Sheehan family name history and map
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Sheehan in 1911 Ireland
The 1911 Census recorded 6,693 people named Sheehan in Ireland, about 0.153% of everyone living in the country at the time and the 105th most common surname overall. The name was split fairly evenly between men and women: 3,339 men and 3,345 women. (A small number, 9, had no sex recorded.)
Counties with Sheehan in Ireland
Cork was Sheehan country: 49.2% of them (3,295 people) lived there in 1911. Next came Kerry (1,354), Limerick (652), Waterford (306) and Dublin (246).
Sheehan average age in 1911
The average Sheehan in 1911 was 29.2 years old, 28.9 for men and 29.6 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.
Sheehan literacy in 1911
Of the Sheehans whose literacy was recorded, 75.6% could both read and write, 3.4% could read but not write, and 20.9% 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.
Sheehan common first names
The most common male names were John (557), Patrick, Michael, Thomas and Daniel. For women it was Mary (607), followed by Ellen, Bridget, Margaret and Kate.
Sheehan occupations in 1911
The most common entry on a Sheehan's census form was "Scholar"; 22.4% (1,500) were children at school. Among the rest, the most common occupations were farmer (12.7%), general labourer (5.5%), farm labourer (5%) and domestic servant (3.9%). Grouped by sector, agriculture accounted for 18.5% of all Sheehans, followed by domestic service, general labourers and retail & commerce.
What religion is Sheehan?
Sheehans were overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, 99.2% of them. The remainder were mostly Anglican (0.2%).
Visitor Notes
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Added by
Pete F
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Sheehan statistics (1911)
Number: 6,693
Rank: 105
Average Age: 29
Sheehan in the USA (2020)
Number: 25,895
Rank: 1,331
Note: If there were less than 100 in the USA census it will show as zero.
