Isonymy, consanguinity and repeated pairs of surnames in Aromun populations

Abstract

The Aromuns represent a small and almost unknown people that live scattered over the Balkan Peninsula. Due to their language, that is very similar to classical Latin, they are in a special position. The Aromuns settled only in more recent times. Until now they lived as shepherds, as caravan guides and merchants and lead a semi-nomadic life. We are currently carrying out studies to determine the genetic structure of this population. To facilitate the interpretation of these data, we are also trying to obtain other important parameters that pertain to migration processes and the genealogical structure of this populations. The data arise from three areas in Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Romania. The inbreeding coefficient and the proportion of repeated pairs of surnames was calculated through the use of genealogies and the isonymy method. The difference between these three populations are due primarily to confounding by selection of mates and family composition.