This DNA project has the goal of using Y-DNA test results in order to determine if the descendants utilizing the name ZEINSTRA are related to one another through a combination of conventional genealogical research and genetic genealogical research. The ZEINSTRA name is from the province of Friesland of the Netherlands. In 1811 several different families adopted the name. Through genealogy research we have determined that some of these families were indeed related but we have not yet been able to determine if they all came from the same family. So why would different families possibly adopted the same surname? The reason may be how a family may have chosen the ZEINSTRA name. Dutch family surnames were not required until 1811 when emperor Napoleon annexed the Netherlands. Prior to 1811, the use of patronymics was much more common where generation to generation they would adopt the male parents first name as a surname for the next generation and as a result each successive generation would have a different last name (surname). The 1811 Napoleonic decree made it law that the head of each family should register at their local municipality a chosen fixed surname. It further required all children go by the surname that their father registered. In the event that the father was not living then grandchildren were required to go by the living grandfather’s registered surname. There were four main categories from which surnames were derived: 1. Geographic 2. Occupational and trade surnames 3. Aliases and Nicknames 4. Derived from the individuals father's or mother's given name In Friesland the endings sa, ga, inga, ma, and sma were added to the father’s name. The ending “stra” is also common in Friesland, but it is not patronymic. It comes from sater or sitter which means resident, occupant, or tenant. Thus, a resident of the farmstead Gaa was often identified by the name Gaastra. (1) Where did ZEIN come from? Could it have been the name of a farmstead? As more individuals join this DNA project, it is anticipated that additional goals and objectives for additional research will be identified and pursued. (1) The Netherlands. The Genealogical Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints