What Do You Call Someone From Vatican City? (Explained!)

There is no official demonym for someone from the Vatican City; the unofficial terms which are most commonly used are Vaticanian or Vaticano. Citizens of the Vatican City are not “native” to the city in the same way as with other nationalities–citizenship requires the approval of the Pope, so most people from there don’t identify this way.

The Vatican City is a fascinating entity in just about every single way.

It is a microstate which is effectively overseen by the Holy See of the Catholic Church.

Citizens are not born there, but move there from elsewhere on the direct appointment of the Pope or extended papal authority.

Though technically a country, it is nothing like any other country on Earth.

Let’s find out more.

In This Article

What is someone from the Vatican City called?

Again, there is no officially recognized and universally used demonym for someone from the Vatican City.

While Vaticano or Vaticanian are sometimes used, there are a lot of caveats that we need to place on the use of these terms.

The Vatican City is a country in its own right, a microstate within the city of Rome that currently houses roughly 600 people.

But it is a country which, plainly, serves a very specific ecclesiastical function for the Roman Catholic Church.

Citizens of the Vatican City are not born there–indeed, there are no hospitals in the Vatican City for children to be born in at all!

Without exception, citizens of the Vatican City are granted citizenship because of their role or office in the church.

So, while they do get a separate passport and citizenship, this is really in no other way comparable to other nationalities.

Naturally, then, everyone who lives in the Vatican City is from elsewhere, originally.

They themselves would doubtless feel their identity and heritage with the country from which they moved, rather than with the Vatican City itself.

Many of the City’s citizens do not even live within its walls, working in diplomatic roles outside the city.

So, to return to the original question, what to call someone from the Vatican City is, in reality, going to depend on where that person is originally from.

Vaticano is considered the unofficial demonym, but this is only out of our need to give names to things–practically speaking, it’s hard to imagine a real situation in which someone would refer to themselves or be referred to as a Vaticano.

Where does the name “Vatican City” come from?

The name Vatican City was first used when the microstate was established in 1929.

It simply derives from the place on which the City stands: Vatican Hill.

This name, in turn, is derived ultimately from the name of an Etruscan settlement which would have also stood on roughly the same spot.

No one can quite agree on the precise etymological origin of this word “Vatican” as it relates to the Etruscan settlement, though.

In the past, attempts were made to connect the name to the word vates, meaning soothsayer or prophet.

This line of argument has been largely abandoned today, though, in favor of the view that the name was based on an Etruscan loan-word.

Instead, it is thought that the original name for the place translates to something approaching “hill of prophecy”.

Given the spans of time we are talking about, it is very difficult to say where the name originally comes from with any certainty.

Most agree, though, that the name was originally Etruscan and today the city is named such merely because it stands on the same spot, rather than, as most people assume,

Vatican being something related more directly with the Church.

What is the nationality of someone from the Vatican City?

So, again, the question is fairly straightforward.

You gain citizenship of the Vatican City when you are ultimately posted there by the Church, and this means you get a Vatican City passport and you are, technically speaking, of Vatican City nationality; again, there is no official or standard term for this nationality.

But again, no one in the Vatican City, even the Pope himself, thinks of themselves in any real sense as “Vaticanos”.

They may be Italian, Swiss, Argentinian, and many other nationalities from around the world.

For administrative purposes, the Vatican City is a sovereign state that can make its own rules, but beyond that, it is more like a workplace.

Who are the occupants of the Vatican City?

There are two main groups of people in the Vatican City. The first, and most obvious, are the Clergy.

These are people from all sorts of positions in the church who are responsible for various aspects of the Church’s running and administration, including of course the Pope.

The other main portion of the population is made up of the Swiss guard who are in charge of the city’s security, representing around 100 people.

Of course, there are also people in charge of every day duties such as cleaning.

Again, the Vatican City is much more like a workplace than a country!

So, again, though technically a country, the Vatican City is more like a religious authority with the entire population being either clergy and high ranking members of the Church or those in direct service of these people.

They of course do legally have Vatican nationality, but without doubt all of them identify with the country from which they originally came, rather than as a citizen of the Vatican City.

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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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