When did Congress officially approve the name “United States of America”?

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

The phrase had already appeared in the Declaration of Independence, which was adopted on July 4. Congress later made the name official through a resolution changing the wording used in its documents and commissions. The change replaced “United Colonies,” a term used during the colonial rebellion, with “United States.”

The wording reflected a major constitutional and political shift. The colonies were claiming to be independent states united for common purposes, rather than territories governed within the British Empire. The Articles of Confederation, drafted in 1777 and ratified in 1781, also used the name United States of America.

The name did not mean that the modern federal system already existed. Under the Articles, the national government was weaker than the government later created by the Constitution. The Constitution, ratified in 1788, continued the same national name while establishing the present federal framework.