Cultural factor in the geographic distribution of personal names: pseudogenetic analysis of first names used to estimate the cultural component of coefficients of relationship by isonymy

By applying to given names formulations for analyzing the genetics of surname distributions, under certain assumptions one can separate the genetic components from the cultural components of surname distributions. Geographic distributions of surnames regularly yield larger coefficients of relationship or kinship within local populations than between them: for instance, Ri = 75 x 10(-5) within a local area in England but the Ri of those villages with all of England and Wales is 42 x 10(-5). On the contrary, the first names in an English and Welsh sample give essentially the same pseudocoefficient (based on first names) within registration districts (Ri = 354 x 10(-5) as between districts (Ri = 370 x 10(-5). Thus the decrease with distance of the coefficients based on surnames can be ascribed to the genetic component according to the Malécot principle, assuming that the first names are chosen in the same way as the surnames originated and consequently that the cultural component of surname distributions is no more localized than the distribution of given names (in this sample not at all).     

Surnames in the Study of Human Biology

Use of surname analysis in human population biology depends on surnames being inherited like genes. In societies that meet this condition, communities with a few surnames at high frequency are the more inbred ones, and marriages between persons of the same surname can be used to estimate rates of inbreeding. Furthermore, the degree of commonality of the surnames of two communities estimates their biological relationship provided that any two persons of the same surname derived it from a common ancestor and that virilocal and uxorilocal migration is equal. Although the assumptions are only partially met, the surname method yields results which correlate with the amount of marital migration and with geographical and historical features. Rare surnames meet the assumptions better than common ones. Documents, both old and new, yield surnames of large numbers of people which can easily be analyzed to show the cumulative effect of marital migration since the establishment of surnames (in England in the Middle Ages). Surnames thus serve to delineate the breeding structure of some human populations over a longer span of time than is usually possible with pedigrees, over a more definite span of time than in genetic studies, and more easily in broad surveys than alternative methods . [isonymy, surnames, inbreeding, coefficient of relationship, England]     

In the name of the migrant father--analysis of surname origins identifies genetic admixture events undetectable from genealogical records

Patrilineal heritable surnames are widely used to select autochthonous participants for studies on small-scale population genetic patterns owing to the unique link between the surname and a genetic marker, the Y-chromosome (Y-chr). Today, the question arises as to whether the surname origin will be informative on top of in-depth genealogical pedigrees. Admixture events that happened in the period after giving heritable surnames but before the start of genealogical records may be informative about the additional value of the surname origin. In this context, an interesting historical event is the demic migration from French-speaking regions in Northern France to the depopulated and Dutch-speaking region Flanders at the end of the sixteenth century. Y-chr subhaplogroups of individuals with a French/Roman surname that could be associated with this migration event were compared with those of a group with autochthonous Flemish surnames. Although these groups could not be differentiated based on in-depth genealogical data, they were significantly genetically different from each other. Moreover, the observed genetic divergence was related to the differences in the distributions of main Y-subhaplogroups between contemporary populations from Northern France and Flanders. Therefore, these results indicate that the surname origin can be an important feature on top of in-depth genealogical results to select autochthonous participants for a regional population genetic study based on Y-chromosomes.     

Surnames as indicators of European admixture in Andean Indians

The goal of the present report was to determine how well surnames assess the degree of European admixture in urban Aymara. Reflectances, which were measured at three wavelengths (425 nm, 545 nm, and 685 nm) and on two sites (the medial surface of the upper arm and the forehead), were used as genetic markers. The sample consisted of 556 Andean Indians of Aymara ancestry (305 males, 251 females; 10.0–29.9 yr) residing in La Paz, Bolivia (average altitude of about 3600 m). The first component from a principal components analysis was demonstrated to assess the underlying genetics of pigmentation, after controlling for tanning and vascularity, the two primary environmental modifiers of skin color. The scores associated with the first principal component were there-force entered into a discriminant function analysis, which indicated that surnames provide a useful indirect index of the degree of European admixture in urban Aymara. However, these results also suggested that the relationship between, surnames and ethnicity is not equally strong across all surname categories. In particular, the likelihood of correctly predicting surname category from reflectances was about twice that expected by chance alone in individuals with two Aymara or two Spanish surnames but was slightly less than would be expected by chance alone in those with mixed surnames. In addition, the findings of this study suggested that there may be significant genetic differences between rural and urban Aymara.     

