Why is the United States of America usually just called the United States?

Question

Wouldn't it make more sense to call it America? It's kind of like calling Canada the United Provinces.

And yes, I know that there are continents called North America and South America. However, those are called North and South America, not just America.

Answer 1

Favorite Answer

United States of America = 9 syllables; United States = 4 syllables.

Similarly the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" (14 syllables) is generally referred to as the "United Kingdom" (5 syllables).

Both are unambiguous - there are no other countries that refer to themselves as the United States/Kingdom of somewhere-or-other - so it's a reasonable shortcut. (There was once a United Kingdom of the Netherlands which also included present day Belgium, Luxembourg and part of Germany, but that no longer exists as a political entity.)

Answer 2

The United States of America is our county's official name. Canada's official name is just plain old 'Canada'. We shorten our name by using the first/last name principle. 'America' works just fine, but it's kind of like calling someone by their last name.

It isn't really any quicker to say America than it is United States because both phrases are 4 syllables long. I prefer to use USA when abbreviating because US looks too similar to an all caps 'us' for my taste.

Of course when engaging in formal conversation it is proper to use the full name, The United States of America.

Answer 3

And what other United States is there?

Answer 4

The United States of America is a bit of a mouth full, and everybody knows what you're talking about anyway.

Answer 5

Because we aren't really America. We are the United States, who happen to be in one of the Americas. When we were founded as a country, we were less a single nation than a union of semi-autonomous states. After the Civil War, that changed.

Answer 6

I don't know of any other country in the world that calls itself United States of something or other. So United States is enough to tell which country you are talking about.

Answer 7

Most people in the world already know where the United States are.

Answer 8

As my cousin in Canada pointed out to me years ago we are all Americans. You answered your own question America is a continent. The US is a country.

Answer 9

Just faster to say that or America, or US, or USA, or the states. it would be annoying if we called China "the peoples republic of China" all the time wouldn't it

Answer 10

Hmm, I think I usually say America.