Shire family name history and map
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Shire in 1911 Ireland
The 1911 Census recorded 53 people named Shire in Ireland; roughly one in every 83,000 people carried the name. The name was split fairly evenly between men and women: 27 men and 26 women.
Counties with Shire in Ireland
The Shires were heavily concentrated in Limerick, home to 86.8% of them (46 people). Next came Tyrone (3), Antrim (1), Cork (1) and Down (1).
Shire average age in 1911
The average Shire in 1911 was 21.8 years old, 23.0 for men and 20.7 for women; noticeably younger 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.
Shire literacy in 1911
Of the Shires whose literacy was recorded, 77.4% could both read and write, 5.7% could read but not write, and 17% 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.
Shire common first names
The most common male names were John (3), Jethro S, William, Albert George and Alic Franicis. For women it was Beatrice Ethel (2), followed by Maggie, Adelaid, Amie and Anastatia.
Shire occupations in 1911
The most common entry on a Shire's census form was "Scholar"; 37.7% (20) were children at school. Among the rest, the most common occupations were farmer (17%), no occupation / dependent (7.5%), shopkeeper / shop assistant / dealer (5.7%) and clergy / religious (1.9%). Grouped by sector, agriculture accounted for 17% of all Shires, followed by no occupation / dependent, retail & commerce and domestic service.
What religion is Shire?
The largest religious group among Shires was Anglican, at 35.8%. The remainder were mostly Methodist (34%) and Roman Catholic (30.2%).
Visitor Notes
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Added by
Pete F
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Shire statistics (1911)
Number: 53
Rank: 5,585
Average Age: 22
Shire in the USA (2020)
Number: 1,515
Rank: 18,123
Note: If there were less than 100 in the USA census it will show as zero.
Ref: shire
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