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Wauchope

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  • Bruce Walkup
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  • Ed Ralston
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Y-DNA test results received thus far reveal multiple distinct male lines of Wauchope/Waugh, with likely origins as follows:

1. E-V13 Balkan Haplogroup - Thracian auxiliary Roman army soldier or Roman legionary (c. AD 43-410), whose descendants eventually settled in Scotland 

Evidence shows members of this extremely rare group to be that of the extant Wauchobs of Counties Donegal and Tyrone, Ulster.  Family tradition states three Wauchope brothers arrived to Ireland in 1642 as Cromwellian soldiers in the Scottish army under General Munro.  Their exact connection back to the Borders of Scotland whence they came is not certain, but presumed to be Dumfriesshire (due to a close association with the Grahams of Canonbie, descendants of the Earls of Montrose).  Results from this group demonstrate a genetic link between the modern spellings Wachob, Walkup, and Wauchope.  Recently Wishop has been added to the list, cementing the connection to Scotland.  Hopefully, a link to a more recent line of Waughs will also be found.


2. I-M253 Nordic Haplogroup - Normans (c. the Norman Conquest of 1066) or some other group of Vikings

Group A. Evidence shows members of this group to be that of the extant Waughs of Dumfriesshire, Scotland.  Results from this group demonstrate a genetic link between the modern spellings Walkup and Waugh.  Results also show a genetic link with a known alternative pronunciation of Waugh from northern England, that being Waff.

Group B. Evidence shows members of this group to be that of the extant Waughs of Roxburghshire, Scotland.  

Note: Members of Group A and B are not closely matched (i.e., not within the genealogical time frame).  Analysis of SNP results has shown the Time to Most Recent Common Ancestor (TMRCA) between the two groups is at least 3900 years.


3. I-P215 Southern Europe Haplogroup - Native to Scotland and Ireland after the last glacial age (c. 4,000 BC)

Group A. Evidence shows members of these groups to be from Scotland. 

Group B. Evidence shows members of these groups to be from Scotland.
Group C. Evidence shows members of these groups to be from Northumberland, England.

Note: Members of Group A through C are not closely matched (i.e., not within the genealogical time frame).


4. R-M269 Western Europe Haplogroup - Normans (c. the Norman Conquest of 1066), or of the native Britons (c. 6th century BC)

Group A. Evidence shows members of this group to be that of the late Wauchopes of Niddrie-Merschell, Midlothian (formerly Edinburghshire), Scotland.  Results from this group demonstrate a genetic link between the modern spellings Wahab and Wauchope.

Group B. Evidence shows members of this group to be that of the Waughs of Yorkshire, England and Scotland.  Results suggest a possible very old genetic link between the modern spellings of Waugh and Bauchop, strengthening the tradition of an early place-name connection.
Group C. Evidence shows members of this group to be that of the Waughs of Edinburghshire, Scotland.

Group D. Evidence shows members of this group to be that of Waughs of a yet unknown location, presumably Scotland.

Group E. Evidence shows members of this group to be that of the Waughs of Cumbria, England.

Group F. Evidence shows members of this group to be that of Waughs of a yet unknown location, presumably Scotland.

Note: Members of Groups A through F are not closely matched (i.e., within the genealogical time frame).


Note:  Subgroups of the above Haplogroups are set in part by the project administrators according to the most recent available Y-DNA Genetic Distance results, and as such are subject to periodic revision.  Also, remember that Y-DNA results do not necessarily equate to ethnicity.
The existing Y-DNA evidence demonstrates that Waugh is a more numerous surname in its own right than Wauchope.  Adding to that the abundance of similarly named features in both Dumfriesshire and Roxburghshire (e.g., Wauchope Water, Wauchope Burn, Wolfhope Burn, Wolflee, Waughslee, etc.) it would appear that rather then Waugh being an abbreviation of Wauchope, it is rather that Wauchope is Waugh with a suffix added.

Further testing is indicated. Still left to be answered is whether there is any genetic link between Wauchope and Warcop/Warcup/Warkup, or between Wauchope and Bauchope. 

Although the Y-DNA project answers the who and possibly the where of the origins of the various male Wauchope lines, it tantalizingly does not tell us the following:
  • Were they aware of each other's existence?
  • Were they associated with each other in any way?
  • Were they related via female lines due to adoption or surname change (e.g., A Don of Newton married a Wauchope of Edmonstone and changed his name to Wauchope.  The line's surname later became Don-Wauchope)?
For more surname details see...
www.wauchopes.com