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Description
This group is dedicated to using DNA to identify the genealogy and origins of the Arnett and Arnott (and other variations in spelling) lines. While it currently appears most Arnett/Arnott lines in the US and the British Commonwealth have their origin in the Scottish Central Lowlands and had as the original spelling Arnot, other lines undoubtedly have different geographical origins.
Discussion about the Arnett/Arnot(t) lines has moved to the Arnett/Arnott Genealogy and Origins Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/566203087186510. Please join us there. If you do not use Facebook, I would encourage you to join just for our group; you don't have to participate in anything else on Facebook. But if you still prefer not, please contact me directly at jmikearnett@gmail.com.
According to the 1650 Genealogy of the House of Arnot in the Appendix of the "The Session Book of Bunkle and Preston, 1665-1690" at https://archive.org/details/sessionbookbunk00clubgoog (pp. 141-143 in the original; pp. 106-108 in the online pagination), the name Arnot is an ancient name, possibly deriving from the Irish (Gaelic) "Arnaught," meaning "high crofts [rented farms] of the hills." Though the Genealogy mentions the lands of Arnot in reference to skirmishes with the Picts 850-900 AD, it is not clear whether the area was called Arnot then, or whether the author was using the name to refer to the lands where the events in the account occurred. When surnames began to be used around 1000 AD, many surnames were based on the person's occupation or area of residence. Hence, the surname Arnot meant that the person was from the lands of Arnot, not necessarily the family of Arnot. For that reason, we expect to find that that Arnot descendants will not all share the same DNA line--i.e., though their ancestors took the surname Arnot, they did not all descend from a common ancestor. The Arnot lands extended to the east of Loch Leven in Kinross-Shire, present day Perth and Kinross, into present-day Fife. The 14th century ruin called the Tower of Arnot is just south of the Lomond HIlls, presumably the hills of the high crofts mentioned above. Nearby are Arnot Reservoir, Arnot Burn and the ruins of Arnot Mill, at least according to some maps. The settlement is just west of the border between Perth & Kinross with Fife.
The 1650 Genealogy mentions an Arnot who moved to England. The Genealogy mentioned that once in England, many changed the spelling to Arnold. An 1840 survey of surnames in the UK revealed that there were only Arnots and Arnotts in Scotland then; no Arnetts (or variant spellings). However, Arnetts were to be found aplenty in England. I deduce from that that the spelling change to Arnett occurred in England.
My Y-DNA points to my Arnett line descending from people in the lands of Arnot. My terminal haplogroup on the Y-DNA haplogroup tree is R1b-FT85294; i.e.: R1b-L1335>L1065>Z16325>S744>S691>S695>A6931>FT85294. One of the researchers in the R1b-L1335/L1065 Facebook Group told me that my connection to the Arnot lands extended the geographic range of S691 men east, such that S691 stretches from the lands of the MacGregor in the west, down the Forth River, to the Fife parish of Portmoak.
There are undoubtedly other geographic origins of Arnett. I traced actor Will Arnett's line back to his 3XGGF, b. about 1807 in England. His 2XGGF emigrated to Canada in 1871. It would be great to get him to do a Y-DNA test one day.
I also traced the lineage of an Arnett line in Northern Colorado. That line went back to the upper Rhine on the border between Germany and France, in and around Strasbourg, France. It would be interesting to find out what haplogroup that line has.
We look forward to identifying the origins of your line of Arnetts/Arnotts.
There is a Facebook group for the project at https://www.facebook.com/groups/566203087186510. Not everyone who is in the FB group is on FTDNA, so there is more discussion there than here. Please join us there.
Mike Arnett, Project Administrator
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
Arnacht, Arnachts, Arnall, Arnat, Arnaud, Arnet, Arnett, Arnette, Arnit, Arnold, Arnot, Arnote, Arnoth, Arnott, Arnut