MANXDNA

Manx DNA Project

Y-DNA Study

This is the original website for the  Manx Y-DNA project which sought to assess and analyse the spread and diversity of Y-DNA profiles present in men of Manx origin and identify their early origins before their families arrived on the Isle of Man.

There is a distinct group of family names which are unique to the Isle of Man - and the Manx population will be a mixture of old Irish, Early British Isles, Scandinavian/N European and some Scottish DNA. The purpose of the Y-DNA  project was  to try and clarify some of the early genetic origins of the Manx and to try and identify where the early Manx settlers came from and possibly when they arrived. The Y chromosome is uniquely possessed by males and so in this study so far,  it has been used to identify the various Manx paternal genetic lines and the unique family names associated with those lines.  

The project started in 2010 and the database now contains the Y-DNA results for more than 600 men of Manx descent covering some 117 (completely)  and 15 (partially) of the surviving 130-135 early Manx family names.  Full information on the range of results achieved by the project can be found here. 

A totally new report has been added comparing the predicted linguistic origins of Manx surnames with their actual origins as determined through Y-DNA testing. 

A full summary of the project results and output has been published in "Isle of Man Studies" - The Proceedings of the Isle of Man Natural History and Antiquarian Society - Vol XVII  - see the index here

Participation in the Y-DNA Study

If you are male and possess one of the qualifying family names, and you know that your paternal line ancestors came originally from the Isle of Man - then you are kindly invited to take part in this project. See here for more details. 

Men possessing any of the following Manx names are still needed to be tested:-  

Boyd(e), Cannan, Carine, Carroon,  Cojeen, Corjeag/Cavendish, Corteen,  Kewish,  Martin, Mylechraine, Quaggan/in, Quaye, Quilleash, Quark, Skillicorn and Vondy

Free tests may be available to men with these family names   - all on a first come, first served, basis and subject to appropriate genealogy -  please contact Robert Cannell

If you are male and possess one of the qualifying names and you wish to take part to learn more about your male ancestry, then please go here

Participation in Manx matrilineal DNA Research

The project is currently enlarging its scope to include a study and identification of possible Manx matrilineal ancestry, using mitochondrial DNA testing and analysis. Anyone who has Manx maternal line ancestry and who would like to take part should contact Robert Cannell

An introduction to the different types of consumer DNA testing currently available can be found here

Early findings from the Manx matrilineal research so far can be found here.

If you have any questions about this site please contact Robert Cannell.  Copyright John A Creer 2010-2025