Norman Surname Y-DNA Project

FAQs

FAQs at FamilyTreeDNA.com

FamilyTreeDNA.com has an exhaustive list of Frequently Asked Questions External link. You are strongly encouraged to visit their site where you'll most likely find the answers to your questions.

Selected FAQs

  1. How are you, the Norman Surname Y-DNA Project administrator, going to protect my privacy?
  2. How do I contact another participant on this site?
  3. I have relatives who may want to take part in this project. What should I do?
  4. Is there more information about DNA on the Internet?
  5. Why is it that you insist on male members of the Norman clans?
  6. Do the DYS markers contain personal information related to a person's health or inheritance of disease-related genes?
  7. How do I provide my patrilinneal (all-male) ancestor information for inclusion on the web site?
  8. If two participants from the same genealogical lineage have substantially different DYS marker results, what could be the cause?

1. How are you, the Norman Surname Y-DNA Project administrator, going to protect my privacy?

Please see the Privacy FAQ page. Personally identifiable information is never presented on this site unless expressly requested by the participant.

2. How do I contact another participant on this site?

Send the project administrator an email with the Kit number of the participant you wish to contact (select “Contacts” in the Menu at left). Your name and email address will be forwarded to that participant, who then has an option of replying to your request or not. Ideally, everyone will reply, but it is possible that the donor may want to maintain their privacy.

3. I have relatives who may want to join this project. What should I do?

Send your relative's name and email address to the project administrator. Just remember that the potential donor must be a living male Norman descendant. If you prefer, you may submit a join request External link and ask for a test kit to be sent directly from FamilyTreeDNA.com.

4. Is there more information about DNA on the Internet?

Yes, quite a bit. Just enter “genealogy dna” or “genetic genealogy” in your favorite search engine.

5. Why is it that you insist on male members with surname Norman?

The Y chromosome of a man's DNA is passed unaltered from himself to his son. Also, in most cultures, surnames are passed from father to son (children don't usually take their mother's surname). Therefore, by comparing DNA of two males with the same surname, it can be determined whether or not they are related. If there is a close DNA match, then the two men probably share an ancester within the timeframe of surname use (typically, over the past 500-800 years), which could be corroborated using traditional genealogical research.

6. Do the DYS markers contain personal information related to a person's health or inheritance of disease-related genes?

No. A small strand of the Y chromosome is tested, but the portions (markers) used are inoccuous “junk” strands.

7. How do I provide my patrilinneal (all-male) ancestor information for inclusion on the web site?

Please visit the Ancestor Input Form. Instructions are provided there. If you have previously provided your ancestry data, but you have since discovered additional information, or you wish to correct an error, please use the form to re-submit your info. This will automatically generate an email to the webmaster, who will add your input to the web site.

8. If two participants from the same genealogical lineage have substantially different DYS marker results, what could be the cause?

It might be that one of the participants' Norman ancestor came into the family through a “non-paternity event” (a.k.a. “NPE,” such as adoption, infidelity, step-children, etc.). Most likely, however, it means the subject participants are not related, and that, therefore, the traditional “paper-trail” research contains an error.