Terms you need to know:

Kit Number                              Haplogroup                             Lineages
DYS Values                             Haplogroup Colors                  Probable Lineage
Earliest Known Ancestor        Haplogroup Profile                 Not Yet Assigned to a Lineage
Marker Panels                        Haplogroup Letter Colors       Apparent Ancestral Profile
Mutations                                Color Coding of Mutations    

• Kit--the number assigned by FTDNA (Some Project Administrators include a column for ID#, which is a code identity for members of the project.  WorldFamilies.net no longer includes this ID#, except for the ones that were issued early in the project's history)


• Earliest Known Ancestor--the male who is the farthest back in the paternal line of the  participant - as traced through a paper trail. 
  • If the project member provided this information through their Personal Page at FTDNA, it will be included in the results. 
  • If not provided, we substitute the last name of the participant. 
  • The Project Administrator can look to see if the project member has provided a pedigree to get this information, and if not, will want to email the person to ask him to provide this information. 
    More information about Providing this Ancestral Information at FTDNA
• Haplogroups (abbreviated as "Haplo" in the Results table):  This name is used for the branches of the "Family Tree of Man" based on analysis of yDNA. 
  For more information on Haplogroups
  • Project Members' results are grouped by Haplogroup.
  • The Haplogroup Profile for each haplogroup is used by our WorldFamilies.net Results Tool as a basis of comparison and colorizing results within that haplogroup.
    • The Haplogroup Profile is the apparent common marker value for men who have that haplogroup.
    • Haplogroup Background Colors - Currently, we have assigned each Haplogroup Profile a different color. To see the Haplogroup Profiles:  http://www.worldfamilies.net/geo/haplogroups/results  
    • Mutation Colors - We use color-coding to mark the mutations from the Haplogroup Profile.  Markers that match the Haplogroup Profile are shown in the Haplogroup Profile color, while the mutations are marked using our color-coding: 

    • 
      
      
      Using this coding for mutations, a number that is 5 less than the Haplogroup Profile number at that marker would be colored yellow, 4 less would be orange, 3 less would be hot pink, and so on. 

    • The Haplogroup Profile is NOT the same thing as the Apparent Ancestral Haplotype for a Lineage.  (See below)
    • Click here for more information about mutations.
  • Green, Red, Black Haplogroup Names tell how the Haplogroup was reported for each member:
    • Red means FTDNA has estimated the Haplogroup, based on matching the yDNA profile to men who have been formally SNP tested
    • Green is used when the project member has been SNP tested to determine his Haplogroup or Clade. 
    • Black is sometimes used for estimates created in any other way
• DYS Values in the Results Table
  • Under each DYS name in the header, a number is shown which tells the number of times that pattern repeated at that marker on that kit's test results.
  • These numbers are then compared within the Haplogroup to find those that match at 23/25, 33/37/, 61/67 or better.  These are grouped into a lineage.
  • "Haplogroup * - Not Yet Assigned to a Lineage" - Results of only 12 markers or results that do not match anyone else in the project are grouped under this header
  • "Probable Lineage *" - Results that may be part of the Lineage, but have not been tested at enough markers to confirm it are often shown under this header.

    

• Lineages

  • Project members' results are grouped together as a Lineage when they match at 23/25, 33/37/, 61/67 or better - which are the commonly accepted measures for sharing a "recent" common ancestor.
  • Generally, the common ancestor lived since the advent of surnames (c1100) and probably was born in the last 200-400 years - though sometimes less.
  • The common ancestor could be the earliest ancestor on the oldest pedigree, could have lived as little as one generation earlier, or could have lived generations earlier than any of the listed earliest ancestors.
  • The Lineages within a Haplogroup are named in sequential order (Example: "Haplogroup J - Lineage 1")
  • Project Members who only have 12 markers who match a lineage may be grouped under the lineage with the heading "Possible Lineage". 
• Apparent Ancestral Profile:   
  • When men are grouped together in a lineage, we can estimate the yDNA profile for their common ancestor by deducing what his profile had to be in order for his descendants to have their specific results. 
  • This Apparant Ancestral Profile appears in the top row of the lineage, on the same line as the name of the Lineage.   (Note:  The Apparent Ancestral Profile's mutations are colored to show how they differ from the Haplogroup Profile.)   The Apparent Ancestral Profile is not the same thing as the Haplogroup Profile.  (See Above)
• Mutations:   
  • Generally an exact copy of the yDNA is passed from father to son, but occasionally, and at random, a slight difference may occur, called a mutation.  (Typically this mutation will show as a difference of one count, but there are special cases where it can be greater than one.)
  • Where the mutation is matching a mutation from another result within the Lineage, the match likely indicates a more recent shared common ancestor (or a "branch" within the Lineage) as the two men probably both inherited the mutation from a recent common ancestor.
  • We use color-coding to mark the mutations from the Haplogroup Profile.  Markers that match the Haplogroup Profile are shown in the Haplogroup Profile color, while the mutations are marked using our color-coding: 
  • •  

    • 
      Using this coding for mutations, a number that is 5 less than the Haplogroup Profile number at that marker would be colored yellow, 4 less would be orange, 3 less would be hot pink, and so on.

• More information about posting results  
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