The Burnett Y-DNA Project

Welcome

Are you wondering if you descend from a noble Scottish line such as the Burnetts of Leys or of Barns?  Or simply wondering if you have living Burnett cousins around the world?  This site chronicles the results of Y-DNA tests provided by hundreds of people to shine a light on our distant Burnett ancestors, to identify the various different Burnett paternal lines around the world, and to help our fellow Burnetts find their ancestors or extend their family trees back in time.

What is Y-DNA?

Y-DNA is passed almost unchanged from father to son. Because of this, it is one of the most powerful tools for tracing paternal ancestry, surname origins, and deep genetic lineages. Mutations occur slowly over time, allowing us to identify branches, sub-branches, and family clusters.

The Burnett Y-DNA Project uses these mutations to distinguish unrelated Burnett paternal lines and determine how individuals within the same paternal line relate to one another. You can join the project at this link: Burnett Y-DNA Project – Background – FamilyTreeDNA .

How to Use This Website

Start with the Y-DNA Project page to get an overview of the Project.

If you know the name of a Burnett ancestor or that of his wife, click on Surname List to see if your ancestor is already known to the Project. If he/she is, note the Paternal Subgroup, go to the Paternal Subgroups page and click on the relevant Summary for that person.

If you cannot see your ancestor’s name in the Surname List, please contact us with details. You may belong to an entirely new group or a new branch within a known group, in which case we would urge you to take a Y-DNA test. Or it may be that the Project already holds details about them but they do not yet appear on this website for a variety of reasons.

If you already know your Paternal Subgroup, click on the Paternal Subgroups page and choose the relevant Summary to see details about it.

Use the navigation bars to move between pages.

About the Burnett Surname

The Burnett surname has many independent origins. Y-DNA testing has confirmed that not all Burnett families descend from a single ancestor. Instead, many distinct paternal groups adopted the surname over time. This project documents those groups and their genetic signatures.

Get Involved

If you are a Burnett male or descend from a Burnett paternal line, you or a male Burnett relative can contribute to this research by taking a Y-DNA test through FamilyTreeDNA. Every new test helps refine the Burnett genetic map. For more information or to order a Y-DNA test, click here: Trace Your Paternal Ancestry With Y-DNA – FamilyTreeDNA .

Donate

If you found this website useful for your Burnett research, please consider making a donation to the Project. These funds help us to purchase new kits and upgrades, as well as to maintain this site and keep it up to date. To donate, click: Burnett Y-DNA Project – Background – FamilyTreeDNA .

Contact

If you have any questions or wish to provide information, please use the Contact button or email us at terrybarwin@gmail.com and lawrencepearse@msn.com.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the help of both the House of Burnett and James C A “Jamie” Burnett, Chief of the Name and Arms of Burnett, in compiling this work. You can join the House of Burnett by clicking here: Worldwide Burnett Society – The House of Burnett . You can see more about the Burnetts of Leys and Crathes Castle by clicking here: Burnett – The Official Burnett Website .