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: Republican Clear ×
Bulmer Hobson
1883 - 1969
Brendan McFarlane
Born 1951
Joe McDonnell (hunger striker)
1951 - 1981
Mary Ann McCracken
1770 - 1866
Ivor Bell
Born 1936
Daniel McCann
1957 - 1988
Dolours Price
1951 - 2013
Thomas Begley
1970 - 1993
Larry Marley
1945 - 1987
Tom Hartley
Born 1945
Patricia Black
1972 - 1991
Roy Magee
1930 - 2009
Marian Price
Born 1954
Joe McCann
1947 - 1972
Paul Magee
Born 1948
Rab Kerr
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