DNA Surname Projects
If you’re doing a Y-DNA test, you need to know about DNA surname projects. These projects help connect people with the same last name for the purpose of finding common ancestors and extending their family trees. If you’re an adoptee, like me, you may not know your biological surname. In that case, you need to get your results first to identify your surname (See Adoption Search to learn how I did it). Then you can join a surname project. Surnames and Y-chromosomes both pass down from father to son. So people with the same (or similar) last name can use a Y-DNA test to determine if they share a common ancestor. Reasons to Join First of all, you may be able to get a discount on testing by ordering it through the project. Plus, your testing company may give people the option of only comparing their results to people in their surname project. So you could be missing some matches if you’re not a member of the project. Furthermore, DNA testing can only tell you that you and another person have a common ancestor somewhere in the past. It can’t identify that ancestor. The surname group combines DNA test results with conventional genealogy data to help you answer that critical question. Finding Your Project Many surname projects have their own web sites run by a project administrator. Your testing company probably has a Surname Search feature.
If you can’t find a project for your surname, you can start one. To see exactly how to do that, get a copy of “Trace Your Roots with DNA” by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak and Ann Turner. They tell you exactly how to do that. The International Society of Genetic Genealogy also has tips for starting and running a DNA surname project on their FOR ADMIN page. Another great resource is WorldFamilies.net which offers free project websites for surname projects and many levels of support for project administrators. My Surname Project Once I knew that my biological father was a Richards, I joined the Richards DNA Project at Family Tree DNA and now have three strong matches to others named Richards. In January 2009 the original project administrator asked me to take over the project. If your paternal line is Richards or something similar, please
join this project.
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