Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-12-16
CELTIC NAMES.
Macs, O's, Murphys and SulIivans Residing
in Our -Four Principal Cities.

Macs, O's, Murphys and SulIivans Residing
in Our Fsur 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 we'll nigh impossible; but by
means of the directories of the cities,
about the Celtic population of which
we desire to speak, 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-
90, 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 Murphvs
and Sullivans, there is the largest Irish
population; for the names Murphy and
Sullivan, and names which begin with
. and Mac. are the most numerous
among the Celtic race. The prefix o
should, by right, be retained before the
names Sullivan and Murphy, bat in
most cases it has been discarded.
The number of names in the columns
of the directories of the four cit s men
toned is very nearly the same ami will
average about eighty. The following
table give, the number OF O's and Macs,
Sullivan and Murphys in the four cites
mentioned:
NEW YORK,
Columns.
Names beginning with Observation-Disclosures. l3S
Suliivans and MUrpGys combined........ II
Total columns. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ui
PHILADELPHIA.
Names beginning WITH O............,. IS
Names beginning with Mac............. 176
Sullvans and Murphys com 5ined -
Total columns 2I9
CHICAGO.
Names beginning with O............ l3
Names beginning with Mac........... II
SulIivans and Murnhys combined. %
Total columns. Observation-Disclosures. liz
BOSTON.
Names beginning with O............... 80
Names beginning with Mtc................ ~
sullivans and Murphys combin ed... 81
Total columns. Observation-Disclosures. 1853
From the foregoing it will Ee IN,
contrary to the general belief, 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, 100000, Phi ladel-
phia 900, 0CO. CHI cago 100000, AMI Bos-
ton 400 900. Philadelphia, about ons-
third less in population than New Y ork,
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 Us Celtic as Boston its
directory would have about $50 columns
of O's, Macs, Sullivans and Murphys,
instead of 204; and if it were as proper
tionately Celtic as Philadelphia its di-
rectory would contain about 800 instead
of 204 columns of the Celtic names men,
toned. Chicago is relatively and alb
solutely the least Celtic of the four cit
les. 1t 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 a considerable minority
of the names beg inning with Mac are
Scotch rather than Irish. Boston, them
is in proportion to its population the
most Celtic and the most Irish city in
America.
The case of Philadelphia is curious.
1t is said to contain smaller foreign
born population than any of the great
cities of America, and this is probably
so; vet. with the exception of Boston, it
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, AMI 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 and in the latter it |
is old.
When one remembers that the pre-
fixes o and Mac have been dropped in |
very nearly half the names that or g
inally had them, and also that about |
fifty per cent. of Irish names have been |
either translated or so changed that it |
takes some one even more trained than /
a savant to recognize them in their mu- |
tilatCd American forms. he is astOnished |
at the immensely of the Irish element in |
An erica, and marvels how it came to
pass that the million and quarter of I
people that Ireland contained only two |
hundred years ago have grown to an in
multitude that have spread |
over half the earth. Chicago
CtttzcH.