Black family name history and map
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Black in 1911 Ireland
The 1911 Census recorded 4,347 people named Black in Ireland, about 0.099% of everyone living in the country at the time and the 193rd most common surname overall. The name was split fairly evenly between men and women: 2,177 men and 2,163 women. (A small number, 7, had no sex recorded.)
Counties with Black in Ireland
Antrim was Black country: 29.9% of them (1,300 people) lived there in 1911. Next came Down (730), Armagh (443), Tyrone (385) and Derry (342).
Black average age in 1911
The average Black in 1911 was 29.0 years old, 28.3 for men and 29.7 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.
Black literacy in 1911
Of the Blacks whose literacy was recorded, 79% could both read and write, 4.8% could read but not write, and 16.2% could do neither. Men came out slightly ahead, 80.3% reading and writing against 77.7% 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.
Black common first names
The most common male names were James (253), John, William, Robert and Thomas. For women it was Mary (204), followed by Elizabeth, Sarah, Margaret and Jane.
Black occupations in 1911
The most common entry on a Black's census form was "Scholar"; 20.4% (888) were children at school. Among the rest, the most common occupations were farmer (10.1%), textile worker (5.3%), general labourer (4.5%) and farm labourer (3.5%). Grouped by sector, agriculture accounted for 14.2% of all Blacks, followed by textiles & clothing, general labourers and domestic service.
What religion is Black?
The largest religious group among Blacks was Presbyterian, at 41.5%. The remainder were mostly Anglican (29.3%), Roman Catholic (22.8%), Methodist (1.8%) and Congregationalist (0.9%).
Visitor Notes
Review type for post source and surnames source type not found
Added by
Pete F
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Black statistics (1911)
Number: 4,347
Rank: 193
Average Age: 29
Blackin the USA (2020)
Number: 151,439
Rank: 175
Note: If there were less than 100 in the USA census it will show as zero.
