What term describes the 250th anniversary that America250 commemorates in 2026?

The 250th anniversary commemorated by America250 is called the United States Semiquincentennial.

“Semiquincentennial” combines Latin-derived number parts meaning half of 500, or 250. The term describes the anniversary of the 1776 Declaration of Independence and is used alongside alternatives such as sestercentennial, quarter millennium, and bisesquicentennial.

The word is less familiar than “bicentennial,” which means a 200th anniversary. The United States celebrated its bicentennial in 1976, marking 200 years since the Declaration of Independence. America250 refers to the next major anniversary, reached in 2026.

The anniversary is specifically tied to the Declaration’s adoption on July 4, 1776, rather than to the later ratification of the Constitution, the end of the Revolutionary War, or the creation of the federal government. That distinction explains why the official commemoration centers on Independence Day.