Sicilian provinces: population subdivisions revealed by surname frequencies

The Sicilian population has a complex history of colonization and invasions that have influenced the genetic composition of the nine provinces of the island. Because surnames are patrilineally inherited, they simulate a Y-chromosome nonrecombinant genetic locus. We used surname data and a specific sampling strategy to describe the major subdivisions in each province and for the whole island of Sicily. The high number of families per surname in two provinces can be related to inbreeding as a result of founder events. Each province shows a major division, which, according to local historical events, likely represents cultural and probably genetic differences between east and west, between north and south, or between the inner regions and the coastal area. On the island level surnames reproduce the same separation, obtained by others with genes, of the eastern area from the western area. The separation is attributed to Greek influence in the east and to Phoenician-Carthaginian-Norman influence in the west. This separation crosses the two central provinces of Agrigento and Caltanissetta.     

Y-STR genetic structure of the most common surnames in Korea

The genetic pattern of the Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (Y-STR) haplotypes of 542 unrelated males having the five most common surnames was analyzed to evaluate their usefulness for Korean forensic science and to provide the basic information for Korean genetic genealogy. We identified 439 Y-STR haplotypes, with 385 (87.7%) being found once. Each of the most common Korean surnames examined here showed high haplotype diversity (>0.9949), indicating that Y-STR haplotypes are very heterogeneous within each surname. Population genetic analysis showed that there are little genetic difference among five surnames due to the genetic heterogeneity within each surname and the various kinds of non surname-specific haplotypes (33.6%: 182/542) distributed among five surnames. Surname prediction may not be adequate for narrowing down the suspect list in Korean forensic science, and additional Y-STR haplotype data of thebon-gwans are needed.     

Population structure of São Miguel Island, Azores: a surname study

The knowledge of a population structure may constitute a powerful tool for mapping genes underlying susceptibility to Mendelian and complex diseases. To obtain a better understanding of the population structure of S?o Miguel Island (Azorean Archipelago, Portugal), we carried out a surname survey using the surnames listed in the most recent telephone book (2001). We identified 1315 different surnames in a total of 27,621 subscribers. The frequency of the different surnames was used to calculate the following parameters: isonymy (I), random component of inbreeding (FST), genetic diversity according to Fisher (alpha), migration rate according to Karlin-McGregor (v) and Nei's genetic distance. Eleven localities were selected, according to population size and geographic distribution, for analysis using the above parameters. Our results show that 51% of Salga's population and 52% of Sete Cidades's population are represented by six and eight surnames, respectively. These figures demonstrate the effective isolation of these two small places, which are located at opposite ends of S?o Miguel Island. Salga, Achada, and Sete Cidades present the lowest values of Fisher's alpha, indicating less genetic diversity. In contrast, the capital, Ponta Delgada, presents the highest value of alpha (78.13), indicating more genetic diversity. Our data indicate that the clustering of the localities corresponds to the geographic features of the island, where localities close together tend to share similar surnames. In conclusion, the population of S?o Miguel is relatively homogeneous and may constitute an ideal model for genetic mapping studies.     

Genetic signatures of coancestry within surnames

Surnames are cultural markers of shared ancestry within human populations. The Y chromosome, like many surnames, is paternally inherited, so men sharing surnames might be expected to share similar Y chromosomes as a signature of coancestry. Such a relationship could be used to connect branches of family trees, to validate population genetic studies based on isonymy, and to predict surname from crime-scene samples in forensics. However, the link may be weak or absent due to multiple independent founders for many names, adoptions, name changes and nonpaternities, and mutation of Y haplotypes. Here, rather than focusing on a single name, we take a general approach by seeking evidence for a link in a sample of 150 randomly ascertained pairs of males who each share a British surname. We show that sharing a surname significantly elevates the probability of sharing a Y-chromosomal haplotype and that this probability increases as surname frequency decreases. Within our sample, we estimate that up to 24% of pairs share recent ancestry and that a large surname-based forensic database might contribute to the intelligence-led investigation of up to approximately 70 rapes and murders per year in the UK. This approach would be applicable to any society that uses patrilineal surnames of reasonable time-depth.     

