Y DNA testing for

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Know a Moore or Muir who you think might be interested in testing his Y DNA, especially to prove origins to "Clan Muir", in SW Scotland?

Note first, that the actual Y DNA is not the same as what you get when you test with Ancestry, 23andMe, etc., but rather, Y DNA is passed exclusively from father to sons over generations; maternal DNA having no impact on the readings. Testing for Y is not inexpensive, and ultimately, on sale, runs just under $400 USD. As an option, one can also do a series of upgrades (breaking the cost roughly into thirds) before reaching the final, most detailed test... the Big Y-700 test.

The lines that you see in the BY3374 Project have been proven to the Mure/Muir lines rooted in SW Scotland. I created the following page, and am also the administrator of the FTDNA's Moore/Muir/etc. Y DNA project (the projects are separate from each other). I'm regularly updating the pages, and I have much more coming over the winter months.

Through the efforts of a growing number of test-takers, the research efforts in the BY3374 Project have expanded significantly over the last two years. Of those who are able to trace, on paper, to the Muirs of SW Scotland, the majority trace to Ayrshire, and surrounding areas. We recently had a test-taker who traced, on paper, to near the Dundee area, and inevitably his line traces back to Ayrshire as well. We have test-takers who currently reside in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. If you know someone who might be interested in testing, please contact me and I'll tell you about the process. Only male Muir/Mure/Moore men can test for Y DNA relevant to this effort.

For those who actually still carry the Muir surname and still reside in Scotland, testing may seem an unnecessary effort. Yet, by having more Muir men from Scotland test, we believe we've been able to zero-in on where different lines may have been from more "recently" (1500s through the 1700s). For example, we believe we've been able to identify two branches from Dumfries and Galloway and Kirkcudbrightshire, one of which may be the line that later moved to the Isle of Man.

Note: You'll also see other surnames in this project, and that is for two reasons. First, haplogroup BY3374 and its immediate branches existed or emerged at the same time surnames began to be used in SW Scotland, so a few other surnames were ultimately "cut from the same cloth" as so many of our Muir branches. Second, there were instances of NPEs (non-paternal events), such as illegitimate births, adoptions, etc., later into the Muir lines, resulting in the other surnames.

• Back to the BY3374 Project Page