Shields family name history and map
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Shields in 1911 Ireland
The 1911 Census recorded 1,654 people named Shields in Ireland, about 0.038% of everyone living in the country at the time and the 528th most common surname overall. The name was split fairly evenly between men and women: 820 men and 834 women.
Counties with Shields in Ireland
Down was Shields country: 26.8% of them (443 people) lived there in 1911. Next came Antrim (423), Tyrone (132), Dublin (99) and Donegal (97).
Shields average age in 1911
The average Shields in 1911 was 30.0 years old, 29.2 for men and 30.7 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.
Shields literacy in 1911
Of the Shieldses whose literacy was recorded, 77.6% could both read and write, 4.6% could read but not write, and 17.6% could do neither. Women came out slightly ahead, 78.7% reading and writing against 76.4% of men. 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.
Shields common first names
The most common male names were James (103), John, William, Patrick and Thomas. For women it was Mary (79), followed by Margaret, Sarah, Annie and Elizabeth.
Shields occupations in 1911
The most common entry on a Shields's census form was "Scholar"; 18.3% (302) were children at school. Among the rest, the most common occupations were farmer (11.7%), textile worker (5.9%), general labourer (4.2%) and farm labourer (3.6%). Grouped by sector, agriculture accounted for 15.8% of all Shieldses, followed by textiles & clothing, general labourers and domestic service.
What religion is Shields?
The largest religious group among Shieldses was Roman Catholic, at 47.3%. The remainder were mostly Anglican (25%), Presbyterian (22.4%), Congregationalist (0.8%) and Methodist (0.8%).
Visitor Notes
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Added by
Pete F
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Shields statistics (1911)
Number: 1,654
Rank: 528
Average Age: 30
Shields in the USA (2020)
Number: 49,337
Rank: 676
Note: If there were less than 100 in the USA census it will show as zero.