Surname as 'cancer risk' in extreme isolates: example from the island of Lastovo, Croatia

The aim of this study was to analyze whether there are surnames which appear more frequently among the ancestors of cancer cases in a small isolate, in comparison to the ancestral surnames of the healthy controls, using the classic case-control design. The chosen setting was the island of Lastovo, Croatia, located more than 100 kilometers from the nearest coastal region. The period of study was 1970-1995, during which a total of 76 cancer cases were recorded in a population of approximately 800. The comparison of surname frequencies was performed in current and in five ancestral generations. The leading hypothesis was that, if inbreeding and common ancestry contributed to the development of the disease, then those phenomena should be reflected in increasing frequency of some surnames among ancestors, identifying the 'hidden' consanguinity, or 'following' cancer-promoting genes on the Y-chromosome. The results imply that there are surnames representing a classic "risk" for cancer, but also those "protecting" from its development, which all underscores the importance of founder effect and genetic predisposition to the disease in a small, reproductively isolated population. All of the results become more evident and increasingly significant when analyzed in more distant ancestral generations.     

Y-chromosomes and the extent of patrilineal ancestry in Irish surnames

Ireland has one of the oldest systems of patrilineal hereditary surnames in the world. Using the paternal co-inheritance of Y-chromosome DNA and Irish surnames, we examined the extent to which modern surname groups share a common male-line ancestor and the general applicability of Y-chromosomes in uncovering surname origins and histories. DNA samples were collected from 1,125 men, bearing 43 different surnames, and each was genotyped for 17 Y-chromosome short tandem repeat (STR) loci. A highly significant proportion of the observed Y-chromosome diversity was found between surnames demonstrating their demarcation of real and recent patrilineal kinship. On average, a man has a 30-fold increased chance of sharing a 17 STR Y-chromosome haplotype with another man of the same surname but the extent of congruence between the surname and haplotype varies widely between surnames and we attributed this to differences in the number of early founders. Some surnames such as O’Sullivan and Ryan have a single major ancestor, whereas others like Murphy and Kelly have numerous founders probably explaining their high frequency today. Notwithstanding differences in their early origins, all surnames have been extensively affected by later male introgession. None examined showed more than about half of current bearers still descended from one original founder indicating dynamic and continuously evolving kinship groupings. Precisely because of this otherwise cryptic complexity there is a substantial role for the Y-chromosome and a molecular genealogical approach to complement and expand existing sources.     

Isonymy and the genetic structure of Albanian populations

It is well known that in systems of surname transmission through the paternal line, surnames simulate neutral gene alleles belonging to the Y chromosome. This property of surnames was used to analyze the genetic structure of Albanian populations. Two large samples of surnames belonging to two different periods of time were analyzed. The analysis of indicators of population structure showed that geographical distance has an important effect on surname distribution. It seems that isolation by distance and genetic drift have been still important factors in the determination of the genetic structure of the Albanian population.     

宋朝中国人的姓氏分布与群体结构分化

姓氏是一种十分有用的文化遗传因子,它的传递方式类似于Ｙ染色体的表现。１０００年前宋朝（公元９６０￣１１７９年）中国人姓氏频率的分布,是一组十分吻合Ｋａｒｌｉｎ－ＭｃＧｒｅｇｏｒ的中性等位基因分布理论的随机数据。１６个省区的姓氏种类丰度的相对参数α和迁移率的相对参数ｖ的分析,反映了这一时期的中国人群的迁移和人群间混合的程度。姓氏遗传距离和现状聚类图的分析,表明在１０００年前的宋朝中国人群已经形成了南     

The hierarchical genetic structure of an urban town, Kidlington, Oxfordshire, examined by the coefficient of relationship by isonymy.

