Estimation of Kinship and Genetic Distance from Surnames

Document Type

Article

Authors

John H. Relethford, State University of New York College at Oneonta

Abstract

Measures of genetic structure, such as inbreeding and kinship, may be derived from the analysis of surname distributions within and among populations. This paper considers the estimation of kinship and genetic distance from surnames. Two methods are provided for the estimation of kinship relative to a founding population (a priori kinship) and kinship relative to a contemporary region (conditional kinship). In most studies of population structure the latter measure is more informative. Measures of genetic distance are derived from the different kinship estimates and are shown to all be proportional to one another. Methods are provided for estimation of the degree of microdifferentiation and isolation by distance parameters based on surnames. These methods are applied to data from 18 samples from 12 human populations.

Recommended Citation

Relethford, John H. (1988) "Estimation of Kinship and Genetic Distance from Surnames," Human Biology: Vol. 60: Iss. 3, Article 11.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/vol60/iss3/11