My illuminating journey with iGENEA: Exploring the Viking Roots of the Knowlton Name
Family name Knowlton
Discovering your familial roots with a surname like Knowlton can be an enlightening experience, stretching your understanding of self-far beyond your imagination. It's about going from seeing your surname as a simple label to understanding it as a symbol carrying centuries of history and significance.
My experience with iGENEA's DNA analysis was nothing short of enlightening. As far as I'd known, my family's roots stretched through many generations within the same small town. However, through the process of swabbing, sending off my sample, and receiving the nuanced details of my ancestry revealed by the DNA test, the journey to discover my familial roots took a dramatic and fascinating turn.
Curiosity about my lineage was driven largely by my family name, Knowlton– an English surname, presumably, but with no known lore or legend attached to it within my family. Until now, our knowledge had been limited to a narrative of our ancestors, mainly farmers who lived and raised their families in a small English village. The iGENEA DNA analysis propelled my understanding of familial roots light years beyond that humble narrative.
When I first got my results, I found myself staring slack-jawed at the computer screen. With science that resembled magic to my shock, the DNA analysis revealed that my family, the Knowltons, traced back to Northern Europe, specifically Norwegian-Viking descent. What was once a simple English surname with no particular history to consider had transformed, now representing a lineage that travels back to Viking warriors and seafarers.
Intricacies surrounding the origins of Knowlton began to materialize further as the analysis continued. The iGENEA historians explained that the name Knowlton could derive from the Old Norse words 'knollr' or 'knūtr'. To think that my surname could be centuries old, carried through hundreds of generations, and have survived significant historical and socio-cultural shift was staggering.
The iGENEA DNA analysis I undertook gave lifelong validity to an innate feeling of distant, untapped origins. To know one's roots is to understand oneself better, and this exercise lent an enriched understanding of where I come from. My perception of the name Knowlton is no longer a simple label; it’s an identity imbued with centuries of valiant history, survival, and adaptation.
In essence, my journey with iGENEA has been nothing less than profound. It has managed to unearth historical layers, handed over from generation to generation, each chapter intrinsically woven with stories, survival, and evolution. The exploration with iGENEA deepened my respect and affection for my forefathers. It's a profound realization to grasp that one family name, Knowlton, can carry such a weight of history and significance, and I'm grateful to iGENEA for making it possible for me to understand and appreciate it fully.
S. Knowlton