The name Sankey appears to originate uniquely from the north shore of the Mersey River in England, where a township of that name predates the Norman conquest. Early documents mostly use the form Sonky; the variant Sainty arose more recently in East Anglia, Sinkey in Pennsylvania ca.1800.
Before about 1500, surnames such as those of European culture use today did not exist in England. Anyone living in the area could have used the form "de Sankey" to denote where they lived. So, holders of the name are not necessarily related. Given the history of the area, people with this surname should be of either Viking or Saxon provenance, with a chance of French or earlier Briton. However, as a search on Facebook will quickly show, it appears that a slave owner named Sankey in the southern USA gave all his black slaves his name; these people will not be related to the English line.
The first aim of the Project will be to determine to what extent holders of the name possess haplotypes classifiable as one of the above possible provenances. Some DNA features change rapidly, some more slowly. The haplotype groups those features which change the most slowly of all.
If you are a male Sankey who can trace his male line ancestry back to England, or if you already live there, please join us!
If you have a YDNA test under the Genographic Project or with Family Tree DNA, login to FTDNA and associate yourself with the SANKEY project.
If you have determined your haplotype through a DNA service other than FTDNA, contact me directly.
If you are new to DNA testing, visit the FTDNA site above.
| # | H | 393 | 390 | 19 | 391 | 385a | 385b | 426 | 388 | 439 | 3891 | 392 | 3892 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Q1 | 13 | 23 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 29 |
| 2 | R1a1 | 13 | 25 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 32 |
| 3 | Q1 | 13 | 23 | 14 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 29 |
| 4 | R1b1b2 | 13 | 24 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 29 |
| 5 | R1b1b2 | 13 | 24 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 29 |
| 6 | R1a | 13 | 26 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 32 |
Members 1 and 3 show a 5% chance of a common ancestor at 24 generations according to the FTDNA calculation. One knows his male ancestry back to Shropshire England in the 17th century, the other to Cheshire England in the 16th century. The Q haplotype suggests Norse origin.
Members 2 and 6 are very closely related. Haplogroup R1a indicates an origin in eastern Europe, possibly Saxon.
Members 4 and 5 have a 50% chance of a common ancestor at 16 generations. Haplogroup R1b indicates an origin from western Europe - ancient Briton or French.
Contact the SANKEY project administrator.