The Rayment DNA Project started in May 2007 and many exciting discoveries have been made.   New participants are always more than welcome to join in and share the excitement! This is a golden opportunity to uncover information that is not available in conventional records and so will be of great help with research into the various family trees.   It will also enable a determination to be made of which family trees are related to which and, as the project progresses, the results obtained for each of the trees will provide information on the evolution of the surname. The Project is being carried out as part of a One-Name Study organised by the Rayment Society and registered with the Guild of One-Name Studies.   The Society holds a very large quantity of conventional records, including numerous family trees, most of which are available on-line to the Society's members via the website: www.rayment.info     Please note that you do NOT have to be a member of the Society in order to participate in this DNA Project, but non-members are welcome to visit www.rayment.org for further information about the Society, which is an international not-for-profit organisation that is run entirely by volunteers. The Y-DNA test tells you about your direct male line, which would be your father, his father, and so on, back in time.   You must be male to take this test, and you should normally have one of the surnames shown.   However, if you believe that there is a Rayment (or variant) in your direct male line, even if you now have a different surname, you are welcome to participate.   If you are female, you will need to find a male to participate for you. The group encourages males who order a Y-DNA test to order the complete 67 marker test if at all possible.  If less markers than this are ordered at the outset and the need subsequently arises to upgrade, it will cost more. Both males and females may also be interested in learning about their direct female line, which would be their mother, their mother's mother, and so on, back in time.   For this you would need to order a mtDNA test. If you have any questions that are not covered on the FAQ pages, please do not hesitate to contact the Rayment Society's DNA administrator.