Isonymy and the genetic structure of Albanian populations.

It is well known that in systems of surname transmission through the paternal line, surnames simulate neutral gene alleles belonging to the Y chromosome. This property of surnames was used to analyze the genetic structure of Albanian populations. Two large samples of surnames belonging to two different periods of time were analyzed. The analysis of indicators of population structure showed that geographical distance has an important effect on surname distribution. It seems that isolation by distance and genetic drift have been still important factors in the determination of the genetic structure of the Albanian population.