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Resumo

Surnames can be used to investigate the genetic structure of human populations. The repeated‐pairs approach (RP) uses information on the repetition of the same pairs of names from marital data sets to indicate the influence of clanlike behavior on mate choice. RP estimates the subdivision of the population into subgroups that breed among themselves and the kind of inbreeding ascribed to the Wahlund effect. The application of this method to the Fogo Island, Newfoundland, data set indicates a large percentage excess of observed over random repetitions. Presumably at least a part of this excess in the island population is due to denominational subdivision and endogamy. The expected relationship between RP and heterozygosity is observed in this case. Given these results, it would seem worthwhile to explore the relationship between the frequency of repetitions of pairs of surnames in marriages and genetic variation in other populations as well and, at the same time, to begin to inquire into the validity of such assumptions concerning the use of surnames as the monophyletic origin of common names.

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