What term names the United States’ 250th anniversary, the occasion called America250?

The United States’ 250th anniversary is called the semiquincentennial, the occasion branded America250.

The word combines Latin-derived elements associated with half of five hundred, or 250. It is the standard formal name used for the anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026.

Several alternative terms appear in historical and reference writing, including sestercentennial, bisesquicentennial, and quarter millennium. Semiquincentennial is the term used in the name of the federal United States Semiquincentennial Commission and in much official planning.

The terms for other milestone anniversaries are easy to confuse. A centennial marks 100 years, a sesquicentennial marks 150 years, and a bicentennial marks 200 years. America250 therefore refers specifically to the 250-year milestone, following the 1976 bicentennial and preceding the tricentennial in 2076.