It is a question Sam Duthie was pondering in the lead-up to the Duthie family reunion at the weekend.
In fact, he was not even sure exactly how many "greats" should be in front of his ancestors’ names.
The 40-year-old was among 80 people from across New Zealand, Australia and Scotland who descended on Dunedin and Milton, to celebrate their long family history in the region.
Mr Duthie said his family’s history could be traced as far back as 1744 in Scotland.
The Duthie name spread to New Zealand when his great-great-great-grandfather Alex Duthie and great-great-great-grandmother Jane (nee Martin) met aboard Lady Nugent when they emigrated down under.
They arrived in Wellington in 1841, and a short time later, they were married.
Alex got a job as an assistant to prominent surveyor Charles Kettle, and in February 1846 the couple moved south to work with the first survey party around Dunedin, Koputai, the Taieri, Clutha and Tokomairiro, preparing the way for the first Scottish settlement party that arrived in 1848.
He had a hand in many of the instrumental early building projects in what was an embryonic Dunedin.
Mr Duthie said the family moved to Milton three years later, and settled near the Fairfax cemetery where they spread their roots.
"They were about the third white couple on the Tokomairiro plain, I think."
Part of the reunion celebrations involved driving around Dunedin and Milton on Saturday in some vintage cars, visiting some of the places family members used to live, work or helped build.
"They were tied up with the start of the woollen mill in Milton and a lot of other industry around that area."
They also visited the site of the original family home near the cemetery, and the Milton Museum which still contained some family memorabilia, he said.
There were many talks about the family’s history, with photos and other memorabilia, along with the traditional reunion lunches and dinners, and a church service yesterday.
He said it was great to finally be able to hold the reunion.
It was originally planned for Easter, three years ago, but Covid restrictions meant it had to be cancelled at the eleventh hour, he said.
The reunion is within a decade of what would have been the 200th anniversary of Alex Duthie’s birth on March 16, 1814, in Kirriemuir, Scotland.
