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.
The bottom 5 or 6 states are the usual suspects (KY and Tenn having a strong Scots/Irish mix and ..in KY...also Germans from PA), but with a suprise of Georgia. Not well known but Georgia also recieved a German immigration of Protestant refugees from Catholic parts of Germany and Austria.
I suspect, but I can't be sure, that Georgia is more English than it self reports since large numbers of Southerns refer to themselves as American.
I agree, the percentage are low in the Deep South because there is also a large African American population.
I think West Virginia, Arkansas and maybe Tennessee are the only states where Scotch-Irish outnumber English but I'm not sure.
So-called "Scots-Irish" "Americans" are usually descended from North England and Scotland and have English surnames like Smith, Jones, Brown, Williams, Taylor, Harris, etcs. You'll find these names all over the south, but they claim "American" on the Census.
There are definitely many German surnames up north. However, I hardly ever see (non-Anglicized) German surnames around the south. Pennsylvania and parts of the Hudson Valley were settled by Germans from the 1600s. Very few places in the South have German settlement historically.
English ancestry is downplayed by Americans because it's the "norm", other European ancestries are emphasized because it sounds more "cool" like Irish, German, and Italian. English ancestry is found throughout the US. German ancestry is strongest in Pennsylvania, and the Midwest. The number of German descendants are very low in New England and the Southeast.
British/Irish ancestry (I'm grouping them because they are almost identically on looks department) are by far more common than german ancestry across the US, Considering the majority of white americans have english colonial stock blood, and British were 80% of population.
78% of the people was reported either British Isles or Irish ancestry back in 1790 (first US census).
American census is a joke:
English ancestry reported by census:
1980: 32,56% reported being of british ancestry. (Majority ancestry in the US)
1990: 18,4% reported being of british ancestry
2000: 12,9 %
Did so many millon of brits descended people leave america beteen 1980-2000 ? lol
I'ts more than clear that americans are so mixed in terms of ancestry that they dont really know what their really ancestries are (Which is most of time a various mix where British-Isles and Irish ancestry is the prevalent one in the mix)
I feel like German is over-reported because a lot of people who could claim EITHER English or German choose to claim German for whatever reason.
For example, my mom's side of the family is 50% English, 25% Irish, 25% German... she has some relatives that claim German, even though it's not even the main part of their ancestry.
My dad's side is 100% Norwegian though, so that's what I claim since that is my biggest part.
I feel like German is over-reported because a lot of people who could claim EITHER English or German choose to claim German for whatever reason.
For example, my mom's side of the family is 50% English, 25% Irish, 25% German... she has some relatives that claim German, even though it's not even the main part of their ancestry.
My dad's side is 100% Norwegian though, so that's what I claim since that is my biggest part.
What's the relatives' last names? If it's a German name, that might explain it.
I don't know the answer if English or German is more predominant. But I do know this-even in the deep south, people are more likely to say anything but English. If you talk to them in person, southerners will generally tell you more than simply "American" since many don't trust the census questioning. I've heard Scotch-Irish, Irish, Welsh, German, French, Dutch, Italian, even Spanish and Swedish/Norwegian. But never English. I don't have an answer for that. Must have been a stigma associated with saying you are English, maybe a little hoity toity (although there are many common everyday English people). This is an American tradition anywhere you go, it seems to be.
There's a big thread on the Scots-Irish ancestry in the History subforum, and I deffo think this is a key ancestry group in influencing the national character of the USA.
From upthread bit, a fascinating list of of states, rank ordered by English ancestry:
The bottom 5 or 6 states are the usual suspects (KY and Tenn having a strong Scots/Irish mix and ..in KY...also Germans from PA), but with a suprise of Georgia. Not well known but Georgia also recieved a German immigration of Protestant refugees from Catholic parts of Germany and Austria.
I don't know the answer if English or German is more predominant. But I do know this-even in the deep south, people are more likely to say anything but English. If you talk to them in person, southerners will generally tell you more than simply "American" since many don't trust the census questioning. I've heard Scotch-Irish, Irish, Welsh, German, French, Dutch, Italian, even Spanish and Swedish/Norwegian. But never English. I don't have an answer for that. Must have been a stigma associated with saying you are English, maybe a little hoity toity (although there are many common everyday English people). This is an American tradition anywhere you go, it seems to be.
The south is probably the region where there's the strongest American identity so it doesn't surprise me at all.
British Americans are an invisible ethnic group. If you say I'm English, Scottish and Welsh, it's like you say I'm a basic American guy.
Names like James Howard, Matt Jones and William Brown are typically American names but it doesn't necessarily come to people's minds that they are of British origin. It's American.
While Irish names like O'Brien, O'Reilly or Italian names like Rossi are easy to spot.
There is an Irish festival (St.Patrick's day) and a German festival (Oktoberfest) but nothing to celebrate the British heritage. There is no English community like Italians, Irish or Germans so it's normal we don't talk about it.
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.
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.
