Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
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?
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)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.