The Lippincott surname has long been associated with a dead lineage of British Lords and an American publishing empire. Recently, however, DNA indicates that the long line of Western English, (mostly Cornish-speaking), land owners may be the descendants of Norman invaders, potentially even Rollo the Viking, also known as the First Duke of Normandy.

If you didn’t grow up in the Northeastern US, (I grew up in the Montana Rockies), then you have probably become accustom to the following every time you say – and then have to spell – your last name: “I’ve never heard that before.” The surname is more common than many of us realized, however. As the third generation in my family to attend the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School of Business, I know that the library at Wharton was funded by, and is named after the Lippincott family. Specifically, this came about through the union of an heir to the Lippincott Publishing fortune, and the daughter of Joseph Wharton.

The Lippincott line is connected to Presidents Richard Nixon, and George W. Bush via Barbara Bush as well. In addition, the name appears in Federal Tribal Census records for the Mojave, Blackfoot, Osage and Hualapai tribes. There are also a number of variations in the spelling, including in old records in England pointing to the origin of the bloodline and the images on the coat of arms.

The addition of your DNA profile is vital to the continuation of this research, since it may be the only way to fill in gaps that currently exist in historic records.