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Latest revision as of 06:17, 29 September 2026

The Ross Surname Project aims to identify distinct Ross family lines and extend them using DNA testing and traditional genealogy.

The Ross Surname Project at FamilyTreeDNA has identified over 40 distinct Ross lines using Y-DNA test results from male Ross descendants. The goal of this project is to use these results, along with results from AncestryDNA, 23andMe, and MyHeritage, etc., to sort out the genealogies of each of these Ross families.

Ross is a surname with a deep history in the British Isles. It is most often associated with Fearchar Mac an t-Sagairt, the original Earl of Ross of his line and patriarch of Clan Ross. They were a powerful highland family whose descendants married into the family of Robert the Bruce and Robert II of Scotland. Y-DNA results from Hugh Ross, son of the late chief of Clan Ross, David Campbell Ross, and direct descendant of Fearchar, Earl of Ross, match the project's R Haplogroup - Family 02. Members of this group share a common ancestor who came from Norway to the west of Scotland and the Isle of Man about the time of the Viking invasions.

There were also several medieval Ros families, including Ross of Halkhead in Renfrewshire, Roos of Hamlake at Helmsley in Yorkshire, and Rose of Kilravock in Nairnshire. Older writers often treated them as a single family descended from a follower of William the Conqueror and named for Rots in Normandy, but only a Ros family in Kent can be tied to Rots. The Hamlake family took its name from Roos in Holderness, and the Halkhead family descends from Ros landholders recorded in Ayrshire from about 1170. Whether any of these families shared a common ancestor is not known. Hugh Rose, 1st of Kilravock, was the patriarch of Clan Rose, and several members of the project's R Haplogroup - Family 01 trace their lines to his direct descendant Hugh Rose, 8th of Kilravock. Their Y-DNA links them to two other large Ross branches whose medieval ancestors have not yet been identified. Another primary goal of the project is to learn whether those branches descend from the other Ros families.

DNA testing tells us nothing without reliable, well-sourced family trees. Many trees posted to the internet connect back to the original Earls of Ross, even though Y-DNA results are telling us that descendants in these trees are not a match to each other. This requires us to take a fresh look at these trees by returning to the original documents. Therefore, an additional goal of this project is to collect & document all the original source material that was used to construct these trees before they were uploaded to the internet and the source citations were lost. Taking a second look at these trees might give us the opportunity to identify previously unidentified family connections and connect back even further to previous generations.

Where to start

I am a Ross descendant who has done DNA testing at AncestryDNA, 23andMe, MyHeritage, etc.
I am a Ross male who has done Y-DNA testing at FamilyTreeDNA
I am a matrilineal descendant of a Ross female who has done mtDNA testing
I am a Ross descendant who has not yet done DNA testing

DNA testing

DNA testing for Ross descendants

Comparing DNA testing companies
Joining the Ross Ancestor Project at GEDmatch
Ross ancestors confirmed using DNA test results from AncestryDNA, 23andMe, MyHeritage, etc.

Y-DNA testing for male Ross descendants

Ross Surname Project at FamilyTreeDNA
Ross lines determined by Y-DNA testing

mtDNA testing for matrilineal Ross ancestors

Ross Surname Project at FamilyTreeDNA
Female Ross ancestors confirmed by mtDNA testing

Using this website

This website contains articles on:

It contains entries from common sources:

It also functions as a database:

Search for articles based on properties assigned to them
Click Browse properties from the Tools menu at the bottom of an article

Get help and contribute

Each article has an accompanying Discussion tab
- These discussions are used to ask questions or suggest edits
- In order to participate in a discussion, it is necessary to create a User account

Join the Ross Surname Project Facebook group.

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 [[File:De Ros.svg|right|75px|link=Roos of Helmesley]]
 [[File:Rose Ancient.svg|right|75px|link=Rose of Kilravock]]
-</div>There were also Ros families, including [[Ross of Halkhead]], [[Roos of Hamlake]], and [[Rose of Kilravock]], whose ancestors are thought to have came to southern England with [[William the Conqueror]]. These families are said to take their name from the town of Ros in Normandy.  {{Hugh 1st Kilravock}}, was the patriarch of [[Clan Rose]]. Several project participants can trace their lines back to his direct descendant {{Hugh 8th Kilravock}}. Another primary goal of the project is to identify descendants of these other Ros families and confirm their connection to the Kilravock descendants.
+</div>There were also several medieval Ros families, including [[Ross of Halkhead]] in Renfrewshire, [[Roos of Hamlake]] at Helmsley in Yorkshire, and [[Rose of Kilravock]] in Nairnshire. Older writers often treated them as a single family descended from a follower of [[William the Conqueror]] and named for Rots in Normandy, but only a [[Ros of Kent|Ros family in Kent]] can be tied to Rots. The Hamlake family took its name from Roos in Holderness, and the Halkhead family descends from Ros landholders recorded in Ayrshire from about 1170. Whether any of these families shared a common ancestor is not known. {{Hugh 1st Kilravock}}, was the patriarch of [[Clan Rose]], and several members of the project's [[Y-DNA R Haplogroup - Family 01|R Haplogroup - Family 01]] trace their lines to his direct descendant {{Hugh 8th Kilravock}}. Their Y-DNA links them to two other large Ross branches whose medieval ancestors have not yet been identified. Another primary goal of the project is to learn whether those branches descend from the other Ros families.
 DNA testing tells us nothing without reliable, well-sourced family trees. Many trees posted to the internet connect back to the original Earls of Ross, even though [[Fearchar, Earl of Ross#DNA results|Y-DNA results]] are telling us that descendants in these trees are not a match to each other. This requires us to take a fresh look at these trees by returning to the original documents. Therefore, an additional goal of this project is to collect & document all the original source material that was used to construct these trees before they were uploaded to the internet and the source citations were lost. Taking a second look at these trees might give us the opportunity to identify previously unidentified family connections and connect back even further to previous generations.