Clan Curley DNA Testing

Specific information on YDNA testing will be moved further down on this page. Relative current information will be at the top of this page.

We have pending YDNA tests that will provide valuable information in the weeks ahead. One test will show conclusively the age of our Curley surname and family. I suspect the age will be confirmed to at least 1350 AD, but possibly even further back, just from the small group of Curleys that have YDNA tested. Of course if I am wrong, I will report that as well, but I do not think I will be wrong. We do have other Curleys in the tested group that actually have a greater genetic distance and in the days ahead we will probably look to have additional testing done, which should push the origin back even further.

Below shows the sole Big Y tested result we have. In the days ahead, we will have an additional result which will split this long line going back to A6119 at around 250 AD and put a branch in it and a new SNP name between the 1000 CE and 1500CE area. This split and SNP will represent the shared Curley ancestor, showing where our families branched away from each other and putting an estimated year on that split. The more Curleys that take the Big Y test at FTDNA, the more branching there will be showing the different families and how they connect. We are not connected to any other surname/lineage unless we go back to A6119, that represents an ancestor that most likely lived on the European Continent. The expansion from him most likely represents a historical movement for this family/tribal group who converged or were already together when the Norman Invasions of England and then Ireland occurred.

Y-DNA testing is specifically for males only and it traces the paternal line going back thousands of years. It is probably the most useful and applicable type of DNA testing for surname research. There are different levels of testing available, meaning it's possible to test specific markers on the Y-Chromosome, with more markers generally equating to a higher cost for the test and potentially more meanignful results.

12 Marker Test This is an entry level test, generally not very valuable for learning a great deal of information about genetic connections within a genealogical time frame. The problem that can be encountered is if the results from the 12 markers match a common group, you could end up having numerous meaningless "matches". With that said, one Curley lineage has very uncommon results within the first 12 markers so it is possible to determine whether there may or may not be a connection even if only 12 markers have been tested. At this low level of testing, it is quite common to find many matches listed and many different surnames. The reason for this is that some of the STR markers found within the 12 marker test are very slow-mutating

37 Marker Test This may be a good entry level option but as with the 12 marker test you may get some irrelevant matches and you may also have matches don't show up at 37 markers, but do show up at the deeper testing levels of 67 or 111 markers. Generally the 37 marker test is enough to see if a male matches the Athlone Curley lineage or not. However, to be able to approximate when a shared ancestor actually lived, it's better to test further out because that generally provides a more accurate estimation.

67 Marker Test Generally when you have 67 marker matches showing up, these are going to be males that do share a common ancestor within a genealogical time frame but you might find some of the matches have a different surname. Depending on the genetic distance between the matches, it's possible there could be an NPE in one of the families particularly if the genetic distance is close but the surnames are different.

111 Marker Test Currently (as of July 2015) this is the maximum number of STRs tested for a Familty Tree DNA STR test. Matches showing here should be related to some degree, all relative to the genetic distance for each match that is listed. As with the other levels of STR testing listed above, you may find matches having different surnames.

BIG Y 700 - NGS Testing This is a more advanced and expensive type of YDNA testing that can extrapolate the STR testing results explained above as well as another type of mutation on the Y Chromosome called SNPs (snips). An example of this type of testing is the BIG Y-700 test offered by Family Tree DNA. A new SNP mutation on the Y Chromosome is averaged to occur about every 100 to 120 years, or 3 to 4 generations. Our Curley lineage has identified most of these mutations going back many thousands of years as a result of Big Y testing, due to the Big Y results from Clan Curley pioneer Bill Davison - Curley.

YDNA testing options have changed quite a bit since this journey started, it would best to take a look at Family Tree DNAs current testing options here.

Ancient Remains - Below are some key ancient remains that have tested positive for YDNA SNPs found in our lineage. The shared male ancestor for these remains is estimated to be from 1950 BC for the L1066 remains, and 2200 BC for the Z2185 remains. We are hopeful there will be more closely related ancient remains found and tested in the near future, something under A6127 estimated to 1850 BC or even A6119, estimated to be around 250 AD.

