Isonymy structure of USA population

Area of Science:

• Population Genetics
• Anthropology
• Sociology

Background:

• Understanding population structure and migration patterns is crucial for demographic and genetic studies.
• Isonymy, the study of shared surnames, offers insights into historical population movements and genetic relatedness.
• Previous research has explored surname distributions, but a comprehensive analysis across the continental US using large datasets was needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the isonymy structure of the 48 continental United States using a large-scale surname dataset.
• To investigate the correlation between geographic distance and surname similarity (isonymy).
• To identify population clusters and understand migration patterns and genetic mixing across the US.

Main Methods:

• Utilized surname distributions from 18 million telephone users across 247 towns in the continental US.
• Calculated Lasker's distance to quantify isonymy between geographic locations.
• Constructed a dendrogram based on isonymy distances to visualize state clusters and relationships.

Main Results:

• A weak but significant correlation (r = 0.21) was found between Lasker's distance and geographic distance, indicating limited isolation by distance.
• The US states clustered into several groups, generally correlating with geography, but with notable exceptions like California and New Jersey clustering together.
• Hispanic surnames were frequent in Illinois, New Jersey, and California, while the south-central US showed the highest inbreeding, and coastal areas exhibited greater surname heterogeneity.

Conclusions:

• The study reveals high population mobility and significant mixing of diverse origins across the United States.
• Geographic proximity does not strongly predict surname similarity, suggesting substantial gene flow.
• Regional variations in inbreeding and surname heterogeneity point to complex demographic histories and migration patterns within the US.