Despite the recent hubbub about politics, the most frequently visited post on the jordans-journey.com blog is the one entitled “Jordan Family Roots.”  I must have a lot of cousins out there.

The surname Jordan is not uncommon, and the fact you and I may have the same last name is not a strong indication we are related. The use of surnames did not become prevalent in Western Europe until the late Middle Ages. A number of families adopted the name Jordan because of its Biblical associations. Variants of the surname appear throughout Europe. Jourdan, Jourdain, Jurdain, Jourdayne, Jordaan, Jerdan, and Gerden are among the different spellings of the name.

Through yDNA analysis, a number of Jordan groupings have been identified. There is no close relationship between persons in different groups, but within a group there is a strong likelihood of descent from a common Jordan male ancestor some generations in the past. The Jordan group to which I belong is related to a family residing in southwest England (Dorsetshire, Devonshire, and Wiltshire) in the late 16th century. It is labeled as Jordan Group # 8 in Family Tree DNA’s Jordan Surname Project. The common ancestor of this group has not yet been identified, but several proven male-line descendants of Thomas Jordan of Chuckatuck, presumed grandson of Samuel Jordan of Jamestown, are members of this group; as are others, like myself, who are not direct descendants of Thomas.

Persons from several different and unrelated Jordan groups migrated to the New World, even to Tidewater Virginia, throughout the colonial period. The fact that you had an early Jordan ancestor living near Colonial Jamestown is no proof that you descended from or are even related to Samuel Jordan, Ancient Planter.

It also does not make you any less worthwhile.