Finlay family name history and map
No data was found
No data was found
Finlay in 1911 Ireland
The 1911 Census recorded 2,522 people named Finlay in Ireland, about 0.058% of everyone living in the country at the time and the 350th most common surname overall. The name was split fairly evenly between men and women: 1,217 men and 1,300 women. (A small number, 5, had no sex recorded.)
Counties with Finlay in Ireland
Antrim was Finlay country: 29.3% of them (739 people) lived there in 1911. Next came Down (576), Dublin (203), Monaghan (170) and Derry (126).
Finlay average age in 1911
The average Finlay in 1911 was 29.6 years old, 29.3 for men and 29.9 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.
Finlay literacy in 1911
Of the Finlays whose literacy was recorded, 82% could both read and write, 3.1% could read but not write, and 14.9% could do neither. The figures were much the same for men and 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.
Finlay common first names
The most common male names were John (143), James, William, Thomas and Robert. For women it was Mary (124), followed by Sarah, Elizabeth, Margaret and Annie.
Finlay occupations in 1911
The most common entry on a Finlay's census form was "Scholar"; 19% (478) were children at school. Among the rest, the most common occupations were farmer (9.9%), textile worker (5%), general labourer (4.1%) and farm labourer (2.8%). Grouped by sector, agriculture accounted for 13.2% of all Finlays, followed by textiles & clothing, general labourers and domestic service.
What religion is Finlay?
The largest religious group among Finlays was Presbyterian, at 39.9%. The remainder were mostly Roman Catholic (29.4%), Anglican (25.1%), Methodist (1.9%) and Unitarian (0.7%).
Visitor Notes
Review type for post source and surnames source type not found
Added by
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Finlay. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Finlay statistics (1911)
Number: 2,522
Rank: 350
Average Age: 30
Finlayin the USA (2020)
Number: 2,954
Rank: 10,371
Note: If there were less than 100 in the USA census it will show as zero.
