What term describes America’s 250th anniversary, celebrated nationally in 2026 as America250?

America’s 250th anniversary is called a semiquincentennial. The word combines Latin roots meaning “half” and “five hundred,” producing a term for a 250-year anniversary.

America250 commemorates the 250th anniversary of the 1776 adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence. The anniversary date is July 4, 2026, exactly 250 years after the Continental Congress adopted the document.

The name is less familiar than “centennial,” which means 100 years, or “bicentennial,” which means 200 years. “Sesquicentennial” means 150 years, so it describes the 1926 anniversary rather than the 2026 milestone.

“Semiquincentennial” is the formal historical term, while “America250” is the widely used branding for the nationwide commemoration. The event is also sometimes described simply as the United States’ 250th anniversary.