Phonetic not Genetic

Derivation of the Jones surname is shown in the figure to the right. The derivation is "phonetic", not "genetic". This is the reason that there are so many Jones in the English speaking world that carrying the surname, but they are not genetically related! It is a cohort effect that occurred during a transition period of Welsh-English history. The Tudors, of Welsh descent, annexed Wales into the English legal system by English law, Act of Union, 1536. [See post "Impact, The Act of Union 1536", Feb. 24, 2011.] This forced those of Welsh descent who had a father with the given name "John" to take its phonetic sound, written in the Anglo-Saxon "Iohannes", as a surname. [see posts: "The Domesday Book and John", Feb. 28, 2011; "1st To Record" , March 16, 2011; "Early English Records and the Jones Surname", March 24, 2001; "The First JONES Surname in English Records", March 28, 2011; "Ancient Petitions A Transition Period", April 16, 2011; "Welsh Names in English Records 1301 AD", April 23, 2011; "Norman Names", April 30, 2011; "Saxon Name Calling", May 4, 2011; "Dane Lands", May 8, 2011; "Welsh Birth Names 1301 AD", May 12, 2011; "Jones Surname 1273 - 1500 in England and Wales", May 17, 2011; "Jones Surname in Wales after 1500 AD", May 21, 2001; and "Jones Surname in England and Wales 1500 - 1700 AD", June 2, 2011.] During this transition period there were a variety of spellings including Ievan, Jevan, Johns, Joynes, and many others. [More will be said about this in a future post.]

Anglo-Saxon (Old English) to modern English...phonetic not genetic. This means that most who share the surname JONES are not related by Y-chromosome.