Rooney family name history and map
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Rooney in 1911 Ireland
The 1911 Census recorded 5,764 people named Rooney in Ireland, about 0.132% of everyone living in the country at the time and the 130th most common surname overall. The name was split fairly evenly between men and women: 2,835 men and 2,923 women. (A small number, 6, had no sex recorded.)
Counties with Rooney in Ireland
Leitrim had the largest share of Rooneys, 17.9% (1,029 people). Next came Down (997), Dublin (811), Sligo (422) and Antrim (300).
Rooney average age in 1911
The average Rooney in 1911 was 29.9 years old, 29.9 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.
Rooney literacy in 1911
Of the Rooneys whose literacy was recorded, 74.3% could both read and write, 4.9% could read but not write, and 20.7% 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.
Rooney common first names
The most common male names were John (391), Patrick, James, Thomas and Michael; the same five names that topped the list nationally. For women it was Mary (435), followed by Bridget, Margaret, Catherine and Anne.
Rooney occupations in 1911
The most common entry on a Rooney's census form was "Scholar"; 20.6% (1,188) were children at school. Among the rest, the most common occupations were farmer (16.4%), general labourer (4.5%), farm labourer (3.8%) and domestic servant (3%). Grouped by sector, agriculture accounted for 20.7% of all Rooneys, followed by domestic service, general labourers and textiles & clothing.
What religion is Rooney?
Rooneys were overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, 93.4% of them. The remainder were mostly Anglican (3.7%), Methodist (0.5%), Presbyterian (0.5%) and Moravian (0.2%).
Visitor Notes
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Added by
Pete F
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Rooney statistics (1911)
Number: 5,764
Rank: 130
Average Age: 30
Rooney in the USA (2020)
Number: 16,309
Rank: 2,167
Note: If there were less than 100 in the USA census it will show as zero.