Rafter family name history and map
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Rafter in 1911 Ireland
The 1911 Census recorded 497 people named Rafter in Ireland; roughly one in every 8,800 people carried the name. The name was split fairly evenly between men and women: 267 men and 229 women. (A small number, 1, had no sex recorded.)
Counties with Rafter in Ireland
Dublin had the largest share of Rafters, 20.7% (103 people). Next came Mayo (97), Laois (85), Kilkenny (77) and Sligo (60).
Rafter average age in 1911
The average Rafter in 1911 was 31.2 years old, 29.7 for men and 33.0 for women; slightly older 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.
Rafter literacy in 1911
Of the Rafters whose literacy was recorded, 80.7% could both read and write, 3.3% could read but not write, and 15.9% could do neither. Men came out slightly ahead, 81.6% reading and writing against 79.6% 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.
Rafter common first names
The most common male names were John (46), James, Michael, Thomas and William. For women it was Mary (43), followed by Bridget, Catherine, Anne and Margaret.
Rafter occupations in 1911
The most common entry on a Rafter's census form was "Scholar"; 23.3% (116) were children at school. Among the rest, the most common occupations were farmer (21.7%), general labourer (5.2%), shopkeeper / shop assistant / dealer (2.4%) and farm labourer (2.2%). Grouped by sector, agriculture accounted for 25.8% of all Rafters, followed by general labourers, retail & commerce and domestic service.
What religion is Rafter?
Rafters were overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, 90.7% of them. The remainder were mostly Anglican (9.1%) and Methodist (0.2%).
Visitor Notes
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Added by
Pete F
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Rafter statistics (1911)
Number: 497
Rank: 1,360
Average Age: 31
Rafter in the USA (2020)
Number: 1,614
Rank: 17,175
Note: If there were less than 100 in the USA census it will show as zero.