To seek, by using genealogical DNA and historical records, to unravel the origins of the Enterkin / Enterkine surname and its distribution around the world. Although, primarily a Y-DNA project, the project would also like people, with an Enterkin/e surname who have only tested Family Finder to join as well. Also welcome to join would be any Y-DNA testers who have a match with an Enterkin or Enterkine (or spelling variant) surname. Most useful would be matches at 37 or 67 or 111 markers – but in some circumstances 25 marker matches would also be of interest. The Enterkin/e surname is one of the more uncommon in the world and many, if not all, Enterkine surnames can trace their origins back to an Enterkin/e family of Maybole and Girvan, Ayrshire, Scotland in the late 18th C. Girvan, located on the coast is about 10 miles south-west of Maybole. The names Enterkin and Enterkine have a certain amount of interchangeability - even within the BDM records of ScotlandsPeoples. This most likely reflects the degree of literacy or writing standards prevalent in the early days. The interesting point is that I have been unable to find references to people with an Enterkin/e surname much before the end of the 18th Century (late 1700s). Even though this is before the times of compulsory registration, there should still be some traces of the Enterkin/e surname. This leads to the idea that the Enterkin/e surname developed within the mid – late 18th C with the subsequent corollary as to what surname the first Enterkin/e man's family possessed. Some ideas as to the origin of the use of the Enterkin/e geographic name as a personal surname are • According to one Enterkin family tradition “that during the Jacobite Revolution of the 17th [Enterkin Pass ~28 July 1684] century, the Hamilton clan fleeing from persecution went into hiding at Enterkin Pass, adopting the name of that area to further protect their identity.” And that this is supported by the efforts made by some Enterkin families “to preserve the clan link is the tradition among Enterkins to give eldest sons the name Hamilton (first name)” and • “Enterkin is originally Scandinavian imported into Scotland by the marauding Vikings” This may be the source of the Geographic Enterkin/e names that clearly date back much older than I can trace the use of Enterkin/e as a surname. • Daniel Defoe (ca. 1660 – 1731), best known as the author of the novel Robinson Crusoe, likely based on the life of Alexander Selkirk, he wrote many other important novels. Defoe was also a prolific Pamphleteer being responsible for the publication of more than 300 pamphlets, mostly political writings, that eventually saw him imprisoned. A Presbyterian, he was eventually released in 1703 on the orders of Earl Mortimer who, at the time was the “spymaster” for the English Government and was heavily involved in the English efforts at promoting the Act of Union (1707) between England and Scotland. From today’s perspectives, Defoe would likely be considered a “Double agent” due to his positions as an advisor to the Church of Scotland General Assembly as well as committees of the Scottish Parliament. It was in his Memoirs of the Church of Scotland (1717) that Defoe first published the best known account of the Action at Enterkin Pass (referred to above). He also wrote about the Enterkin Pass action in his three volume A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain, divided into circuits or journies (published between 1724–1727) that was based on his work and travels in Scotland. Defoe uses the name Entrekein for the Enterkin Pass site – this name was acknowledged by Dr John Brown in his publication “The Enterkin” in 1865. Entrekein (“Entre kein”) appears to be German, and can be translated from the German as “don’t enter”. If any reader can elaborate on these ideas or have any other family traditions, then it would be great to hear from you. Hopefully with more people being interested and more members testing we can answer this question and also identify the first Enterkin/e men to migrate from Scotland to other countries. Current contenders are • Joseph Enterkine (b 1825) and family, including from Scotland to New York in 1853 his son, James, b1851 in Girvan • Robert Enterkine from Scotland to Victoria, Australia about 1870, and • John (b1896) and Margaret (b 1896) Enterkine from Scotland to Australia in 1922 If anyone has more or different information, then I am happy to receive it and use it to improve this site, All contributions will be acknowledged.