The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1886-12-29
CELTIC NAMES.
Macs, O's, Murphys and Sullivans Residing
in Our Four Principal Cities.

EJIS NAUESs
Macs, O's, Murphys and Sullivans Residing
in Our Four Principal Cities.
The relative numbers of Celtic inhab-
itants in the four principal cities of the
Union must be matter of interest to
every Irish nationalist To find out
such matter with absolute certainty
would be well nigh impossible; but by
means of the directories of the cities,
about the Celtic population of which
we desire to speak, a very close approx
imation can be made as to the Irish
element they contain. We had recently
an opportunity of examining the direct
cries of the four principal American
cities-New York, Philadelphia, Chica-
go, and Boston-and took the trouble
to count the number of columns of
each directory that contained the most
common and numerous Irish names,
and the results are very interest
ing. 1t will invariably be found
that whenever there are the most
O's and Macs. and the most Murphys
and Sullivans, there is the largest Irish
population; for the names Murphy and
Sullivan. and names which begin with
o and Mac, are the most numerous
among the Celtic race. The prefix o
should, by right, be retained before the
names Sullivan and Murphy, but in
most cases it has been discarded.
The number of names in the columns
of the directories of the four cities men
toned is very nearly the same and will
average about eighty. The following
table gives the number of O's and Macs
Sullivan and Murphys in the four cities
mentioned
Columns.
Names beginning with o. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. AZ
Names beginning with Mac................ 13s
Sulliyans and Murphys combined..-.... "a
Total columns. Observation-Disclosures. 20l
PHILADELPHIA.
Names beginning with O.................. es
Names beginning with Mac................ lit
Sullivans and Murphys combined-........ 10
Total columns OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. 2ly
CHICAGO.
Names beginning with O................... Is
Names beginning with Mac................ II
sullivans and Murphys combined. Is
Total columns. ........................ liz
BOSTON.
Names beginning with O.................. 80
Names beginning with Mac................ 81
Sullivans and Murphys combin ed........ 81
Total columns ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 1853
From the foregoing it will be seen,
contrary to the general betsf, that Phil
adelphia is absolutely and that Boston is
relatively the most Celtic of American
cities. The population OF New York is,
in round numbers, 10000 Phi ladel-
phia 900, 000 Chicago zoo, 1000, and Bos-
ton 400, 900. Philadelphia, about one
third less in population than New York,
has fifteen more columns of Celtic
names; but Boston, in proportion to it's
population, is the most Celtic of all. If
New York were as Celtic as Boston its
directory would have about $50 columns
of O's, Macs, Sullivans and Murphys,
instead of 2O4; and if it were as proper
tionately Celtic as Philadelphia its di-
rectory would contain about 800 instead
of 2O4 columns of the Celtic names men,
toned. Chicago is relatively and alb
solutely the least Celtic OF the four cit
les. It is about as populous and half
as Boston, but its directory contains
only 112 columns of the prominent Gel
tic name against 1872 in the Boston di-
rectorv. We use the term Celtic instead
of Irish, because considerable minority
of the names beginning with Mac are
Scotch rather than Irish. Boston, then,
is in proportion to its population the
most Celtic and the most Irish city in
America.
The case of Philadelphia is curious.
It is said to contain a smaller foreign
born population than any of the great
cities of America, and this is probably
so; vet, with the exception OF Boston, il
is relatively the most Celt of the four
cities. This is explained by the fact
that long ago-as far back as the time
when what are now known as the United
States were British colonies-there was
vast tide of emigration from Ireland
to this country, and the greater part Of
it was directed to Pennsylvania. The
difference between the Irish element in
Boston and Philadelphia is that in the
former city it is new andin the latter il
is old.
When one remembers that the pre-
fixes O and Mac have been dropped in
very nearly half the names that org
| inaily had them, and also that sabou
fifty per cent. of Irish names have beer
either translated or SO changed that i
takes some one even more trained than
a savant to recognize them in Their mu
tilated American forms. he is astonishet
at the immensely of the Irish element II
America, and marvels how it came t.
pass that the million and a quarter o
people that Ireland contained only twt
hundred years ago have grown to an in
conceivable multitude that have spreat
absolutely over half the earth. Chicag'
Citizen.
Doctor What ais you, sirP Pa
TENT don't know, doctor. l hay
such buzzing sound in my ears all tb
time. Would you like to look at NJ,
tongue? Doctor-No, never mind
Bring your wife around some day. Z
like to look at hers. = Yonkels STATES
! nsaH,