The surnames of the 3443 males registered to vote in Kidlington in 1977 yield a Coefficient of Relationship by Isonymy of 0.000564 {Ri = sigma(n(n-1))/2 N(N-1), in which n = the number of men of each surname and N = sigma n}. Those of the four wards separately average 0.000722. However, if one includes only one male of any one surname in each residence, the values are, respectively, 0.000534 and 0.000535. That is, the only structure seen between the two levels is in the influence of men of the same surname resident in the same house. An analysis of relationship by residence on the same street yields a value of Ri somewhat higher than that for the ward as a whole, however, suggesting that even within a ward there may be a tendency for the house of relatives occasionally to lie close together.     

中国人姓氏群体遗传Ⅱ. 姓氏传递的稳定性与地域人群的亲缘关系

分析了比较了宋朝、明朝和当代姓氏的分布曲线,同姓率（ｉｓｏｎｙｍｙ）和地域人群间的亲缘关系。３个历史时期的姓氏分布反映了２个重要的现象;第一,中国人姓氏在历史上是连续的和稳定的。它揭示了姓氏所表现的血缘文化的痕迹与生命遗传物质,尤其是Ｙ染色体的进化具有基本相同的和平行的表现,第二,中国人的姓氏存在２种状态,常见姓氏和非常见姓氏。仅占总姓氏上５％的１００个常见姓氏集中了８５％以上的人口,而占总姓氏量     

深圳无偿献血人群中李姓、王姓和张姓无关男性个体Y-STR单倍型遗传多态性

为研究姓氏群体Y染色体特异STR单倍型的遗传多态性, 采用PCR复合扩增和ABI PrismTM 3100基因测序仪荧光检测方法对DYS426等9个Y-STR基因座进行基因分型, 检测深圳地区李姓无关男性个体血样139份、王姓无关男性个体118份、张姓无关男性个体119份。结果在139份李姓群体中, 共检出126种单倍型, 其中118种单倍型仅出现1次, 检出频率最高的1种单倍型出现6次, 单倍型多样性为0.9974; 118份王姓无关男性样本中, 共检出105种单倍型, 其中94种单倍型仅出现1次, 检出频率最高的1种单倍型出现4次, 单倍型多样性为0.9953; 张姓无关男性样本中, 共检出101种单倍型, 其中88种单倍型仅出现1次, 检出频率最高的1种单倍型出现4次, 单倍型多样性为0.9964。结果表明: 深圳地区李、王、张姓氏无关男性个体Y-STR单倍型的遗传多态性丰富, 与以往的汉族无关男性群体遗传资料相比较, 差异不显著。     

Do surname differences mirror dialect variation?

Our focus in this paper is the analysis of surnames, which have been proven to be reliable genetic markers because in patrilineal systems they are transmitted along generations virtually unchanged, similarly to a genetic locus on the Y chromosome. We compare the distribution of surnames to the distribution of dialect pronunciations, which are clearly culturally transmitted. Because surnames, at the time of their introduction, were words subject to the same linguistic processes that otherwise result in dialect differences, one might expect their geographic distribution to be correlated with dialect pronunciation differences. In this paper we concentrate on the Netherlands, an area of only 40,000 km2, where two official languages are spoken, Dutch and Frisian. We analyze 19,910 different surnames, sampled in 226 locations, and 125 different words, whose pronunciation was recorded in 252 sites. We find that, once the collinear effects of geography on both surname and cultural transmission are taken into account, there is no statistically significant association between the two, suggesting that surnames cannot be taken as a proxy for dialect variation, even though they can be safely used as a proxy for Y-chromosome genetic variation. We find the results historically and geographically insightful, hopefully leading to a deeper understanding of the role that local migrations and cultural diffusion play in surname and dialect diversity.     

