Who can call themselves a ‘New Yorker’?
Who can call themselves a ‘New Yorker’?
Who can call themselves a New Yorker - During a recent appearance on an online talk show, Jennifer Lopez, a globally renowned performer with her primary home in Los Angeles, discussed what it means to identify as a New Yorker. While seated on a New York City subway, she shared her perspective on the matter, stating that one must be born in the city to truly claim the title.
Editor's Note
CNN’s “Word of the Week” explores the significance of words in the news. In a metropolis that blends global influences with a distinctly local culture, the question of who qualifies as a New Yorker has sparked passionate discussions among residents and outsiders alike.
Kareem Rahma, the show’s host, challenged Lopez’s stance by asking if decades of living in New York would suffice to earn the designation. “I have to say no,” she responded, emphasizing that being born in New York instills a unique sense of belonging. “You live in New York. You take on characteristics of New Yorkers, probably by that time. You have a New York sensibility.”
"When you’re born in New York is when you’re really a New Yorker," Lopez concluded.
Her criteria exclude several prominent figures associated with New York’s cultural landscape, such as Mayor Zohran Mamdani, born in Uganda; Spike Lee, an Atlanta native and Knicks enthusiast; Fran Lebowitz, from New Jersey; Chloë Sevigny, raised in Massachusetts; and Andy Warhol, hailing from Pittsburgh. Even key figures of the Harlem Renaissance, like Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and Louis Armstrong, who arrived from the American South, are left out under this definition.
The debate extends beyond celebrities, with critics questioning whether Lopez’s stance echoes nativist views. Some argue that the 10-year rule for residency, or the experiences of immigrant communities, should redefine the term. Others support her position with adjustments: those born in the city but raised elsewhere may not qualify, while individuals arriving as children in the boroughs are included. Adults who move to New York from other U.S. regions are considered in certain contexts, but those from within the country are excluded.
Historically, the concept of New York has evolved. The original inhabitants, the Lenape, referred to the area as Lenapehoking, meaning “the land of the common people.” Dutch traders later acquired the territory, naming it New Amsterdam before a brief period of English rule saw it renamed New York in honor of King James II, the Duke of York, who had never lived there.
The Oxford English Dictionary notes the earliest use of “New Yorker” in 1738, when Benjamin Franklin employed it in “Poor Richard’s Almanack.” A variant, “New Yorkian,” emerged in the 19th century but has since fallen out of favor. In 1925, Harold Ross and Jane Grant, both born outside the city, launched “The New Yorker” magazine, further complicating the narrative.
Amid a population of nearly nine million, it’s no wonder that definitions of New Yorker remain fluid. Xochitl Gonzalez, a Brooklyn native and author of “Last Night in Brooklyn,” acknowledged this diversity: “I would never tell somebody who’s been here longer than 10 years they’re not a New Yorker, but when I think about people who are New Yorkers, I’d reserve that label for those born and raised in the city or who arrived as children in one of the boroughs.”