Abdel Tutu Chen McSteinberg - - 100% English

Do your family history studies find you researching in places you never imagined they would lead? If our names truly reflected the diversity of our origins, rather than a myopic version, we might all have names like the above. That is the conclusion from a study reported in the Daily Telegraph based on autosomal DNA tests conducted by DNA Print Genomics of Florida. The article is here and is based on a study conducted for Channel Four in the UK to be broadcast on November 13.

Although I don't question the diversity of our backgrounds I am skeptical about this test. The technique is proprietary and has not, as I understand it, been subject to peer review. What assurance does one have that there is any more basis to it than astrology?