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An Exploration of Irish Surname History through Patrilineal Genetics

<p>Due to
Ireland’s secluded geographical location, its genetic structure is a popular
topic of study. The indigenous inhabitants of Ireland remained undisturbed for
a long period time, allowing for a distinct genetic population to be created.
This peace was disrupted by conflict with invading forces, such as the Nordic
Vikings and Anglo-Norman forces. However, these historical events helped to
shape both the culture of Ireland and the ancestry seen in the Irish population
today. In Ireland, quite like many countries around the world, the male’s
surname is passed from father to son, just as the Y-chromosome. The relationship
between Irish surnames and their corresponding Y-haplogroups was examined to
determine if common and rare Irish surnames can be genetically linked to the
historical invasions listed above. The surnames chosen for this study were
selected based on their prevalence in Ireland, rare or common, and their
proposed historical origin, Irish, Norse or British. To discover any possible
patterns in surnames and Y-chromosomal DNA, Y-haplogroups were generated from the
DNA of 630 Irish male subjects using an assay specifically developed for the
region. The assay contains twenty single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that
were selected to further resolve the R1b-L21 Y-haplogroup for Irish ancestry,
the most prevalent haplogroup in Western Europe, and Ireland in particular.
Additional Y-STR data was also generated to examine recent surname history
within the collected individuals. Each surname was examined to determine
whether one haplogroup occurred more frequently and with this method, distinct
patterns in Irish surnames and geographical locations were discovered. In
addition to resolving Y-surname history patterns, it is also believed that this
assay may be beneficial in determining if an unknown DNA sample is of Western
European origin and even in some cases, if a more specific Irish origin can be
predicted.</p>

  1. 10.25394/pgs.7438922.v1
Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:purdue.edu/oai:figshare.com:article/7438922
Date16 January 2020
CreatorsStephanie Farmer (5931041)
Source SetsPurdue University
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeText, Thesis
RightsCC BY 4.0
Relationhttps://figshare.com/articles/An_Exploration_of_Irish_Surname_History_through_Patrilineal_Genetics/7438922

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