The Winnett name is rare. Several distinct families have been identified and are listed in the website www.winnettorigins.wordpress.com. Two families originating from Ireland, three American families, and two from England form the basis of the project at present. A Whinnett joined in 2009. The two Irish families on testing appear unrelated. However, the Irish family descended from William Winnett of County Kildare (c.1655-c.1717) and one American family (descended from William Winnett b.c. 1745 from England) would appear to share a common ancestor probably in the late 1500's. An American family from Massachusetts has been shown to descend from William Winnett of Kildare. A Wynniatt belongs to the same rare haplotype as the Kildare family (I2a3), but in this case patrilineal descent is uncertain.