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Description
Welcome to the Duffy/McDuff/McDuffie Surnames DNA Project. The project is open to all folks with the Duff, Duffy, McAfee, McDuff, McDuffie, McFie or McPhee type surnames, including all variant spellings.
The purpose of the project is to connect clan members from around the world who have an interest in their shared paternal genetic heritage, and to help members with their genealogical research by identifying shared ancestors and family groups.
Due to the similarity of these surnames this project is essentially three surname projects in one. Historically, there are three separate clans (or families) whose surname contained the Gaelic root word Dubh (meaning black). This has led to confusion over the years about which surnames belonged to which particular clan and whether or not they were really separate clans at all. Interestingly, the project results show that contrary to popular belief, all three surnames are indeed not related to each other in the historical era and represent three distinct families or clans.
Additionally, the project results also show that the Duffy surname originated in Ireland and is derived from the Gaelic surname Ó Dubhthaigh, meaning "descendant of Dubhthach" or "the black one." The MacDuff surname originated in Scotland and is derived from the Gaelic surname MacDhuibh, or "son of Dubh," which at one time was used as a Gaelic forename in Scotland, and the MacDuffie surname which also originated in Scotland and is derived from the Gaelic surname MacDhuibhshith, or "son of the black (or dark) man of peace" or possibly "son of the black (or dark) fairy."
Regarding Macfie and MacPhee type variant surnames, tradition states that both are derived from the original Gaelic surname MacDhuibhshith. However, our project results clearly show that there is a large group of McPhee testers whose patrilineal ancestors lived in the Lochaber region in Scotland and in neighboring Glen Urquhart, and who are very closely related to the chiefly lineage of Clan Cameron, both lineages descending from a pre-surname common ancestor who lived ca. 1250 CE. This surprising finding flies in the face of both written and oral tradition, which states that remnants of the clan settled in the Lochaber region and followed Cameron of Lochiel only after the murder of their clan chief Malcolm MacDuffie of Colonsay in 1623 by Colla Ciotach, otherwise known as Coll or “Colkitto” MacDonald.
One possible explanation for how this historical error occurred can be found by studying the process of how Gaelic surnames became anglicized (or more correctly scotticized) over time in Scotland and elsewhere. For example, for those MacDuffies who remained in Scotland, it became fashionable to shorten MacDuffie to Macfie, which is phonetically pronounced the same way in English as the surname MacPhee, which the project results show was also adopted by a great many families who were most likely originally MacDuffies. For a real world example of this phenomenon, see the baptismal, marriage and death records of a man named Kenallis McPhee. On 27 December 1818 Kenallis was baptized in Jura as the illegitimate son of Dugald “McDuffie” and Flory Buie. On 31 May 1845 "Kinales McFee” married Flory McNeill in Colonsay and on 26 October 1881 "Kinales McPhee” passed away in Colonsay at Kiloran, listed as the husband of Flora McNeill and the son of Dugald McPhee and Flora Buie. For more information on Kenallis, see Ronald Black and Christopher Dracup’s "John Dewar's Islay, Jura and Colonsay," pp. 452–3.
Another example of this phenomenon occurred in Northern Ireland during the eighteenth century, where it became fashionable to shorten MacDuffie to McAfee, which some scholars state is actually the closest sounding version (phonetically speaking) of all of these variant surnames when compared to the original Gaelic surname MacDhuibhshith. To listen to the modern Gaelic pronunciation of MacDhuibhshith open this link: https://learngaelic.scot/dictionary/index.jsp?abairt=MacDuffy&slang=both&wholeword=false
Other variant versions of this surname have also been adopted into the modern Gaelic lexicon and are written as Mac a' Phì, Clann a' Phì, and Clan 'ic a' Phì (in English: "MacPhee," "Clan MacPhee," and "The MacPhees" respectively) which since it does not appear in the historical record, could possibly represent a "bridge" surname which was invented to explain how MacDhuibhshith became "MacPhee." To listen to the modern Gaelic pronunciation of these names open this link: https://learngaelic.scot/dictionary/index.jsp?abairt=MacPhee&slang=both&wholeword=false
It may help to keep in mind that in the past Gaels did not typically use surnames as we know them today, but instead were most often identified by either their patronymic bynames (the given names of their father and grandfather, which usually appears in the written record as mac (son of), followed by mhic (grandson of), or by sobriquets like òg (young), dubh (black), buidhe (fair haired), ban (white haired), riabhach (brindled), liath (gray), ruadh (red haired), gorm (blue eyed or dark haired), etc. A good illustration of both examples occurs in the Gaelic names of Coll MacDonald himself, who was known at different times during his life as Colla Ciotach (Left-handed or crafty Coll), or by his patronymic name Coll, mac Ghilleasbuig, mhic Cholla nan Capull (in English: Coll, son of Archibald, son of Coll of the horses). For more information, see Kevin Byrne’s "Colkitto!, A Celebration of Clan Donald of Colonsay (1570–1647)," p. 12.
Furthermore, as surnames were eventually adopted and standardized over time into “fixed surnames,” it’s important to remember that most Gaels did not read or write in their native language, which means that the spelling of their surname (or perhaps even the decision of which byname to use as a surname), was left to the discretion of English speaking officials whose knowledge of Gaelic was most likely little to none. Because of this fact, the project is arranged by haplogroups and subclades, which we believe is a more accurate representation of relatedness than sorting by surnames alone.
Individuals with different surnames but who believe their ancestors share a Duff, Duffy, McAfee, McDuff, McDuffie, McFie or McPhee connection either through Autosomal, mtDNA or Y-DNA are also welcome to join the project. And finally, please feel free to reach out if you are interested in testing at FamilyTreeDNA or upgrading your current level of testing, but aren't sure about which test to purchase or are worried about the cost. We would be happy to discuss the best testing strategies for your budget and may even be able to offer some financial assistance via our project's General Fund.
Requirements
A Surname Project traces members of a family that share a common surname. They are of the most interest in cultures where surnames are passed on from father to son like the Y-Chromosome. This project is for males taking a Y-Chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) test. Thus, the individual who tests must be a male who wants to check his direct paternal line (father's father's father's...) with a Y-DNA12, Y-DNA37, Y-DNA67, or Y-DNA111 test and who has one of the surnames listed for the project. Females do not carry their father's Y-DNA. Females who would like to check their father's direct paternal line can have a male relative with his surname order a Y-DNA test. Females can also order an mtDNA test for themselves such as the mtDNAPlus test or the mtFullSequence test and participate in an mtDNA project. Both men and women may take our autosomal Family Finder test to discover recent relationships across all family lines.
Surnames In This Project
Black, Cathey, Duff, Duffee, Duffey, Duffie, Duffy, Fea, Fee, MacAfee, MacAffee, MacDuff, MacDuffee, MacDuffey, MacDuffie, MacDuffy, MacFee, MacFie, MacGaffey, MacHaffie, MacPhee, MacPhie, Mahaffie, McAfee, McAffee, McDuff, McDuffee, McDuffey, McDuffie, McDuffy, McFee, McFie, McGaffee, McGaffey, McGinn, McHaffie, McPhee, McPhie