Welcome to the Deering surname project! DNA testing is a great way to further your research and to verify your families history. For many of us, family or public records no longer exist. Our only means to locating distant cousins and the original country is through DNA. The Dearing, Deering etc project is open to all who are interested in finding their heritage through DNA testing. A surname project traces members of a family that share a common surname. Variants of this ancient name (Dearing and Dering) are also encouraged to join. Please share your heritage and history with other Deering's from around the world. As several of the R haplogroup members have Irish ancestors, the following may be of interest. From "The Surnames of Ireland" by Edward McLysaght (1978), "Deering - A branch of a very old Kent family of Dering settled in Leix in the sixteenth century which soon acquired much property in adjoining counties. They held many important official positions. The name is mainly found in south-east Leinster." The old name for Leix or Laois was "Queens County". The surrounding counties are; Kilkenny, Offaly, Kildare, Carlow and Tipperary.