O'Shea family name history and map
No data was found
No data was found
O'Shea in 1911 Ireland
The 1911 Census recorded 4,479 people named O'Shea in Ireland, about 0.102% of everyone living in the country at the time and the 184th most common surname overall. The name was split fairly evenly between men and women: 2,234 men and 2,239 women. (A small number, 6, had no sex recorded.)
Counties with O'Shea in Ireland
Cork was O'Shea country: 29.1% of them (1,304 people) lived there in 1911. Next came Kerry (1,031), Limerick (619), Tipperary (386) and Dublin (319).
O'Shea average age in 1911
The average O'Shea in 1911 was 28.2 years old, 28.3 for men and 28.2 for women; a touch younger than 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.
O'Shea literacy in 1911
Of the O'Sheas whose literacy was recorded, 80.2% could both read and write, 2.6% could read but not write, and 17.1% 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.
O'Shea common first names
The most common male names were John (311), Patrick, Michael, James and Thomas; the same five names that topped the list nationally. For women it was Mary (420), followed by Margaret, Bridget, Ellen and Catherine.
O'Shea occupations in 1911
The most common entry on an O'Shea's census form was "Scholar"; 21.9% (981) were children at school. Among the rest, the most common occupations were farmer (9.9%), general labourer (4.9%), domestic servant (3.7%) and farm labourer (3.6%). Grouped by sector, agriculture accounted for 14% of all O'Sheas, followed by domestic service, general labourers and retail & commerce.
What religion is O'Shea?
O'Sheas were overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, 99.7% of them. The remainder were mostly Anglican (0.1%).
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 O’Shea. 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.
O'Shea statistics (1911)
Number: 4,479
Rank: 184
Average Age: 28
O'Shea in the USA (2020)
Number: 10,404
Rank: 3,366
Note: If there were less than 100 in the USA census it will show as zero.
