SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT [name]) from several tables

Question

I can perform the following SQL Server selection of distinct (or non-repeating names) from a column in one table like so:

SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT [Name]) FROM [MyT         


        

Answer 1

Here's another way:

SELECT x.name, SUM(x.cnt)
FROM ( SELECT [name], COUNT(*) AS cnt
       FROM [MyTable]
       GROUP BY [name]
     UNION ALL
       SELECT [name], COUNT(*) AS cnt
       FROM [MyTable2]
       GROUP BY [name]
     UNION ALL
       SELECT [name], COUNT(*) AS cnt
       FROM [MyTable3]
       GROUP BY [name]
     ) AS x
GROUP BY x.name