DECLARE @abc int
DECLARE @def int
DECLARE @ghi int
DECLARE @jkl int
DECLARE @mno int
DECLARE @pqr int
DECLARE @stu int
DECLARE @vw int
DECLARE @xzy int


SET @abc = (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM TableName WHERE ColumnName LIKE '%abc%')
SET @def = (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM TableName WHERE ColumnName LIKE '%def%')
SET @ghi = (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM TableName WHERE ColumnName LIKE '%ghi%')
SET @jkl = (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM TableName WHERE ColumnName LIKE '%jkl%')
SET @mno = (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM TableName WHERE ColumnName LIKE '%mno%')
SET @pqr = (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM TableName WHERE ColumnName LIKE '%pqr%')
SET @stu = (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM TableName WHERE ColumnName LIKE '%stu%')
SET @vw = (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM TableName WHERE ColumnName LIKE '%vw%')
SET @xzy = (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM TableName WHERE ColumnName LIKE '%xyz%')

SELECT 
	@abc = COUNT(CASE WHEN ColumnName LIKE '%abc%' THEN 1 END),
	@def = COUNT(CASE WHEN ColumnName LIKE '%def%' THEN 1 END),
	@ghi = COUNT(CASE WHEN ColumnName LIKE '%ghi%' THEN 1 END),
	@jkl = COUNT(CASE WHEN ColumnName LIKE '%jkl%' THEN 1 END),
	@mno = COUNT(CASE WHEN ColumnName LIKE '%mno%' THEN 1 END),
	@pqr = COUNT(CASE WHEN ColumnName LIKE '%pqr%' THEN 1 END),
	@stu = COUNT(CASE WHEN ColumnName LIKE '%stu%' THEN 1 END),
	@vw = COUNT(CASE WHEN ColumnName LIKE '%vw%' THEN 1 END),
	@xzy = COUNT(CASE WHEN ColumnName LIKE '%xyz%' THEN 1 END)
 FROM 
	TableName

DECLARE @abc int
DECLARE @def int
DECLARE @ghi int
DECLARE @jkl int
DECLARE @mno int
DECLARE @pqr int
DECLARE @stu int
DECLARE @vw int
DECLARE @xzy int


SET @abc = (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM TableName WHERE ColumnName LIKE '%abc%')
SET @def = (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM TableName WHERE ColumnName LIKE '%def%')
SET @ghi = (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM TableName WHERE ColumnName LIKE '%ghi%')
SET @jkl = (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM TableName WHERE ColumnName LIKE '%jkl%')
SET @mno = (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM TableName WHERE ColumnName LIKE '%mno%')
SET @pqr = (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM TableName WHERE ColumnName LIKE '%pqr%')
SET @stu = (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM TableName WHERE ColumnName LIKE '%stu%')
SET @vw = (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM TableName WHERE ColumnName LIKE '%vw%')
SET @xzy = (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM TableName WHERE ColumnName LIKE '%xyz%')

DECLARE @groups int = 9;
;WITH 
asciichar(n,c) AS 
(	SELECT (65), CHAR(65)
	UNION ALL
	SELECT n+1, CHAR(n+1) FROM asciichar WHERE n+1<=90),
groups AS 
(	SELECT	NTILE(@groups) OVER (ORDER BY n) AS groupid, * FROM asciichar  ),
ntileMatrix AS
(	SELECT	groupid,
			MIN(c) OVER (PARTITION BY groupid)+'-'+ 
			MAX(c) OVER (PARTITION BY groupid) AS [group],
			n AS [ASCII],
			c AS [CHAR]
	FROM groups  ),
people AS
(	SELECT	LEFT(LastName,1) AS c1, LastName+', '+FirstName AS Name
	FROM AdventureWorks2008R2.person.person  )
SELECT  nm.[group], p.Name
FROM ntileMatrix nm 
CROSS JOIN people p
WHERE [CHAR]=c1

group Name
----- -------------------------------------
A-C   Abbas, Syed
A-C   Abel, Catherine
A-C   Abercrombie, Kim
....
Y-Z   Zukowski, Jake
Y-Z   Zwilling, Michael
Y-Z   Zwilling, Michael

DECLARE @groups int = 9;
;WITH 
asciichar(n,c) AS 
(	SELECT (65), CHAR(65)
	UNION ALL
	SELECT n+1, CHAR(n+1) FROM asciichar WHERE n+1<=90),
groups AS 
(	SELECT	NTILE(@groups) OVER (ORDER BY n) AS groupid, * FROM asciichar  ),
ntileMatrix AS
(	SELECT	groupid,
			MIN(c) OVER (PARTITION BY groupid)+'-'+ 
			MAX(c) OVER (PARTITION BY groupid) AS [group],
			n AS [ASCII],
			c AS [CHAR]
	FROM groups  ),
people AS
(	SELECT	LEFT(LastName,1) AS c1, LastName+', '+FirstName AS Name
	FROM AdventureWorks2008R2.person.person  ),
Totals AS
(
	SELECT  nm.[group], p.Name
	FROM ntileMatrix nm 
	CROSS JOIN people p
	WHERE [CHAR]=c1 )
SELECT [group], COUNT([group]) AS groupCount
FROM Totals
GROUP BY [group]

group groupCount
----- -----------
A-C   3502
D-F   1111
G-I   2572
J-L   2347
M-O   2061
P-R   3195
S-U   2800
V-X   1552
Y-Z   832

DECLARE @groups int = 3;

group groupCount
----- -----------
A-I   7185
J-R   7603
S-Z   5184

;WITH asciichar(n, c) AS (
SELECT n=64+number, CHAR(64+number)
FROM [master].dbo.spt_values Tally
WHERE [Type] = 'P' AND Number BETWEEN 1 AND 26)
SELECT *
FROM asciichar