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Old 07-12-2010, 02:02 PM
 
Location: Portland, Oregon
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German is far more reported, but I find it hard to believe it's more common than English ancestry. Do you think English ancestry is actually more common and just isn't reported as often since it's seen by many as "ordinary American" ancestry?
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Old 07-12-2010, 02:04 PM
 
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There are far more people of German and Irish decent. The immigration levels of those groups were in the millions back in the 1800's.

The English settled and founded our modern country, but they didn't have the sheer numbers of immigrants.
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Old 07-12-2010, 02:14 PM
 
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I'm pretty sure it's German.

Even if you added people who marked "American" (7%) to the people who marked "English" (9%) then would be 16% of the population, whereas people who marked "German" account for 17% of the population.

Most people who marked "American" are probably Scotch-Irish though, (a lot of them marked "Irish" too)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_American
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_American
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_ethnicity

Last edited by Smtchll; 07-12-2010 at 02:31 PM..
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Old 07-12-2010, 02:22 PM
 
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German....
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Old 07-12-2010, 02:56 PM
 
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If you really mean people of English, Scottish, Scot-Irish ancestry, all lumped together, then the answer woud be "Yes" (More "English")

But, if you are referring to people of just "English" ancestry, then perhaps not.

I'm leaving Irish Catholics out of this question.

Protestants from the British Isles dominate in the South, and large parts of the West. German immigration was at its strongest in the Midwest, along with portions of NY and PA. Outside of the Hill Country in Texas, there really isn't a strong German element in the South.

Just my 2 cents..
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Old 07-12-2010, 06:46 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MassVt View Post
If you really mean people of English, Scottish, Scot-Irish ancestry, all lumped together, then the answer woud be "Yes" (More "English")

But, if you are referring to people of just "English" ancestry, then perhaps not.

I'm leaving Irish Catholics out of this question.

Protestants from the British Isles dominate in the South, and large parts of the West. German immigration was at its strongest in the Midwest, along with portions of NY and PA. Outside of the Hill Country in Texas, there really isn't a strong German element in the South.

Just my 2 cents..
Also that American ancestry is also mostly either English, Scottish, Scotch-Irish and are mostly Protestant. Taking all of those together they are likely greater than German ancestry but there are a good number of people with both ancestries in their family tree. A good indicator for determining the boundary between the South and Midwest is figuring out which group is greater, the combined British Isles ancestry or the German one. (Catholics vs. Baptists is another good line which is along a very similar line)

The only other place in the South I can think of with any German element is a small corner in South Carolina near Columbia. It also has a distinction of being the source of the mustard-based barbecue of that area.
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Old 07-12-2010, 06:51 PM
 
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I dunno, I actually know a lot of people with German ancestry where I live (TN) and there are plenty of German last names. I'm not sure how they got here, but they're here.
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Old 07-12-2010, 06:51 PM
 
Location: New England & The Maritimes
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I agree with what has been said by everyone so far. German is still more, but if you included combined Protestant British isles it would probably be #1. However, I would like to add that many old "English" families have Dutch, Hugenot (sp) and other nationalities mixed in.
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Old 07-12-2010, 06:53 PM
 
Location: New England & The Maritimes
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Originally Posted by Smtchll View Post
I dunno, I actually know a lot of people with German ancestry where I live (TN) and there are plenty of German last names. I'm not sure how they got here, but they're here.
Is it possible that at least some of these "German last names" are jewish families? Many Jewish Americans have names of german derivation.
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Old 07-12-2010, 06:56 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Smtchll View Post
I dunno, I actually know a lot of people with German ancestry where I live (TN) and there are plenty of German last names. I'm not sure how they got here, but they're here.
My guess is the Mid and Upper South will have more but not the dominant group.
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