?

If you have any familiarity with Spanish then you can likely have a good crack at figuring out what this name means.

The Conquistador Pedro de Alvarado decided to name the new province after Jesus Christ, originally calling it San Salvador, meaning Holy Saviour.

The name was later extended to a rather wordy mouthful: Provincia De Nuestro Señor Jesus Cristo, El Salvador Del Mundo.

Eventually this was shortened simply to the Republic of El Salvador, meaning The Saviour.

Today Christians make up the majority of the religious population, with more than 80% belonging to one denomination or another of the Christian faith.

Is El Salvador Latino or Hispanic?

The question of Latino or Hispanic is not as complex as it can at first seem. It’s also important to point out that the two terms are by no means mutually exclusive.

Many, indeed most, countries that are one are also the other.

El Salvador is both Latino and Hispanic, so let’s look at what both of these terms mean.

To be Hispanic, first of all, means a person or place has ancestry in a country where Spanish is the main language spoken.

So, this could include Spain itself, or any country in Central or South America where Spanish is spoken.

Spanish is the most common language across South America, and Portuguese is a rival only because Brazil, by far the most populous country in Latin America, is Portuguese speaking.

Latin America, then, is where we get the term “Latino”.

To be Latino means a person comes from or a country is in Latin America, which encompasses all of Central and South America.

So, El Salvador is also Latino as well as being Hispanic.

Indeed, of the major countries in South America, Brazil is the only one that is not Hispanic.

El Salvador is both Latino and Hispanic, then.

Do you say Salvadoran or Salvadorian?

The standard term for a person from El Salvador, as we’ve seen, is Salvadoran.

Salvadorian is considered non-standard and not the term you will find in a dictionary or as the official demonym of El Salvador.

With that said, Salvadorian or Salvadorean are very often used by English speakers of Salvadorans, to the point that many even in El Salvador have also more or less adopted the term and use them interchangeably.

With that said, now that you know what the standard term is, there’s no particular reason to use anything other than Salvadoran; most will likely prefer this term so it’s best just to stick to what is universally agreed upon.

So, while there are always complex questions of indigenous ethnicity in virtually any country in the Americas, the simple answer is again that someone from El Salvador is a Salvadoran.

The vast majority of the population are Mestizo people descended from both indigenous and European peoples, and there are also a number of surviving indigenous peoples that may not feel themselves to be “Salvadoran” in any useful sense.

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Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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