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The Vance surname across the world today is found mainly in English-speaking countries like Australia, the UK and Ireland, Canada, and the United States.
While over history there have been other family groups who have carried the name Vance, today the surname appears to have two main origins - one from Ireland where at least some of its earlier history is known, and one from Germany where the original surname was Wentz or a variant, and when emigrants came to English-speaking countries (mostly the US) the surname was transcribed as Vance.
More information about these origins can be found on the Vance Family Association's blog at this link.
The Vance Family Association (VFA) is the premier site for all things related to the Vance surname. The VFA was organized in the 1980's by Vances who wanted to create a repository of Vance information, resources of both scholarly and tantalizing articles about the history and genealogy of Vances as they migrated throughout the world.
This Vance DNA surname project is staffed by volunteers from the officers and members of the VFA. The project seeks to understand the origins of ALL the Vance family lines through collected analysis of their Y-DNA test results. We encourage anyone who believes that they have a male ancestry (father's father's father's etc father) back to a man with the surname Vance, to test their Y-DNA with Family Tree DNA and add their test results to our project database. Our administrators are available to help you with that analysis and will help assign you to the appropriate Vance DNA group.
While some of the surviving legends about the origins of the Vance surname have been confirmed through DNA analysis, others still need investigation, and it is clear from the various Y-DNA groups of men with the Vance surname that their origins are more complex than we yet know.
You can see the current groupings on the Project Results webpages, and our current knowledge about these Y-DNA Groups is available on the VFA's blog at this link. We are continually revising this analysis and as the details change please check back here for an updated overview and current links.
While over history there have been other family groups who have carried the name Vance, today the surname appears to have two main origins - one from Ireland where at least some of its earlier history is known, and one from Germany where the original surname was Wentz or a variant, and when emigrants came to English-speaking countries (mostly the US) the surname was transcribed as Vance.
More information about these origins can be found on the Vance Family Association's blog at this link.
The Vance Family Association (VFA) is the premier site for all things related to the Vance surname. The VFA was organized in the 1980's by Vances who wanted to create a repository of Vance information, resources of both scholarly and tantalizing articles about the history and genealogy of Vances as they migrated throughout the world.
This Vance DNA surname project is staffed by volunteers from the officers and members of the VFA. The project seeks to understand the origins of ALL the Vance family lines through collected analysis of their Y-DNA test results. We encourage anyone who believes that they have a male ancestry (father's father's father's etc father) back to a man with the surname Vance, to test their Y-DNA with Family Tree DNA and add their test results to our project database. Our administrators are available to help you with that analysis and will help assign you to the appropriate Vance DNA group.
While some of the surviving legends about the origins of the Vance surname have been confirmed through DNA analysis, others still need investigation, and it is clear from the various Y-DNA groups of men with the Vance surname that their origins are more complex than we yet know.
You can see the current groupings on the Project Results webpages, and our current knowledge about these Y-DNA Groups is available on the VFA's blog at this link. We are continually revising this analysis and as the details change please check back here for an updated overview and current links.