Ryan family name history and map
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Ryan in 1911 Ireland
The 1911 Census recorded 30,535 people named Ryan in Ireland, about 0.697% of everyone living in the country at the time and the 4th most common surname overall. The name was split fairly evenly between men and women: 15,375 men and 15,121 women. (A small number, 39, had no sex recorded.)
Counties with Ryan in Ireland
Tipperary was Ryan country: 35% of them (10,684 people) lived there in 1911. Next came Limerick (4,586), Dublin (3,132), Cork (2,027) and Kilkenny (1,437).
Ryan average age in 1911
The average Ryan in 1911 was 29.9 years old, 29.7 for men and 30.1 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.
Ryan literacy in 1911
Of the Ryans whose literacy was recorded, 80.8% could both read and write, 3.4% could read but not write, and 15.8% 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.
Ryan common first names
The most common male names were John (2,348), Patrick, Michael, James and Thomas; the same five names that topped the list nationally. For women it was Mary (2,797), followed by Bridget, Margaret, Ellen and Catherine.
Ryan occupations in 1911
The most common entry on a Ryan's census form was "Scholar"; 20.8% (6,347) were children at school. Among the rest, the most common occupations were farmer (15.8%), farm labourer (5%), general labourer (4.7%) and domestic servant (3.5%). Grouped by sector, agriculture accounted for 21.5% of all Ryans, followed by domestic service, general labourers and retail & commerce.
What religion is Ryan?
Ryans were overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, 98.1% of them. The remainder were mostly Anglican (1.3%).
Visitor Notes
Review type for post source and surnames source type not found
Added by
Pete F
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Ryan statistics (1911)
Number: 30,535
Rank: 4
Average Age: 30
Ryanin the USA (2020)
Number: 137,599
Rank: 201
Note: If there were less than 100 in the USA census it will show as zero.
