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From: "M True" <>
Subject: Re: [DNA] Where Did My Roberts Ancestors Come From?
Date: Mon, 1 May 2006 21:34:35 +0100
References: <001701c66caf$01ffb650$6400a8c0@yoursgz3xpngo4>


> I have recently had my DNA analyzed by familytree and the 37 marker
results are under the Y search ID number MDKV4. Does anyone know by looking
at my DNA results where in Europe my Roberts ancestors came from? As a child
I was told they came from the British Isles. In addition, does anyone know
which R1b haplogroup STR # in John McEwan chart I belong?
>
> Tom Roberts

Hi Tom,

It is perfectly possible that the story you were told is true. Roberts is a
very popular surname in the UK in general and is particularly associated
with North Wales. It comes from the Old German "Rod(b)ert" meaning
"fame-bright". It was introduced by Normans during the reign of Edward the
Confessor and became very popular. The "s" on the end means "son of" - so
Roberts = son of Robert. This final "s" meaning "son of" is a very common
feature of many surnames.
(info from A Dictionary of English Surnames by PH Reaney and RM Wilson)

"Roberts - widespread, very common in North Wales (true), rare in the north
(of what..of England? Not true see Lancashire and Yorkshire in the table
below!). 9th commonest surname in England & Wales in 1853, 27th in USA in
1939. Roberts is the family name of the barons of Clwyd (Wales)." (My
comments/notes in brackets).
(The Penguin Dictionary of Surnames by Basil Cottle)

The information below is taken from numbers of Roberts in the 1881 census.
It seems the highest concentration of the name is in the Counties of North
Wales and North West England. (NB number 4 in the list is Middlesex which is
where London is situated).

ID: County : Actual : per 100,000
21 Lancashire 14435 418
81 Caernarvonshire 12452 10564
84 Denbighshire 9881 8957
24 Middlesex 6609 231
45 Yorks W.Riding 5987 275
87 Merionethshire 5566 10431
85 Flintshire 4635 5873
79 Anglesey 4303 8336
5 Cheshire 3620 562
37 Staffordshire 3443 350
86 Glamorgan 3423 673
35 Surrey 3030 211
32 Shropshire 2765 1098
6 Cornwall 2462 745
13 Gloucestershire 2166 379
38 Warwickshire 2028 276
20 Kent 1926 197
88 Montgomeryshire 1642 2456
9 Devonshire 1452 239
89 Monmouthshire 1357 644
41 Worcestershire 1353 356
23 Lincolnshire 1056 226
83 Carmarthenshire 957 778
11 Co. Durham 924 107
8 Derbyshire 878 192
14 Hampshire 852 162
36 Sussex 778 158
28 Northamptonshire 755 275
27 Norfolk 715 160
12 Essex 688 120
29 Nottinghamshire 630 160
10 Dorset 615 321
22 Leicestershire 594 184
1 Bedfordshire 592 392
34 Somerset 523 112
90 Pembrokeshire 509 549
82 Cardiganshire 483 678
63 Lanarkshire 456 48
15 Herefordshire 431 361
44 Yorks N.Riding 384 113
16 Hertfordshire 382 190
3 Berkshire 368 168
2 Buckinghamshire 366 208
43 Yorks E.Riding 362 115
40 Wiltshire 358 139
33 Suffolk 332 94
47 Angus 308 115
30 Oxfordshire 282 157
80 Breconshire 239 410
26 Northumberland 235 54
4 Cambridgeshire 212 115
64 Midlothian 211 54
7 Cumberland 201 80
93 Guernsey 174 551
75 Stirlingshire 158 147
25 City of London 130 252
91 Radnorshire 97 412
78 West Lothian 95 217
18 Isle of Man 76 141
46 Aberdeenshire 74 27
70 Renfrewshire 72 32
31 Rutland 71 332
56 Dunbartonshire 53 68
19 Isle of Wight 48 65
94 Jersey 44 84
39 Westmorland 41 64
60 Kincardineshire 40 113
49 Ayrshire 39 18
73 Selkirkshire 35 133
42 York 35 61
17 Huntingdonshire 30 52
69 Perthshire 23 18
58 Fifeshire 22 13
72 Roxburghshire 17 32
48 Argyllshire 15 19
59 Inverness 15 17
55 Dumfriesshire 14 22
61 Kirkcudbrightshire 9 21
54 Clackmannanshire 8 33
51 Berwickshire 6 17
57 East Lothian 6 16
50 Banffshire 6 10
92 Alderney 5 320
65 Moray 5 11
71 Ross & Cromarty 4 5
62 Kinross-shire 3 41
68 Peebleshire 3 22
52 Bute 3 17
76 Sutherland 3 13
77 Wigtownshire 3 8
66 Nairnshire 2 23
53 Caithness 1 3

Hope some of this is of interest.

John Eckersley.

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