Some general observations can be drawn from our Y-DNA test results.

1. The Willis surname did not originate from a single patriarch. This is no surprise, because those who first bore the surname were sons of men named William. William was an extremely popular name in the 1200s, which is about when the Willis surname originated. In our project there are over 50 different genetic Willis lines.

2. The Willis surname originated primarily in south-central England. Most members of our Project whose earliest known Willis ancestor lived in England before 1750 trace him to south-central England. In contrast, the surnames Williamson, Williams, Wilson, and Wills are known to originate in other geographic areas of Great Britain. The reason is said to be the different ways of speaking in different areas of Great Britain when surnames originated, and also different dates of adoption of surnames in those locations. Surnames were adopted earlier in southern England than in many other parts of Great Britain. 

3. There has not been much crossover between Willis and the names listed above or similar sounding surnames, such as Wallace.