County

Antrim

Aontroim

Antrim’s landscape connects Belfast Lough and Lough Neagh with the north coast, while deep glens cut through its uplands.

Recorded locationAntrim54.82554° N · 6.14332° WInteractive map supplied by OpenStreetMap.
Approximate recorded location · Logainm.ieOpen in OpenStreetMap ↗

The name

A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.

Recorded forms

  • Aontroim · Irish · main form · validated name
  • Antrim · English · main form

Place & story

Water around the county

Lewis’s 1837 county entry describes Antrim between Belfast Lough, Lough Neagh, the Bann and the northern and eastern seas. These are different kinds of boundaries: lake shores, a river and a long coast. They shaped connections as well as divisions. A household near the Bann or Lagan could have close everyday links with an adjoining county, while a coastal settlement might face towards places reached more readily by sea. [2]

A glen in detail

DAERA’s account of Glenariff identifies woodland, streams, waterfalls, cliffs and scree associated with a basalt escarpment. It records ash and hazel woodland as part of that protected landscape. The glen is a useful local example of Antrim’s varied terrain, rather than a description of every part of the county. A broad plateau on a regional map can contain sharply enclosed valleys and distinct habitats when examined at the scale of an individual place. [3]

Older districts in records

Lewis distinguishes Clandeboye, the Glens and the Route in his account of earlier territorial divisions. Those names can help interpret historical writing, but their bounds should not be assumed identical to later parishes or baronies. His elaborate early name explanation is not adopted here as a settled etymology. For family research, add townland and parish to the county name, and preserve older district labels when the original source uses them; they may explain connections that a modern county address alone conceals. [2]

Geographic information

Place type
County
County
Antrim
Coordinates
54.82554, -6.14332 (approximate)
Mapped area
3,095.35 km²
Logainm ID
100000 ↗

People & family history

Census figures refer to the matched historical census area for each year. Boundaries and spellings can change over time.

1926 census

This year is outside the available dataset’s coverage. This does not indicate a population of zero.

Explore this county

Up to 50 places per page, ordered by name.

Sources & further reading

  1. Logainm.ie — Antrim. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
  2. County Antrim — A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) · Samuel Lewis · 1837
  3. Glenariff Area of Special Scientific Interest · Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
  4. Boundary geometry retains its source attribution and licence in the downloadable geographic record. Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2021-05-26. How this page was prepared.