Gillespie family name history and map
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Gillespie in 1911 Ireland
The 1911 Census recorded 3,412 people named Gillespie in Ireland, about 0.078% of everyone living in the country at the time and the 263rd most common surname overall. The name was split fairly evenly between men and women: 1,621 men and 1,783 women. (A small number, 8, had no sex recorded.)
Counties with Gillespie in Ireland
Donegal was Gillespie country: 31.4% of them (1,071 people) lived there in 1911. Next came Antrim (702), Down (318), Tyrone (253) and Derry (194).
Gillespie average age in 1911
The average Gillespie in 1911 was 29.4 years old, 28.7 for men and 30.1 for women; almost exactly in line with the national averages of 29.6 for men and 30.5 for women. That low figure reflects just how many children there were in Edwardian Ireland, along with high infant mortality and the limits of public health at the time. For comparison, average life expectancy in Ireland today is around 83.
Gillespie literacy in 1911
Of the Gillespies whose literacy was recorded, 75.9% could both read and write, 4.5% could read but not write, and 19.6% could do neither. Men came out slightly ahead, 77.4% reading and writing against 74.3% of women. Bear in mind these figures include young children; the census itself only counted people aged nine and over when calculating illiteracy, on the grounds that it was unfair to label a child illiterate before they'd had a chance to learn.
Gillespie common first names
The most common male names were John (198), James, Patrick, William and Thomas. For women it was Mary (221), followed by Bridget, Annie, Sarah and Maggie.
Gillespie occupations in 1911
The most common entry on a Gillespie's census form was "Scholar"; 20.3% (694) were children at school. Among the rest, the most common occupations were farmer (16%), textile worker (4.7%), farm labourer (2.5%) and general labourer (2.4%). Grouped by sector, agriculture accounted for 18.9% of all Gillespies, followed by textiles & clothing, domestic service and retail & commerce.
What religion is Gillespie?
Most Gillespies, 50.2%, were Roman Catholic. The remainder were mostly Anglican (25.1%), Presbyterian (19.7%), Methodist (1.8%) and Congregationalist (0.7%).
Visitor Notes
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Added by
Pete F
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Gillespie statistics (1911)
Number: 3,412
Rank: 263
Average Age: 29
Gillespie in the USA (2020)
Number: 40,456
Rank: 836
Note: If there were less than 100 in the USA census it will show as zero.