The answer is plenty, according to the University’s Department of Genetics. For ground-breaking research by Professor Mark Jobling and Dr Turi King has revealed that men with the same British surnames are highly likely to be genetically linked.

Professor Jobling and Dr King found that men with rare surnames such as Grewcock, Ketley and Ravenscroft tended to share Y chromosomes that were very similar – indicating a common ancestor within the past 700 years. During the research they also made the startling discovery of the rare African Y chromosome type in a white man living in Leicester. This Y chromosome type had formerly been found in just 25 men – all with origins in West Africa – indicating that the roots we are drawn from are far from homogenous.

This relationship between DNA and surnames could have significant implications for the matching of crime scene DNA to potential suspects in cases where no immediate matches on national databases can be found. It could also affect traditional genealogy, as surnames could possibly be traced back to single founders and family trees linked by tracing DNA rather than birth, marriage and death certificates. So people with the same surname, yet unconnected using traditional genealogical means, could indeed prove to be related using this technology.

It’s the latest in a long line of exciting discoveries by this world-leading Department of Genetics – where in 1984 Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys discovered DNA fingerprinting.

• Department of Genetics

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