It is important for people who are planning on obtaining a genetic genealogy test, to understand the need to procure their initial test by joining a Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) Project; either a surname or a regional project. 

The prices for DNA tests are significantly cheaper when you are part of a project.  It doesn't matter very much which project you join initially, just that you are in a project.  One of the the reasons that the Wiregrass Georgia Regional DNA Project was established in 2003 was to provide a project for people to use who did not have a surname project to join, and for people who did not want to go to the trouble to start a new project.  Managing a DNA project requires all of the necessary ingredients; i.e., recruiting participants, web page development, interpretation of test results, counseling members in the project on their genealogy research and the meaning of their DNA test results, etc.

Once your initial test test results are posted by FTDNA, you may join a number of additional projects at no additional cost by just two clicks on your personal page at FTDNA.com.  You may join a regional project such as the Wiregrass Georgia Project, and then a surname project, another regional project, a Haplogroup project, etc. later on.  Many people start by joining a surname project and then a regional project later on.  It's your choice.  With a very common surname, such as Smith or Jones, you may get better support from your regional project administrator than a Smith project administrator who has hundreds of Smith lines to be concerned with.  

It is important for a surname or a regional project to establish a comprehensive set of variants of the surnames, and to list all these surname variants in the Project Profile.  The Family Tree DNA web site has a high volume of visitors, who usually start with a surname search.  If a visitor searches on their own surname, and doesn't find a match, the surname or regional project will miss a potential participant and the visitor may not join an important project in support of their research.  For example, the Knowles Surname DNA Project uses the following surname variants: Knoles, Knoll, Knollys, Knowles, Knox, Nock, Noel, Noles  (Note: all of these variants for KNOWLES are also valid surnames). 

This article is included here to help DNA project participants better understand the use variants to locate a surname project as well as provide some background to those of you who may be thinking of establishing your own surname project for your family surname.

Family Tree DNA encourages people to start a surname project, however, most people would prefer to join an existing project.  In addition, it doesn't make sense for the visitor to start a surname project, when a project exists, only they can't find it.  Those who are not very experienced in genealogy may not realize what surnames are variants of their own.  These visitors tend to just search on their particular variant of the surname.

From your family history research, you have probably encountered some variants of your surname.  Unless you are doing a one name study, you probably have not encountered all the variants.

To develop your comprehensive list of variants for your DNA Project Profile or to search for the surname project for your participation, the first step is to identify possible variants, and make a list.  The first items on your list would be those variants that you have encountered in your research.  The second step would be to visit familysearch.org, and see what variants their search identifies.  The algorithm used by familysearch.org is based on their research regarding what forms of a surname are variants.  It is not always correct, and may include surnames that are not variants, or exclude those that are.  This is fine, since this is only a starting point.  At this stage, you are making a list of "possible" variants.

If your ancestors came from the British Isles, you would want to visit the Thesaurus of British Surnames.  This Thesaurus is a result of the Thesaurus of British Surnames Project.  The Thesaurus of British Surnames (ToBS) is an on-going project to develop and manage an online thesaurus of British surname variants.  A few of the interested parties in this project include: Federation of Family History Societies, Genealogical Society of Utah, and the Society of Genealogists.

A search at the Thesaurus of British Surnames will identify variants of the surname, provide a ranking, and also identify if the surname appears on the 1881 UK Census, the UK National Burial Index, or English Origins.

To visit the Thesaurus of British Surnames:

http://www.imagepartners.co.uk/Thesaurus/Search.aspx

To learn about the Project:

http://www.tobs.org.uk/

According to the Thesaurus of British Surnames, for British surnames, there are 90,305,490 variants for 2,168,439 distinct Surnames.  This would be an average of 41 variants per surname.  Of course, some surnames will have more variants, and some less.

You would want to apply your knowledge from your family history research to select surnames from the Thesaurus of British Surnames to place on your list as possible variants.

If your ancestors came from another country, the genealogical sites for that country may have some tools or data which will help you with your search for potential variants.

Now that you have a list of potential variants, you want to determine which of those variants exist today.  This step can be accomplished by searching current databases, such as the Social Security death index, which is free at many sites, including familysearch.org and ancestry.com.

Other sources to search to determine whether a surname variant exists today are online phone books.  When you identify a variant surname currently in use, be sure you add the surname to your Project Profile.  Judgment is still required by the Group Administrator in selecting the variant surnames.  Most likely the list of variants from familysearch.org or from the Thesaurus of British Surnames, or from other sources, is not 100% accurate or comprehensive.  These tools are merely a starting point.

If you have been doing family history research for a while, you probably have more experience with your surname than the sources you consult.  These sources have experience with a wide range of surnames, and their conclusions may not be accurate on every surname.  If you are uncertain on a variant, don't list the variant in your Project Profile.  Leave the variant to be listed by another Surname Project.

Updating the Variant Surname Listing for a Surname Project

(for FTDNA Surname Group Administrators)

To update the variants in your Surname Project, from the Group Administrator Page, select Project Profile.  When you are at your Project Profile page, also verify that you have the box checked to the left of: "Show Group in Surname Project List?".  This box must be checked so that searches at Family Tree DNA will show your Project. 

(Note: for the Wiregrass Georgia Regional DNA Project, please notify Robert B. Noles, the FTDNA Group Administrator for the Wiregrass Project, of any surname variants that should be added to the list of names that qualify for project participation).

Further down the Project Profile page is the list of the established variants for either a surname or a regional project, and blank boxes where additional variants can be entered. You can enter the variants in any order, since the final result will be sorted alphabetically.  You can also delete variants that you had previously established that your new research shows are incorrect.

While you are at the Project Profile page, the second small box at the top of the page should be checked to allow participants to join your project without a join request.  This box has the label: "Allow order without join request?"

Above the two small boxes at the top of the Project is a selection called "View your Surname Project Information."  This selection enables you to see how the search result page will look at familytreeDNA.com for your Surname Project.

When you are entering your additional surname variants, and there are no more blank boxes left, simply click "Update".  Your Project Profile will be updated with the surname variants you added.  Then click the selection

Project Profile again, and more blank surname boxes will appear on the Project Profile Page.  You can repeat this process until you have entered all your variant surnames.

The variant surnames associated with your surname or regional Project are important.  Potential participants need to be able to find your project.

Family Tree DNA nor the Huxford Genealogical Society endorses or sponsors any of the products or sites mentioned in this article;  This information is provided only to assist those interested in genetic genealogy, those interested in setting up their own surname or regional DNA Project, or searching for the projects best suited for their genetic genealogy research.