Some men in the UK and Ireland have rare patrilineal surnames. This often means that their genealogy is easier to trace through documented evidence and ultimately their origins and family connections can be simpler to determine. This can act as a disincentive to getting Y-DNA tested because there don't appear to be any questions to settle. This group serves to promote the Y-DNA testing of such rare names so that: 1) A record exists of their Y-DNA haplogroup, which itself might be relatively rare. 2) To help explain or link previously unknown or suspected name variants. 3) To help explain NPEs in other people's Y-DNA results. To help qualify what is meant by 'rare', this project will refer to "The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland" as edited by Patrick Hanks , Richard Coates , and Peter McClure. The surname has had to appear in the 1881 UK census with a frequency of 1000 or less, i.e. fewer than 1000 people carried this surname, or 100 persons in the case of the Irish 1901 census.