#1Famous people · West Kirby, Merseyside
Most of the 17 famous people born in West Kirby came into the world in the 20th century
At the top of the list is the British actress Joanna Scanlan, covered in 17 languages. The list comes to 12.7 for every 10,000 residents, about the same as the typical town in Merseyside, at 10.1. Births since 1970 account for 2 of the names. From Frederick Aspinall to Sam Hughes, the births on the list run from 1859 to 1997.
Born here
17
notable people
Best known
Joanna Scanlan
in 17 Wikipedia languages
First
1859
Frederick Aspinall
Youngest
1997
Sam Hughes
Most common field
Sports
9 people
The best known
Born in West Kirby
Ranked by languages covered: Joanna Scanlan with 17, then Shirley Hughes with 13 and David Raven with 9.
#1
#2Writing & Arts
Shirley Hughes
1927–2022English children's writer and illustrator (1927–2022)
13 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
DR#3
Through the years
When West Kirby’s famous people were born
The 1910s alone account for 3 of the births charted here.
SportsFilm, TV & StageWriting & ArtsMusicBusinessMilitary
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What West Kirby is known for
The field with the most names is Sports: 9.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in West Kirby
Here are 14 more, born from 1859 to 1997.
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Nearby, Birkenhead has the most on record, with 334.
Questions about famous people from West Kirby
Who is the most famous person from West Kirby?
Joanna Scanlan (British actress) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 17 languages. Next come Shirley Hughes and David Raven.
How many famous people were born in West Kirby?
17 people born in West Kirby have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 18 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is West Kirby known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 9 of the 17. That is 53% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from West Kirby?
Frederick Aspinall, born in 1859. The youngest on the list was born in 1997.
Who counts as from West Kirby?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside West Kirby’s built-up area (the ONS 2022 boundary), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a bigger area (“London”), another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary (Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (11)
- Joanna Scanlan: Marcus Liversedge, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Shirley Hughes: Transangst, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Harold Hilton: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Sam Hughes: MGPetch, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Vernon Griffiths: Auckland Weekly News, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Glenda Jackson: Studio Publicity, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Lottie Dod: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Scewing, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Chris Boardman: Cs-wolves, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Peel: JP_BBC.jpg: Arno Matthias derivative work: January, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jonathan Pryce: Greg2600, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tim Hunt: Machmit (Machmit), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.