Update 4/19/2026 - We will be adding two more sets of remains found under L1066, we are waiting for the information to be populated. It appears one of the remains may be
from Bronze Age France, the other might be another boring set from England which will not add anything to the picture, just more of the same as it relates
to the L1066 branch or branches that went into the Isles rather than staying on the mainland like our branch appears to have done.

Unlike the YDNA testing that is only available for males (females do not have YDNA), autosomal DNA testing is available for both males and females. Autosomal DNA testing analyzes the DNA passed down from both the paternal and maternal side of the family. Even though autosomal testing looks at the DNA received from both sides of the family, there are limitations to its usefulness in surname research.

The main limitation for autosomal DNA is that it does not go back nearly as far as YDNA testing. The YDNA passed down can be traced back many thousands of years whereas autosomal DNA generally traces back to approximately 5 to 8 generations. In many situations a combination of YDNA testing and autosomal testing are used for advanced surname research.

A benefit of autosomal testing is that it is very useful in determining the relationship level between relatives who are related within the past 180 years or less (only an approximation). Because our Curley ancestor emigrated to America in the early 1800s, it is unlikely there will be any direct Curley relations back in Ireland that will show up under autosomal testing results as matches, at least not as a result of Curley DNA. Most likely any autosomal matches living in Ireland having Curley listed as their surname or one of their ancestral surnames is the result of some other connection. Because of this and specific to our New Jersey branch, autosomal testing is more useful for connecting descendants of Hugh Curley or more recent and YDNA testing is better at finding connections that occurred prior to Hugh Curley emigrating to America. Autosomal testing is also the type of testing being used to provide ethnicity estimates, for example what percent of a person’s DNA appears to come from a specific region or population group. From personal experience, the results from different companies that offer this type of analysis do not agree with each other, so it seems there is still quite a bit of work that needs to be done by the testing companies to provide more meaningful results when it comes to ethnicity percentages.

Some examples of companies that provide autosomal DNA testing are Family Tree DNA (Family Finder test), Ancestry.com and My Heritage, however there are others. One should keep in mind that the only way you will have matches is if someone else with shared DNA has also taken the test, through the same company. With that said, there are companies that allow you to upload your results file from another company into their system and thus identify additional matches found in their database. The bottom line, it is best to do a little research before deciding on a company or perhaps more than one company. This information is only provided for educational purposes so as always, let the buyer beware. This website has no connection or affiliation with any DNA testing company, other than as a user of their services as a customer and a volunteer project administrator.

The Genetic Signature: The YCAII 22-23

While the Curley name is found across Ireland, the Athlone Curleys carry a distinct genetic fingerprint known to scientists as the Central Irish Cluster.
This is defined by a specific value at the YCAII marker—specifically the 22-23 mutation along with other key marker values that comprise this unique signature.

The YDNA testing results paint a very clear picture (see below), looking at the branches forming under the main SNP A6119, estimated to have occurred around 250 CE, the branches splitting off from A6119 align perfectly with the Norman expansion into England, and then Ireland. The tree mirrors those events, it's quite apparent and difficult to postulate an ancient Irish origin for this lineage.The BY35015 branch mirrors the 1066 AD Norman arrival in Britain, and the surnames found under this SNP are Norman-English surnames. BY139111 and FT408617 mirror the Anglo-Norman "invasion" of Ireland and these 2 branches are Irish surnames, a mix of what would be considered native Irish and Norman. The lone BY64864 is Irish and there are no branches formed yet because it only has 1 test result, similar to the single A6119 lineage with no other terminal SNP currently listed. That line is our Athlone/Westmeath Curley lineage. If we have more Curleys engage in Big Y testing, we would see the branching for this lineage, and be able to demonstrate the lengh of time the family has been using the Curley surname, or a variant of the Curley surname.

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