The national flag of the United States of America is often simply referred to as the American flag, consisting of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton with 50 stars.br/br/The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 states of the United States of America and the 13 stripes represent the thirteen British colonies that declared independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain and became the first states in the Union. Other names for the american flag are; quot;Stars and Stripesquot;, quot;Old Gloryquot;, and quot;The Star-Spangled Bannerquot;