54.5964° N, 5.9301° W
BELFAST
Most Famous People Born in Belfast, United Kingdom
- Notable people
- 1,393
- Peak decade
- 1950s
- Median birth year
- 1949
- Most distinctive
- Loyalist 272.1×
A divided city whose most distinctive profession in the entire dataset, at more than two hundred times the global rate, is loyalist — paired with republican at more than thirty, the statistical footprint of the Troubles. Belfast's other distinctive shelves are boxers, rugby players (grouped as 'player'), footballers, and cricketers at concentrations that outpace every other city on the island. Van Morrison, George Best, Kenneth Branagh, and C.S. Lewis all grew up within walking distance of the Lagan, and the 19th-century shipbuilding establishment that built the Titanic anchors the older half of the bench.
One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Belfast during each.
Notable Births by Decade
Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1950s with 179 notable births.
What Belfast Is Known For
Click any row to filter the list of people below.
Football is Belfast's biggest profession — 23% of all notables (321).
Belfast over-indexes on loyalist — 272.1× the global rate.
Belfast under-produces painter — only 0.5× the global rate.
Profession Mix Over Time
Each band shows a profession family's share of Belfast's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.
- Sports
- Politics & Law
- Film & TV
- Writing
- Science
- Music
- Other
- Field: Football Clear ×
Hugh Ferguson (footballer)
1926 - 1994
Bill Purves
1870 - 1900
Norman Patterson (soccer)
1945 - 2012
Billy McKeag
Born 1945
Paddy McIlvenny (footballer, born 1924)
1924 - 2013
Johnny Jamison
Born 1948
William Clay (footballer)
Born 1883
Jimmy Walker (footballer, born 1932)
Born 1932
Charlie Calow
Born 1931
John McVickers
Born 1868
Jack Curran (footballer)
1898 - 1932
Hugh Flack
Born 1903
Patrick Gavin
-
Charles Creighton (referee)
1876 - 1949
Billy Smyth
1925 - 2005
John Fraser (footballer, born 1938)
1938 - 2011
Archie Heggarty
1884 - 1951
John Murray (Irish footballer)
-
John Lavery (footballer, born 1919)
Born 1919
Vic Hooks
Born 1955
Bob Allen (Fußballspieler, 1939)
Born 1939