McKay family name history and map
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McKay in 1911 Ireland
The 1911 Census recorded 2,535 people named McKay in Ireland, about 0.058% of everyone living in the country at the time and the 348th most common surname overall. The name was split fairly evenly between men and women: 1,196 men and 1,334 women. (A small number, 5, had no sex recorded.)
Counties with McKay in Ireland
Antrim was McKay country: 48.2% of them (1,222 people) lived there in 1911. Next came Down (355), Derry (338), Dublin (189) and Donegal (117).
McKay average age in 1911
The average McKay in 1911 was 29.7 years old, 28.4 for men and 30.8 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.
McKay literacy in 1911
Of the McKays whose literacy was recorded, 80.1% could both read and write, 4.5% could read but not write, and 15.4% 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.
McKay common first names
The most common male names were John (165), James, William, Patrick and Robert. For women it was Mary (143), followed by Margaret, Annie, Elizabeth and Ellen.
McKay occupations in 1911
The most common entry on a McKay's census form was "Scholar"; 18.9% (478) were children at school. Among the rest, the most common occupations were farmer (11.6%), general labourer (3.9%), domestic servant (3.8%) and farm labourer (3.6%). Grouped by sector, agriculture accounted for 15.7% of all McKays, followed by domestic service, textiles & clothing and general labourers.
What religion is McKay?
The largest religious group among McKays was Roman Catholic, at 38.4%. The remainder were mostly Presbyterian (28.3%), Anglican (23.6%), Methodist (3%) and Congregationalist (1.2%).
Visitor Notes
Review type for post source and surnames source type not found
Added by
Pete F
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McKay statistics (1911)
Number: 2,535
Rank: 348
Average Age: 30
McKayin the USA (2020)
Number: 36,937
Rank: 926
Note: If there were less than 100 in the USA census it will show as zero.
