What's in a Name ?

New Zealand Tablet, 11 October 1906, Page 22

What's in a Name ?

The following item (from the Westport • News ') is going the rounds of the New Zealand press :—

' The Rev. Mr. Stewart celebrated a unique wedding at Greymouth on Wednesday afternoon last. The bride was a Miss E. Smith, the bridegroom a Mr. William Smith, the bridesmaids (three) Misses Smith, best man a Mr. Smith, groomsmen (two) Messrs'. Smith, and there were also guests by the names of Smith and Smythe present.' The great Smith family (and its derivatives) certainly had a field-day in Greymouth. But the wedding was not exactly ' unique.' The O'Briens still hold, we think, the record for one-name weddings. Here is a paragraph which we clipped some time aigo from an exchange :—: —

1 The O'Briens were out in full force at a wedding in Canadaigu, New York, recently. Daniel O'Brien was the groom, Nellie O'Brien was the bride. The bridesmaid was Elizabeth O'Brien (a cousin of the bride). M. J. O'Brien (a brother of the groom) was best man. The officiating clergyman was the Rev. John O'Brien, and only O'Briens were guests at the wedding. The caterer was Florence J. O'Brien When Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien left for the station to start on their wedding tour, the driver of their carriage was Denis O'Brien, of the livery firm of O'Brien Brothers.'

There is to this day in Wicklow town (Dean Swift's ' High church and- a- low ■, steeple, A poor town and a proud people ') a story or legend to the effept, that there were twelve f O'Briens (eleven of then\ bearing , the forename Denis) "* upon a jury in a criminal case that was tried there some three generations ago.

New Zealand can give, other, strange instances of name-coincidences besides that of the Smiths of G-rey-mouth. Some time in 1900, for instance (we are unable to give the precise date), the ' Southland Times' contained the following curious item of local news. : — " ' On Tuesday a lost cheque and £5 note were advertised for. The loser was Mr v Robert Campbell ; the cheque was signed . Robert Campbell (not the same individual)', and the documents were found by a "young man named Robert Campbell, who was just receiving the reward offered in this office when the Robert 1 Campbell, the loser, came in to ascertain if his property,, had turned up.'

The reader is asked to note that the name Campbell is only seventh on the . list of the fifty most common surnames in Scotland. It is not nearly so com? mon, proportionately, in Otago and Southland: '