Surnames, DNA, and Family HistoryThis book combines linguistic and historical approaches with the latest techniques of DNA analysis and show the insights these offer for every kind of genealogical research. It focuses on British names, tracing their origins to different parts of the British Isles and Europe and revealing how names often remain concentrated in the districts where they first became established centuries ago. In the process the book casts fresh light on the ancient peopling of the British Isles. The authors consider why some names die out, and how others have spread across the globe. They use recent advances in DNA testing to discover whether particular surnames have a single, dual or multiple origins and whether various forms of a name have a common origin. They show how information from DNA can be combined with historical evidence and techniques to distinguish between individuals with the same name and different names with similar spellings and to identify the name of the same individual or family spelt in various ways in different times and places. Clearly written and illustrated with hundreds of examples, this book will be welcomed by all those engaged in genealogical research, including everyone seeking to discover the histories of their names and families. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
1 Bynames | 21 |
2 Hereditary Surnames | 41 |
3 Expansion and Decline | 62 |
4 Distribution and Migration | 84 |
5 Linguistic and Social Factors | 106 |
6 Meaning and Method | 127 |
7 DNA and Surnames | 148 |
8 The Link between Surname and Y Chromosome Type | 173 |
9 The Wider Picture | 194 |
Conclusion | 215 |
Bibliography | 218 |
Index of Names | 225 |
241 | |
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Common terms and phrases
alias alleles ancestry base pairs binary markers Britain British surnames by-name census cent chromosome type common ancestor conWrm counties County Durham Derbyshire derived descendants descent cluster dictionaries distinctive surnames distribution in 1881 diVerent diYcult Durham early England English Surnames etymology evidence example family historians family name fourteenth century frequency genealogical genealogists genetic genealogy haplogroup haplotype hearth tax hearth tax returns hereditary surnames identiWed individuals inXuence Ireland Irish JeVerson John Lancashire large numbers Leicestershire lineages listed lived London McKinley meaning mutation neighbouring nickname non-paternity event origin pairs parish registers personal name pet form place-name poll tax poll tax returns population proliWc Reaney recorded region reXect Richard Robert Rochdale Sally Hemings samples Scotland share a common signiWcant StaVordshire surname survived Sussex testing thirteenth century Thomas TMRCA WakeWeld Wales Welsh West Riding West Yorkshire William Wrst name Y chromosome Y-STR Y-STR haplotypes Yorkshire