It isn’t really an imperial thing. It’s that, 250 years ago, when the tiny, newly independent nation was deciding on a name, no one bothered themselves with a new and unique name. And as you noted, American is the only part of that name that works as a description of a resident, even if it’s nonsensical.
There’s actually a Wikipedia article on USA demonyms: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonyms_for_the_United_States
Spanish actually uses “estadounidense” (~“United Statesian”), because they do use “American” to refer to inhabitants of the continent. In English, “US-American” is probably the best option, though “United Stater” doesn’t sound terrible, either.
It isn’t really an imperial thing. It’s that, 250 years ago, when the tiny, newly independent nation was deciding on a name, no one bothered themselves with a new and unique name. And as you noted, American is the only part of that name that works as a description of a resident, even if it’s nonsensical.
Sure feels like an imperial thing.
There’s actually a Wikipedia article on USA demonyms: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonyms_for_the_United_States
Spanish actually uses “estadounidense” (~“United Statesian”), because they do use “American” to refer to inhabitants of the continent. In English, “US-American” is probably the best option, though “United Stater” doesn’t sound terrible, either.