Found distant relatives on facebook?

[justhere]

I searched my name which is very very very uncommon with only one other person living in my family not immediately related to us..we live in miami..anyways.i wanted to know if those people with my last name who i have found in different parts of the world are somehow related to us..if we did a DNA test between us..would they find us to be related?

[Kenyatta D. Berry]

Greetings,

You can learn more about Genetic Genealogy and DNA at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_genealogy

To determine if you are related, you can participate in a surname study. You can learn more about Surname Projects at http://www.cyndislist.com/surn-dna.htm

You can also check out surname distribution from 1850 to 1990 at http://www.progenealogists.com/surnamestudy.htm

Hope this helps.

Kenyatta D. Berry
http://www.discovergenealogy.com

[wendy c]

sigh
IF your name is rare enough, then yeah, you can be related. Normally, the advice is to NOT assume this, but if a surname became something different, then the so called origin might be as little as 100 yrs ago.
I have a couple of those type names in my research.. for them, all I had to do was pull up phone listings and contacted them. Eventually, we did a reunion. Only one was an ex-wife, who was not happy with my call, but she understood.
If you start your research the usual way... you identify your own immediate birth family (parents/ siblings). From there, identify the grandparents and their children. You may be able to locate many of the names/ dates in the social security death index. Next, the gr grandparents. By this time you have some facts and places to work with, and if you chose to contact them, you can offer "I have worked my ancestry back to 1880 and I would be happy to share". People are often more receptive if you are offering to share info, instead of expecting it from them.
You can do the regular route first when it is likely there is a connection. DNA would be overkill for that.

[lola]

There are some studies for surnames, if you go to rootsweb.com then groups then look for a group with your last name you can see if someone is trying for one with your name. However, I suggest you do a white pages search and don't limit it, and see how many people might have your last name. (Probably more than you thought).

DNA studies tend to be backed up with research - so it is likely that they would want you to at least know and document back to your gr-gr-grandpa. So that they can tell how related you might be.

So for your facebook friend, I suggest comparing gr-gr-grandparents or if you know where they probably lived.

There are some uncommon last names that were adopted by immigrants, some to symbolize a new beginning, and some that just differ from years of illiteracy.

[Krysia K]

I have a rare last name, especially for the U.S., so I have a 97% chance of being related to anyone with my last name... Facebook searches are always fun!