I suspuct as do some others, that the name goes back to colonial tims. When we were under King George (George III, not GWB), the English referred to the American Colonies. It seems logical to refer to the colonists as Americans and it probably just never went away. As for the United States, it was a much looser union than we have today. We had each been individual colonies under British rule and when we broke with mother England, the idea of being a single nation took some time to sink in. Prior to the Civil War, the term, "United Staes" was used as a plural, i.e., "These are the united states." Only after Lincoln cemented the Union did people referto the US as a singular as in, "This is the United States." Well, history class is over. I'm going to go shave.