Glasgow DNA · Glasgow surname archive

Glasgow Name Study: project home · research directory · deep ancestry · interactive Y-DNA explorer

Project status: current DNA project guide; architecture reviewed 29 August 2026. Claims remain subject to the evidence statement on this page.

Glasgow Surname Y-DNA Project

This is the project's current guide to Y-DNA evidence for Glasgow and variant-surname paternal lines. Y-DNA can identify paternal clusters, test whether two documented male lines share a male ancestor and estimate when a branch formed. It cannot by itself name that ancestor, select between same-name historical men or repair a missing documentary generation.

Current result	Evidential limit
The principal tested Glasgow surname cluster descends through R-FT25406.	This does not prove that every Glasgow family belongs to the cluster.
Genetic estimates place its common ancestor broadly in the surname-forming period.	An estimate is a probability distribution, not a birth date or identification.
Downstream SNPs can distinguish tested modern paternal branches.	A SNP must not be assigned to a named historical bearer without a supported male-line pedigree or relevant ancient DNA.
Glasgow, Duffield and Churnside testers may share deeper paternal ancestry.	The relationship does not identify Roger de Duffeld, John of Huntingdon or another medieval man as their common ancestor.

Primary project resources

FamilyTreeDNA Glasgow Surname Group — project membership and testing information.
Public Y-DNA SNP results and public STR results — the current testing-platform data.
Glasgow DNA Project discussion group — questions, coordination and project updates.
Glasgow Y-DNA Explorer and Y-DNA Timeline — project visualisations. These are finding aids; platform results and documentary sources remain the evidence.

How to use the evidence

Build each tester's direct male-line pedigree from cited birth, marriage, death, probate, census and other relationship records.
Record the earliest reliably documented paternal ancestor and the exact uncertainty in each link.
Compare Y-DNA only after the documentary lines have been separated.
Use Big Y SNP results to define branches; use STRs for screening and project grouping, not as proof of a named ancestor.
Report genetic dates as estimates and include the displayed uncertainty interval where available.
Keep a historical identification labelled as a hypothesis until a documentary bridge or ancient-DNA comparison tests it.

Project topology

The principal working path is:

R-M269 → R-U106 → R-Z18 → R-Z17 → R-S20045 → R-S14827 → R-FT4811 → R-FT32941 → R-FT25406

Relevant downstream or comparison pages include R-FT20271, R-FTA30932 and R-BY136156. The individual SNP pages record platform-derived topology, estimates and branch-specific notes. Their historical narratives must follow the same evidence rules as this page.

Relationship to the documentary study

The pre-1500 register documents people who used de Glasgu and related forms. Early Scottish branches establishes the first secure multi-generation burgh pedigree. Early Ireland separates Irish record clusters.

No current evidence joins a tested modern male line continuously to a named pre-1500 bearer. The correct research target is therefore the missing documentary bridge, not the retrospective assignment of medieval people to modern SNPs.

Paternal pedigree matrix

This matrix deliberately reports branches rather than private tester identities. A branch is ready for a historical conclusion only when each tester-to-root generation has independently cited relationship evidence.

Genetic branch	Documentary scope	Current assessment	Next proof needed
R-FT25406 principal Glasgow cluster	several Glasgow-surname paternal lines with Scottish, Ulster and diaspora roots	shared paternal ancestry is supported genetically; the individual pedigrees and their earliest common documentary ancestor are not yet uniformly verified	audit every generation, publish the earliest securely documented root for each line, then compare the independently built pedigrees
R-FT20271	downstream tested lines within the principal cluster	useful modern branch division; no named early-modern or medieval founder is established by the SNP alone	complete and cite the participating paternal pedigrees and identify the first documentary point at which they converge
R-FTA30932 and R-BY136156	downstream or comparison branches	topology may separate modern lines, but historical assignments remain provisional	reconcile current platform topology with sourced pedigrees after each relevant Big Y update
R-FT32941, R-FT4811, R-S14827, R-S20045 and R-Z17	progressively deeper ancestral nodes	appropriate for deep topology and age estimates, not for attaching a named Glasgow bearer	retain uncertainty intervals and avoid converting an estimated date into a person-level claim
R-P312 and other non-principal results	Glasgow or variant-surname lines outside the principal cluster	evidence for multiple paternal origins, surname adoption, non-paternal events or unrelated same-surname families; not an error to be removed	document each independent paternal pedigree and preserve non-matching results in the project model
Duffield and Churnside comparisons	surname groups with possible deeper genetic proximity	may inform a pre-surname hypothesis; does not identify Roger de Duffeld or any other medieval man	obtain independently documented pedigrees and relevant ancient-DNA evidence before proposing a named founder

