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British/specifically English but also Scottish ancestry seems to be underreported in the US, and the North-East is no exception. You tend to associate the NE - particularly BosWash - with Irish and Italians, but I'm sure the English form a large minority, especially given many of the last names. I find it interesting how someone with the last name 'Smith' in NYC is most likely to be black lol. I mean one talks of WASPs from Connecticut and the Hamptons, would you say they tend to be more English-Scottish-Dutch? How English is say PA, NYS, NJ? CT and MA outside Boston seem pretty British.
I find it interesting how someone with the last name 'Smith' in NYC is most likely to be black lol.
That's because the African-Americans mostly came from down South where a large percentage of whites have English/Scottish ancestry. White people with the name "Smith" in NYC are most likely transplants from continental US or fairly recent British immigrants (not that many of those).
The Province of New York was openly hostile toward British rule ever since the Treaty of Breda and Oliver Cromwell's military action against the city during the Second Anglo-Dutch war. Even when New York was officially a province of the British Empire it was mostly settled by other European nationalities. When the British colony of Boston finally rebelled 100 years later, New York was one of the first colonies to give support and join them. The whole "taxation without representation" was a Boston thing, New York was always looking for an excuse to join the war against the British. The biggest battle against the British during the Revolutionary war was the Battle of Brooklyn.
There are more people of English ancestry in LA than NYC, even though NYC has over 4 million more people.
There are more people of English ancestry in Colorado Springs, CO than in Philadelphia, even though Philadelphia has over a million more people.
Boston has less people of English ancestry than Boise, Idaho or Plano, TX and only slightly more than Anchorage, Alaska.
Of the top 15 US cities with the most people of English ancestry, 10 are in the west or southwest (LA, Phoenix, Houston, San Diego, Dallas, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Antonio, and Mesa AZ), 3 are in the midwest (Indianapolis, Chicago and Columbus), 1 is in the south (Jacksonville, FL) and 1 is in the northeast (New York City).
The statistics regarding the US cities with the highest number of people of Scottish ancestry look similar. New York City ranks #1 in the US, but is the only eastern city in the top 20. NYC only has slightly more Scottish people than LA. Colorado Springs has more people of Scottish ancestry than Philadelphia. Boston has less Scottish people than Memphis and only slightly more Scottish people than Boise, Idaho.
British/specifically English but also Scottish ancestry seems to be underreported in the US, and the North-East is no exception. You tend to associate the NE - particularly BosWash - with Irish and Italians, but I'm sure the English form a large minority, especially given many of the last names. I find it interesting how someone with the last name 'Smith' in NYC is most likely to be black lol. I mean one talks of WASPs from Connecticut and the Hamptons, would you say they tend to be more English-Scottish-Dutch? How English is say PA, NYS, NJ? CT and MA outside Boston seem pretty British.
The most people of English descent are in two places in the U.S.
1. Northern New England - Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. This extends into rural upstate NY, since it was settled by Yankees in the early 19th century, and outside of Buffalo/Rochester didn't get huge levels of outside migration.
2. Utah, given the early Mormons were New Englanders, left before mass immigration from Ireland started, and didn't interbreed with outsiders much during their formative period.
Scottish Americans show basically the same distribution
Keep in mind though that these ancestry maps always underestimate English ancestry in the South. Most southerners don't know what they are, and particularly tend to overestimate the amount of Scotch-Irish and underestimate the amount of English in their ancestry.
In cities where the population is at least 50,000, there are three cities in the US with as high as 30% estimated English ancestry (Orem, Sandy and Provo Utah), but only two US cities with as high as 5% estimated Scottish ancestry (Orem, Utah and Portland, Maine), and only one city with as high as 5% estimated Scotch-Irish ancestry (Asheville, NC).
Looking at the Percent English map from 2000, it's hard to tell that 124,821 people of English ancestry live in New York City, which is more than the number of people of English ancestry in the state of Vermont, 111,979.
Also, 2,521,355 people of English ancestry live in California, which is more than double the combined total number of people of English ancestry in Utah (647,987), Maine (274,423), New Hampshire (223,026), and Vermont (111,979).
Last edited by The Ancient Oracle; 04-09-2013 at 10:37 AM..
Looking at the Percent English map from 2000, it's hard to tell that 124,821 people of English ancestry live in New York City, which is more than the number of people of English ancestry in the state of Vermont, 111,979.
Why do you keep focusing on the absolute number, rather than the percentage? New York is the biggest city in the country, so in general one would expect it to have a relatively high number of any ethnic background. It doesn't mean that those groups have a disproportionate influence on the local culture however.
In addition, AFAIK when the census estimates ancestry, people pick everything they are at least partially, not fully. E.G., I'm an eighth English, so I would count as an "English-American" despite it being at least five generations back since my last ancestor left England (who, ironically, was a Sephardic Jew).
Of the top 100 US cities (over 50,000 population) that have the highest percentage of people claiming English ancestry, only five are in the northeast.
Of the top 100 US cities (over 50,000 population) that have the highest percentage of people claiming Scottish ancestry, only five are in the northeast.
Why do you keep focusing on the absolute number, rather than the percentage? New York is the biggest city in the country, so in general one would expect it to have a relatively high number of any ethnic background. It doesn't mean that those groups have a disproportionate influence on the local culture however.
If you just go by percentages, and don't look at absolute numbers, there are 60 US cities more Irish than Boston, including cities like Overland Park, Kansas and Omaha, Nebraska.
The Province of New York was openly hostile toward British rule ever since the Treaty of Breda and Oliver Cromwell's military action against the city during the Second Anglo-Dutch war. Even when New York was officially a province of the British Empire it was mostly settled by other European nationalities.
In 1790, English American represented 52 % of the population of New York state, so they were already the majority.
Dutch people were only 17 %.
It's obvious that the number of English American is underestimated at the national level but I don't think this is really the case in the Northeast. I know that during the westward expansion a lot of New Englanders fled in the West.
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Utah, given the early Mormons were New Englanders, left before mass immigration from Ireland started, and didn't interbreed with outsiders much during their formative period.
Don't forget also that Utah received many immigrants from England and Wales in the 19th century who were Mormon.
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