Devine Surname DNA Study

Who Should Join and Why

If you are a Devine who knows where your family came from in Ireland, you can help this study. If you're still searching for an ancestral place of origin, perhaps the study can help you. Our objective is to determine whether Devine families that came from known Irish localities are related, and if so, how closely. We initially test Y-chromosome DNA at 37 markers, and when close matches are found, then at additional markers up to 67. Families are eligible to join if they bear any variation associated with the surname Devine, including Divine, Devin, Diven, Ó Duibhín, Ó Daimhín, Mac Dhuibhín, DeVine, DeWine, Devenney, Divinney, Davin, Dwane and Duane.

Current Findings

We now have results from over 60 Y-DNA samples--most tested at 37 or more markers, which helps differentiate closely related lines. All but two belong to the major population group called Haplogroup R1b, and all but three of the others form clusters of related lineages, to which we have assigned cluster numbers. Within each numbered cluster, members are closely enough related to each other that they probably descend from a common male ancestor who lived recently enough to have used an Irish hereditary surname that appears in English as Devine or some variant of it. Some other individual families are unrelated to each other or to the clusters, and probably assumed their similar surnames independently of each other. Some families come from known Irish localities, but others are first of record only in the U.S. or Canada between 1700 and 1850. While their Irish origins are not yet known precisely, many of them match closely to families with known localities of origin in Ireland, and probably came from the same areas. See the color-coded Results Table for details. This table compares results at 37 or fewer markers, and updates the earlier report “Sorting Relationships among Families with the same Surname: An Irish-American DNA Study.” National Genealogical Society Quarterly 93 (December 2005): 284-293, in a special “Genealogy and Genetics” theme issue.

Summary Findings by Cluster

        Cluster 1 and the Atlantic Modal Haplotype; Cluster 2

        Cluster 2 High-Resolution Results (Compare results at 37 and 67 markers)

        Cluster 3; Cluster 4; and Unclustered Samples  

        Cluster 3 High-Resolution Results (Compare results at 37 and 67 markers)

Future Research Directions

We are actively seeking new participants from each of the areas in Ireland where clusters of the Devine name were identified in Griffith's Valuation, the mid-19th century property assessment that lists the name of each tenant occupying a house or land holding. Areas of particular interest include Donaghedy Parish, County Tyrone, and adjacent civil parishes, where the largest cluster was found; the Dungannon vicinity, Co. Tyrone; Granard vicinity, Counties Longford and Cavan; and the Rooskea vicinity, Counties Roscommon and Leitrim. We also welcome participation from Devines who don't know where their ancestors came from in Ireland. Once a particular Devine Y-DNA pattern is identified with an Irish locality, we can then point Devines with matching patterns to that locality as one where they are most likely to find traces of their own ancestral roots, even if they have no other information on where their family originated in Ireland.

Participation Requirements

All that's needed is a sample, swabbed from the inside of the cheek, from a male Devine. (The Y-chromosome used for the test isn't found in females, but is passed down essentially unchanged in the male line, so the Y-DNA of men descended from the same male ancestor will match.) The testing is done through Family Tree DNA, and special group rates offer substantial savings over its regular prices. Click here to see the sample kit. For further information, contact the study coordinator.

Links to More Information

DNA Testing and Interpretation

International Society of Genetic Genealogists is a no-dues online membership organization the brings together

      newcomers to the field as well as some of those who pioneered the way.

Charles Kerchner's Genetic Genealogy Resource Site

Terry Barton’s World Families Network

Calculating Time to Most Recent Common Ancestor

Family Tree DNA Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

DNA Basics: How and Why it Works

     (Not essential for using DNA in genealogy, but nice to know)

DNA Basics by Nancy Custer is a comprehensive introduction to molecular biology--the chemistry and biology behind DNA testing.  No special background is needed to understand it, if you have an interest.

Devine Families

Origins of the Devine Surname

How to join the Devine Study