When did Congress formally approve the name “United States of America” in 1776?

Congress formally approved the name “United States of America” on September 9, 1776.

The phrase had already appeared in the Declaration of Independence, which Congress adopted on July 4. However, the Continental Congress separately resolved on September 9 that references to the “United Colonies” in official documents should be replaced with “United States.” This distinction makes the date easy to confuse with other milestones from 1776.

The Declaration itself used the new name in its opening title and throughout its text. The September resolution helped standardize the name for congressional business during the transition from a group of colonies resisting British rule to a declared union of independent states.

July 4 remains the adoption date of the Declaration, while July 19 was the date Congress ordered an engrossed parchment copy with the title “The unanimous declaration of the thirteen United States of America.” The September 9 decision was the formal naming step, not the Declaration’s adoption or signing.