10 March 2021
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Find your UK ancestor on the 1911 census with our guide to the dates the census was taken and what information it contains.
The census is an essential building block for your family tree, allowing you to see a snapshot of your ancestor and their family members at ten-yearly intervals.
The census returns of 1841-1911 for England, Wales and Scotland are available online and can give you a unique insight into your ancestors’ lives every 10 years. You can read more about how and where to search the census in our UK census guide.
The 1911 census
The 1911 census was taken on 2 April 1911 and in most respects, repeated the questions that had been asked in the 1901 census, with new questions for women on number of years married, the number of children of the marriage and the number of children living or dead (England, Wales and Scotland).
Also included was more detailed information on origins, with questions on UK parish and county of birth, nationality if born overseas and resident or visitor if born outside England or Wales (England and Wales only).
The Irish census was also taken on 2 April 1911. Find out more at the National Archives Ireland.
What information does the UK 1911 census contain?
- First name
- Surname
- Age
- Sex
- Relationship to head of household
- Rank/profession/occupation (with 'unemployed' added, Scotland only)
- Industry or service employed within (Scotland)
- Employer/employed/neither
- Language spoken (Wales, Isle of Man)
- Whether English, Gaelic or both spoken (Scotland only, age 3+ for Gaelic)
- Marital status
- Number of years married (women)
- Number of children of that marriage and whether living or dead (women)
- Number of children still living (Scotland)
- County and parish of birth
- If resident in England and Wales, whether visitor or resident
- Nationality if born overseas (England and Wales)
- Whether born in Scotland, Ireland or 'foreign parts' (England, Wales & Channel islands), or born in Scotland, England, Ireland or 'foreign subject' (Scotland)
- Whether blind, deaf or dumb (Scotland only)
- Whether Gaelic speaker (Scotland only)
- Whether living in a dwelling with a door that opened onto a common stairway
- How many rooms with 1 or more windows (Scotland only)
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Whether blind/deaf & dumb/ imbeclie/idiot, lunatic (England and Wales) imbecile, lunatic (Scotland)
The population for England & Wales at this census was recorded as 36,070,000, Scotland: 4,761,000.
QUICK LINK: How to use the census for find your ancestors on the 1841-1921 censuses