Cloud DNA Project

CLOUD Y-DNA Project

Administrator
Tom Cloud
Website
Cloud DNA Project
Additional Project Information
DNA type(s) used	Y-DNA
Founded	2004
Project size	50+
Surname variations	Cloud, Cloude, Clowd, Clowde
Geographic areas	Worldwide
Predominant haplogroup	R1b1a2 (prev. R1b1b2)
Requirements	Must have male Cloud bloodline; must submit a pedigree chart.

The Cloud DNA Project is a Y-DNA Project which began in 2004 to study the history of the Cloud family and the origins of the Cloud surname It is sponsored by the Cloud Family Association and currently has 89 members.

Project Focus

The Cloud DNA Project focuses on Y-DNA which studies the paternal lineage of men who are or who believe themselves to be descended, through a father-to-son line (i.e. patrilineal descent), from a male ancestor who possessed the Cloud surname or one of its variants in order to identify the family branches descended from that ancestor and to determine relationship(s) to him.

Project Goals

To trace, record and preserve the Cloud family history worldwide and to resolve dead-end lines. Cloud DNA Project Goals

Worldwide Project

The Cloud DNA Project accepts members from all countries and all groups of people. It is sponsored by The Cloud Family Association and is affiliated with The Cloud One Name Study which is member # 5065 of The Guild of One Name Studies.

Haplogroups

The project contains people from 4 distinct haplogroups. The first group (oldest SNP) is haplogroup I2b1 with ancient origins in the NorthWestern region of Europe known as Fennoscandia consisting of Norway, Sweden and Finland.

The second oldest haplogroup represented is J2 , whose origins are believed to be about 18,000 years old in an area around the current Asia-Europe border.

The third and largest number of project participants belong to haplogroup R1b1a2 (formerly known as R1b1b2). A subset of that group belongs to haplogroup R1b1a2a1a1 (R-U106) with ancient origins in Western Europe.
The largest group of participants belong to a subset of the third haplogroup and have the oldest known common ancestor who lived in central England. This group is SNP proven to belong to haplogroup R1b1b2a1a1d1* (23andme nomenclature) or R1b1a2a1a1a4 (FTDNA nomenclature) and descend from William Cloude who emigrated to the American colonies in 1682 with William Penn.

The fourth and most recent haplogroup is Q1a3a1 which is uniquely North American (native American Indian).

(The green font color indicates the haplogroups have been verified by SNP testing; a red font color indicates the haplogroup is predicted from the haplotype.)

Who can join

Any male who has a direct paternal line to a Cloud or Cloud variant surnamed ancestor.

(Both men and women descended from a Cloud family line may purchase other DNA tests, such as mtDNA, X-chromosome, Family Finder, etc. through the Cloud DNA Project although those tests cannot be used for the Y-DNA surname project.) Cloud DNA Project Rules

Surname Origins

Based on the current evidence, the Cloud surname has more than one origin as it belongs to four (known) distinct haplogroups -- I2b1, with pedigree information tracing to Ireland, J2, with unknown ancestral origins, Q1a3a1, which is native American Indian and R1b1a2 (formerly R1b1b2 from nomenclature change at FTDNA). A subset of that group is haplogroup R1b1b2a1a1d1* (23andme nomenclature) or R1b1a2a1a1a4 (FTDNA nomenclature) (or more accurately described as SNP U106/L47-) with family history proven to 16th century England. References to the surname or its variants have been found in English records and literature as early as the 11th century, indicating that the early ancestors of the R1b1 groups lived in medieval England. There are also numerous place names in England, Scotland and the Hebrides that could be associated with the beginnings of the name, but none are proven.
(Some believe the CLOUDE/CLOUD surname is descended from the McLEOD surname, but the oral history of LEOD says he was born about 1229 and instances of the CLOUDE/CLOUD/DE LA CLOUDE surname are recorded a century before that.) Clan McLEOD DNA Project; McLEOD/CLOUD DNA Comparison

Cloud name variants

The CLOUD surname, as recorded in early English documents, was listed variously as CLOWDE and CLOUDE or de la CLOUDE.  Current usage has dropped the 'e' and is CLOUD and CLOWD.  It is believed that CLOUDT, CLOYD, CLOUDESLEIGH, CLOUDESLEY, etc. are also variants (i.e. related, descended from the same common ancestor).

Websites

• The Cloud DNA Project
• Cloud DNA Project Rules
• Cloud DNA Project FAQ
• Cloud DNA Project Registration
• Charles Kerchner's R1b Histograms
• McLEOD/CLOUD DNA Comparison
• The Cloud Family Association
• The Cloud Family Journal
• Cloud on-line genealogies at MyKindred.com
• Cloud on-line genealogies at CloudGenWeb.com
• The Cloud One Name Study Official Site
• The Cloud One Name Study, # 5065 at GOONS
• The Cloud bulletin board at rootsweb.com
• The Cloud email forum at rootsweb.com
• Cloud Genealogy on FaceBook
• Mikhail Rogov's Ivanhoe Project
• Ivanhoe Cluster Map