Testing and research priorities

recruit patrilineal descendants of independently documented Scottish, Irish and diaspora root families;
upgrade representative lines to Big Y where appropriate;
resolve the documentary pedigree of every kit before drawing branch conclusions;
seek tests from lines not expected to belong to R-FT25406, so non-paternity, surname adoption and multiple surname origins remain visible;
update the WikiTree SNP pages when the testing platform changes topology or estimates;
publish anonymised conclusions only, respecting each tester's consent and privacy.

Glasgow Ancient Y-DNA — deep ancestry and the evidence warning for medieval identifications.
The Medieval Origins — controlled assessment of the Duffield and medieval-origin hypotheses.
Personal genetic exploration — an individual working notebook, not a project conclusion.

WikiTree and this edition

Not checked against current WikiTree text

Saved source: 2026-08-29. Local corrections are preserved; differences are reviewed before either edition is replaced.

Open the WikiTree page ↗ · How updates are reconciled

Complete local WikiTree draft

This is the public-safe local text, ready for review. A live WikiTree save is a separate action.

Local replacement text

[[Category:Glasgow Name Study]]
[[Category:DNA Projects]]
{{One Name Study|name=Glasgow}}

<small>'''Glasgow Name Study:''' [[Space:Glasgow Name Study|project home]] · [[Space:Glasgow Research|research directory]] · [[Space:Glasgow Ancient YDNA|deep ancestry]] · [https://glasgow.phenotype.dev/ydna interactive Y-DNA explorer]</small>

<small>'''Project status:''' current DNA project guide; architecture reviewed 29 August 2026. Claims remain subject to the evidence statement on this page.</small>


= Glasgow Surname Y-DNA Project =

This is the project's current guide to Y-DNA evidence for Glasgow and variant-surname paternal lines. Y-DNA can identify paternal clusters, test whether two documented male lines share a male ancestor and estimate when a branch formed. It cannot by itself name that ancestor, select between same-name historical men or repair a missing documentary generation.

{| class="wikitable" style="background:#f8fff8; width:100%;"
! Current result
! Evidential limit
|-
| The principal tested Glasgow surname cluster descends through '''R-FT25406'''.
| This does not prove that every Glasgow family belongs to the cluster.
|-
| Genetic estimates place its common ancestor broadly in the surname-forming period.
| An estimate is a probability distribution, not a birth date or identification.
|-
| Downstream SNPs can distinguish tested modern paternal branches.
| A SNP must not be assigned to a named historical bearer without a supported male-line pedigree or relevant ancient DNA.
|-
| Glasgow, Duffield and Churnside testers may share deeper paternal ancestry.
| The relationship does not identify Roger de Duffeld, John of Huntingdon or another medieval man as their common ancestor.
|}

== Primary project resources ==

* [https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/glasgow/ FamilyTreeDNA Glasgow Surname Group] — project membership and testing information.
* [https://www.familytreedna.com/public/Glasgow?iframe=ysnp Public Y-DNA SNP results] and [https://www.familytreedna.com/public/Glasgow?iframe=yresults public STR results] — the current testing-platform data.
* [https://groups.io/g/glasgowdnaproject Glasgow DNA Project discussion group] — questions, coordination and project updates.
* [https://glasgow.phenotype.dev/ydna Glasgow Y-DNA Explorer] and [https://glasgow.phenotype.dev/timeline Y-DNA Timeline] — project visualisations. These are finding aids; platform results and documentary sources remain the evidence.

== How to use the evidence ==

# Build each tester's direct male-line pedigree from cited birth, marriage, death, probate, census and other relationship records.
# Record the earliest reliably documented paternal ancestor and the exact uncertainty in each link.
# Compare Y-DNA only after the documentary lines have been separated.
# Use Big Y SNP results to define branches; use STRs for screening and project grouping, not as proof of a named ancestor.
# Report genetic dates as estimates and include the displayed uncertainty interval where available.
# Keep a historical identification labelled as a hypothesis until a documentary bridge or ancient-DNA comparison tests it.