Isonymy structure of USA population

The isonymy structure of the 48 states of the continental United States of America was studied using the surname distributions of 18 million telephone users, distributed in 247 towns. The shortest linear distance between nearest neighbor towns included in the sample was 12.0 km. The largest distance was 4,577 km. The number of different surnames found in the whole analysis was 899,585. Lasker's distance was found to be significantly but weakly correlated with the geographic distance, with r = 0.21 +/- 0.01. A dendrogram of the 48 states was built from the matrix of isonymy distances: it divides the US into several clusters, in general correlated with geography. A notable exception is California and New Jersey, which cluster together. Wisconsin is separated from all other states. An important cluster is formed by Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona, together with Illinois and Florida. It was observed that Hispanic surnames are among the most frequent in Illinois, as they are in New Jersey and California. No main distinction among the states clearly attributable to surnames of French origin was detected; however, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine which have a considerable number of these surnames belong to the same northeastern cluster. From the present analysis, the great mobility of the US population emerges clearly, and it seems relevant that the practical absence of isolation by distance is seen also considering only small towns. It appears that groups of different origin are well-mixed over the whole area of the United States. The values of isonymy indicate that the south-central area of the USA has the highest level of inbreeding. In fact, the heterogeneity in surname composition is greater in the coastal areas, particularly on the East Coast, than anywhere else in the USA.     

Genetic and cultural transmission in Sicily as revealed by names and surnames

The study of names as cultural characters and of surnames, which behave like genetic markers, is useful for comparing cultural and genetic transmission. Genetic transmission has a unique vertical component, which also can be present in the transmission of cultural traits associated with a horizontal (or epidemic) component resulting from local customs or fashion. Our aims in this study are to infer genetic patterns in Sicily from surnames and names and to evaluate and compare the consequences of vertical versus horizontal transmission of cultural markers. Names and surnames of 88,383 consanguineous spouses collected in 16 dioceses of Sicily were analyzed by multivariate analysis to reveal and compare the geographic clusters obtained from both sets of data. As a result, both data sets indicate a major separation between the eastern and the western region of Sicily. Also, distance matrices obtained from names are highly correlated with those from surnames. But names seem to form fewer and larger geographic clusters, whereas surnames are more greatly subdivided into smaller clusters. The most common male names present a different pattern from surnames. Vertical transmission is the cause of the similarity of the main geographic patterns of names and surnames and their correspondence with findings from geography of genes, and horizontal cultural transmission explains the major differences. Furthermore, the genetic and cultural affinities can be correlated with the historical background of Sicily.     

Mating pattern and population structure in Escazú, Costa Rica: a study using marriage records

A primary focus of historical demographic research is to understand how a population's mating pattern can affect its genetic structure. By using surnames, researchers can reconstruct gene flow into a population as well as within it: the population structure. Indeed, Lasker (1988a) noted that the distribution of surnames reflects the effect of mate choice on a population's genetic structure. Here, we study the mating pattern of a small, clearly established breeding population in Costa Rica (Escazú) during 1800-1839 and 1850-1899. We found that a large proportion of marriages involved individuals who were members of long-standing or core families. Indeed, 27 families provided 56% of all consorts throughout the period under study. When new surnames appeared in the records (presumably as a result of immigration), they were introduced more frequently by males, indicating that more males than females migrated into the community. The core families did not mate preferentially among themselves but appear to have readily accepted the migrants. Indeed,the greatest preponderance of repeated-surname marriages was that expected by chance. However, nonrandom surname repetition is evident when marriages between nonillegitimate consorts are analyzed. That is, the frequency of repeated-pair surname marriages is statistically significant in marriages involving brides and grooms who carried 2 surnames. Interestingly, significant departures from random repetition of surnames occurred during the decade in which the great cholera epidemic affected Costa Rica and during the decade following it. This departure from panmixia supports the notion that mating patterns were altered as a result of the epidemic, a suggestion we made previously when we reported that inbreeding increased in these same decades (Madrigal and Ware 1997).