With St. Patrick’s Day nearly upon us, it seems a good time to check out just what percentage of folks in Delaware County and the region can claim Irish ancestry, writes Max Bennett for patch.com.

Many Americans say they’re Irish, but in the city of Philadelphia, there aren’t as many people with an authentic Irish family line as you might think.

About 160,283 folks with an Irish heritage live in the city, about 10.1 percent, according to U.S. Census data.

Delaware County can proudly claim the state’s second-largest Irish American population,  at 24 percent, beating out all of its neighboring counties.

Nearby Bucks County Irish ancestry percentage is 23.9, Chester County’s 21.2, and Montgomery County’s 20.3.

The No. 1 county for Irish ancestry in Pennsylvania goes to Lackawanna County, at 25.2 percent, mostly coming from Scranton.

Scranton’s Irish population is at 26.5 percent.

Pennsylvania has about 1.9 million people with Irish ancestry, 15.5 percent of the total population.

According to the Census Bureau, ancestry refers to a person’s ethnic origin or descent, “roots,” or heritage, or the place of birth of the person or the person’s parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States.

Read more about the Irish in Delaware County at patch.com.

Learn about the Irish in Philadelphia and how they came to our region.