== Project topology ==

The principal working path is:

:R-M269 → R-U106 → R-Z18 → R-Z17 → [[Space:R-S20045|R-S20045]] → [[Space:R-S14827|R-S14827]] → [[Space:R-FT4811|R-FT4811]] → [[Space:R-FT32941|R-FT32941]] → [[Space:R-FT25406|R-FT25406]]

Relevant downstream or comparison pages include [[Space:R-FT20271|R-FT20271]], [[Space:R-FTA30932|R-FTA30932]] and [[Space:R-BY136156|R-BY136156]]. The individual SNP pages record platform-derived topology, estimates and branch-specific notes. Their historical narratives must follow the same evidence rules as this page.

== Relationship to the documentary study ==

The [https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Bearers_of_the_%27%27de_Glasgu%27%27_Name_and_the_Emergence_of_the_Glasgow_Surname%2C_c.1175%E2%80%931500 pre-1500 register] documents people who used ''de Glasgu'' and related forms. [[Space:Glasgow Branches in 15th and 16th Century Scotland|Early Scottish branches]] establishes the first secure multi-generation burgh pedigree. [[Space:Glasgow Branches in Early Ireland|Early Ireland]] separates Irish record clusters.

No current evidence joins a tested modern male line continuously to a named pre-1500 bearer. The correct research target is therefore the missing documentary bridge, not the retrospective assignment of medieval people to modern SNPs.

== Paternal pedigree matrix ==

This matrix deliberately reports branches rather than private tester identities. A branch is ready for a historical conclusion only when each tester-to-root generation has independently cited relationship evidence.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%;"
! Genetic branch !! Documentary scope !! Current assessment !! Next proof needed
|-
| [[Space:R-FT25406|R-FT25406]] principal Glasgow cluster || several Glasgow-surname paternal lines with Scottish, Ulster and diaspora roots || shared paternal ancestry is supported genetically; the individual pedigrees and their earliest common documentary ancestor are not yet uniformly verified || audit every generation, publish the earliest securely documented root for each line, then compare the independently built pedigrees
|-
| [[Space:R-FT20271|R-FT20271]] || downstream tested lines within the principal cluster || useful modern branch division; no named early-modern or medieval founder is established by the SNP alone || complete and cite the participating paternal pedigrees and identify the first documentary point at which they converge
|-
| [[Space:R-FTA30932|R-FTA30932]] and [[Space:R-BY136156|R-BY136156]] || downstream or comparison branches || topology may separate modern lines, but historical assignments remain provisional || reconcile current platform topology with sourced pedigrees after each relevant Big Y update
|-
| [[Space:R-FT32941|R-FT32941]], [[Space:R-FT4811|R-FT4811]], [[Space:R-S14827|R-S14827]], [[Space:R-S20045|R-S20045]] and [[Space:R-Z17|R-Z17]] || progressively deeper ancestral nodes || appropriate for deep topology and age estimates, not for attaching a named Glasgow bearer || retain uncertainty intervals and avoid converting an estimated date into a person-level claim
|-
| [[Space:R-P312|R-P312]] and other non-principal results || Glasgow or variant-surname lines outside the principal cluster || evidence for multiple paternal origins, surname adoption, non-paternal events or unrelated same-surname families; not an error to be removed || document each independent paternal pedigree and preserve non-matching results in the project model
|-
| Duffield and Churnside comparisons || surname groups with possible deeper genetic proximity || may inform a pre-surname hypothesis; does not identify Roger de Duffeld or any other medieval man || obtain independently documented pedigrees and relevant ancient-DNA evidence before proposing a named founder
|}

== Testing and research priorities ==

* recruit patrilineal descendants of independently documented Scottish, Irish and diaspora root families;
* upgrade representative lines to Big Y where appropriate;
* resolve the documentary pedigree of every kit before drawing branch conclusions;
* seek tests from lines not expected to belong to R-FT25406, so non-paternity, surname adoption and multiple surname origins remain visible;
* update the WikiTree SNP pages when the testing platform changes topology or estimates;
* publish anonymised conclusions only, respecting each tester's consent and privacy.

== Related pages ==

* [[Space:Glasgow Ancient YDNA|Glasgow Ancient Y-DNA]] — deep ancestry and the evidence warning for medieval identifications.
* [[Space:The Medieval Origins: From Normans to Glasgow|The Medieval Origins]] — controlled assessment of the Duffield and medieval-origin hypotheses.
* [[Space:Personal genetic exploration|Personal genetic exploration]] — an individual working notebook, not a project conclusion.