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McCarthy Surname Study

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Group Administrator: Keith McCarthy kmcc55@yahoo.com

Project Surnames:

MacArthy	MacCarthy	McCarter	McCarthy
McCarty

Project Background:

McCarthy/MacCarthy is one of the most common surnames in Ireland today and is very prevalent throughout Counties Cork and Kerry. McCarthys now reside in many countries throughout the world as well.
In October 2002, the McCarthy Surname Study was started through Family Tree DNA, Inc. (FTDNA) of Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
The McCarthy Surname Study will attempt through Y-DNA analysis to compare individuals with surnames common to the McCarthy clan for similarities and differences. These surnames include but are not limited to the following:
McCarthy, MacCarthy, Macarthy, McCarty, and McCarter.

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Project Goals:

The McCarthy Surname Study will attempt through Y-DNA analysis to compare individuals with surnames common to the McCarthy clan for similarities and differences. It is hoped that distinct patterns will emerge that will allow McCarthy men to discover from which branch of the McCarthy tree they are descended. It is also hoped that these distinct patterns will eventually lead us to specific geographic areas of Ireland. For the many McCarthy males who do not know where their McCarthy ancestors lived in Ireland, this would be an exciting path for future research.

Project News:

SUMMARY OF TEST RESULTS (as of October 31, 2004)

As the number of our study’s participants climbs into the thirties, we can begin to see some patterns emerging from the results. Two distinct groups of McCarthys can be clearly defined and a third group, less well-defined, may become apparent in time. Since the majority of our participants have ancestry that hails from Co. Cork in Ireland, more genealogical information is needed to discern possible geographic locations associated with the two defined groups.

Group A is characterized by these four traits:
- a 24 at DYS447
- a 10 at DYS391
- an 11 at DYS439
- a mutation (either a 15 or 16) at DYS385b.
I would include in Group A, the following participants: (#8) and (#9) who we know to be related; (#11), (#12), and (#24). I would also include in this group (#27) and (#15) even though they do not possess the mutation at DYS385b. Further testing might put (#5) in this group, as well, if DYS447 proved to be a 24.

Group B is defined by these traits:
- a 13 at DYS388
- a 13 and 28 at DYS389i and DYS389ii
- a 23 at DYS390
- a 16 at DYS464c.
In addition, a sub-group of Group B has a 13 at DYS439 and a different sub-group has an 18 at DYS458. I would include in Group B, the following: Sub-group B1: (#31), (#18), (#7), (#14), and (#29); Sub-group B2: (#1), (#4), and (#23). I believe (#16) belongs in Group B, but is not in either sub-group.

Of the dozen participants that don't fit into either Group A or B, about 8 show some similarities which may indicate a third, nebulous Group C. However, the only trait that all in this group have in common is some kind of mutation at DYS449. Otherwise, they all appear to be very closely related to the Atlantic Modal Haplotype, which is most prevalent in Haplogroup R1b. The similarities might simply be random, given the close nature of all those in Haplogroup R1b. Participants who might be included in this group include (#2), (#3), (#19), (#20), (#21), (#22), (#25), and (#26). Further testing is needed to determine whether this really is an identifiable group or just a collection of similar samples.

Two other participants, (#30) and (#6) matched each other pretty closely, but they don't fit too well into either of the defined groups, although there are some similarities to Group B. More testing is needed on (#30) to see if it truly matches with (#6) at more points.

In recent weeks, exciting new data has shown that there is a group of McCartys whose DNA results are significantly different from the early participants. These three participants have results that belong, not to Haplogroup R1b, but to Haplogroup E3b, which evolved in the Middle East and northern Africa. Two participants (#32) and (#34) can trace their ancestry to the same region of South Carolina. These participants were not sure of a ancestral connection until their results showed a perfect 12/12 match! More genealogical research will likely show the relationship between the lines. The third participant (#13) from this group, dubbed Group E, shows results that are different from the others, but is likely related through a much more distant common ancestor.

Project Results:

As of October 31, 2004, there are results for 32 men comprising twenty-four unique twelve marker strings. There are four men who match exactly for 12 out of 12 markers, another three who match exactly for 12 out of 12 markers, and a third group of three pairs of men who match exactly for 12 out of 12 markers. There are 19 additional unique 12 marker strings.

Unique Y-DNA12 marker strings: 24

Result Strings Count
13 23 14 11 11 14 12 13 13 13 13 28 4
13 23 14 11 11 14 12 13 12 13 13 28 3
13 23 13 11 17 17 11 12 14 13 11 30 2
13 24 14 10 11 15 12 12 11 13 13 29 2
13 24 14 10 11 16 12 12 11 13 13 29 2
13 24 14 11 11 14 12 12 11 13 13 29 1
13 24 14 11 11 14 12 12 12 12 13 28 1
13 24 14 11 11 14 12 12 12 13 13 29 1
13 24 14 11 11 14 12 12 13 13 13 29 1
13 24 14 11 11 15 12 12 11 13 13 29 1
13 24 15 11 11 14 12 12 12 13 13 29 1
13 25 14 11 11 13 12 12 12 13 14 29 1
13 25 14 11 11 14 12 12 11 14 13 30 1
13 25 14 11 11 14 12 12 12 13 13 29 1
14 24 14 10 11 14 12 12 11 13 13 29 1
13 23 14 11 11 15 12 12 12 13 13 29 1
13 23 14 11 11 15 12 12 13 13 13 29 1
13 23 14 11 11 15 12 13 13 13 13 28 1
13 23 15 11 11 14 12 13 12 13 13 28 1
13 24 13 10 17 18 11 12 13 12 11 29 1
13 24 14 10 11 13 12 12 12 13 13 29 1
13 24 14 10 11 14 12 12 11 13 13 29 1
13 24 14 10 11 14 12 12 11 13 13 30 1
13 23 14 10 11 15 12 12 11 13 13 29 1