C# - Get most common string in a Model list

Question

I want to get the most common string from a model list using Linq, but I don't really know how.

Here is some example code:

public ModelClass {
    public string name { get; set; }
    public int num { get; set; }
}

Imagine a huge listof ModelClass is stored in the database

// in some controller
var model = from s in _db.SomeClass
            select s;

string mostCommonName = ???????

How would I find the most common name from this list using linq?

Answer 1

You can use GroupBy() to help find strings with the same value

var mostCommonName = _db.SomeClass
    .GroupBy(x => x.Name)
    .Select(x => new 
    { 
        Name = x.Key,
        Count = x.Count()
    })  
    .OrderByDescending(x => x.Count)
    .Select(x => x.Name)
    .First();