Polonsky Surname: Y-DNA Haplogroup
Published genetics research or a documented case study links the surname Polonsky to a specific Y-DNA paternal-line haplogroup.
R-BY14642
Clade R2 (R-M124) - a haplogroup otherwise concentrated in South Asia/Central Asia and very rare in European lineages
Also spelled: Polonski, Polansky
Y-DNA testing of pedigreed descendants of Rabbi Shmuel Polonsky (1761-1811), who married into the Shapiro rabbinical family, confirmed a shared paternal lineage extending back to his grandfather Rabbi Moses Gelles; FTDNA STR prediction and subsequent Big Y-500 testing (reported in Paull's later 2018+ compendium of this research) both place the lineage in the rare R2/M124 haplogroup rather than the more common Ashkenazi J or E clades, a notable outlier finding for a European Jewish lineage.
Source: Paull JM. "Connecting to the Great Rabbinic Families through Y-DNA: A Case Study of the Polonsky Rabbinical Lineage." AVOTAYNU: The International Review of Jewish Genealogy, Vol. XXIX, No. 3, Fall 2013.
How to read this. A surname match means some people with that surname, in a specific study or family record, were found to share a haplogroup, most likely due to a shared patrilineal ancestor generations back. It is not proof that you personally carry that haplogroup: surnames change through adoption, remarriage, non-paternity events, and independent origin of the same name in different families. For your own confirmed haplogroup, test your DNA with our HaploAI Y-DNA/mtDNA predictor.
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