The purpose of this study is to bring together traditional genealogical research by myself and others with DNA research using Y-DNA (direct male line DNA) to establish the common ancestry, or lack thereof, between the various family groups sharing the surnames Cundell, Cundall or variants.

My own research started in 1981, initially to answer my curiosity as to the reasons that my father and grandmother had different surnames, and that my grandfather was never mentioned. Having answered those questions, and uncovered the first of a number of closet-dwelling skeletons, I found myself 'hooked' on a project that is now in its 40th year.

I am a descendant of the extensive Cundell family of Cambridgeshire, whose common ancestor is John Cundell/Condal, who married Ann Mason in Dry Drayton, Cambridgeshire in 1775 and died 1798 in the same place. He was presumably born around 1750, but no record of his birth has yet been traced. A number of publicly accessible family trees show his parents as Robert Cundall and Mary Hardcastle of Kirkby Malzeard, Yorkshire, but this is certainly incorrect. John has been a "brick wall" in my research since the early 1980s.

In 2017 I took my first DNA test with Ancestry, which opened up many new avenues for research, discovered previously unknown half-siblings of both of my parents, and validated my paper trail research back to John Cundell. It did not, however, provide any useful clues to John's origin.

In 2019 I took a Y-DNA test with FamilyTreeDNA. I was, i believe, the first Cundell from anywhere in the world to take such a test, and I found no matches more recent than the Bronze Age. I persuaded my brother to test, which defined our paternal line to the present day, and then set about locating men who shared our surname, had an interest in genealogy, and had known ancestry from areas other than Cambridgeshire. I managed to recruit a tester from a well-researched Yorkshire family and one from each of two families with origins in the villages to the east of Ware in Hertfordshire. These showed no connection between our family and the Yorkshire family, but a close connection to both Hertfordshire families. Further recruitment of testers is ongoing.

Further testers have been and are being recruited from other Cundell and Cundall family groups with known ancestries, and knowledge gained from these tests will be added to the study.

Common variants of the surname are Cundell, Cundall, Cundill, Condall, Condell and Cundle. Earlier spellings include Cundal, Condal and Cundale.

Alternative spellings do not necessarily indicate separate family groups. In times before widespread literacy, names were typically spelt as the writer heard them, often spoken with regional accents. Present day descendants of the Hertfordshire Cundell family use the Cundell, Cundall and Cundle variants.

Kendall and alternative spellings are not generally considered variants of the surname. However, some 16^th century Essex parish records include entries for Kindell which appear to be ancestors of later Cundall families.

Central to this study is the use of Y-DNA testing to develop the genetic trees of paternal descent for the various family groups sharing our surname and its variants. Men having any variant of our surname are strongly encouraged to take a Y-DNA test and to join our project at FamilyTreeDNA. Although women do not carry a Y-Chromosome, they are welcome to join the project by sponsoring and managing a test from a suitable male relative. Donations to the project fund are also welcome, which can be to sponsor a test for a particular individual, or for general testing purposes. Please visit the DNA Project page here:

Cundell Surname Y-DNA Project