Y-Chromosome Surname Project

This is a typical surname project which is based on the analysis of Y-DNA inheritance. This is because Y-DNA inheritance is patrilineal, passed from father to son, as is also the custom with surnames in the regions of interest. Any male bearing a relevant surname is welcome to join and contribute their Y-DNA results for cross-comparison. Results can also be compared with any relevant projects - surname, geographical, SNP etc.

Scope

The scope of this project includes all surnames phonetically or orthographically similar to Pelan, Palen, Palin, Paling, Pelling, Pallant, Pollan, Poland etc. The core pattern are the P-L-N sounds but includes substantial variation, particularly with the last consonant, like Pawley or Pauley.

Please note that this does not include non-aspirated Ps like Phelan or Phelin (i.e. where the P has an F-like sound). There is already a project for these surnames and as yet no connections between the two surname classes have been found.

Additional Background

Those interested in specific surnames can look at the following sites;

• http://pelan.org (mostly Pelan & Palen, background)
• http://palinfamily.tribalpages.com/ (Palin)

Geographical areas of particular interest are counties Antrim, Down and Armagh (eastern Ulster) in Ireland and Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk in England (Midlands/East Anglia). We would like to specifically encourage Canadian, Dutch and French participation too.

Males with rare surnames are strongly recommended to test their Y-DNA before their surnames are lost by lack of male heirs.

Autosomal Research

A new twist to this research is the use of autosomal DNA (as tested by FTDNA, Ancestry, 23andMe, MyHeritage etc.). Recently I have become more confident that we can identify shared ancestry as far back as the 17th century and I am aiming to set-up a surname project on GedMatch. For this I will need the GedMatch numbers of at least 50 persons with PALING / PELAN / PALIN etc. ancestry starting no earlier than the 17th century. If you'd like to join this aspect of the project, please send me your GedMatch number by e-mail.