Knipe, Irish or German?
I am descended from the Knipe family of Cleveland Co, NC.The spelling of Canipe has been used since around the time of the Civil War, but originally was spelled Knipe.I recently had a DNA test and discovered that my
y-haplogroup is R1b1b2a1a2f* (also known as R-L21). This haplogroup is indicative of Celtic ancestry and is strongly associated with the North of Ireland. As a matter of fact, I was suprised to find my ancestry is overwhelming Irish & British, and that my closest genetic matches were in Ireland.
I have always heard, and was quite certain, that our Canipes were from Germany and originally spelled the name Kneip. R-L21 has been found in Germany (even in the area the Kneips came from), but in very small numbers: fewer than 1-5% of the population. The name Knipe is quite common in the North of Ireland; and concidentially, the Irish Gaelic word for "button" is "cnaipe".
Have any other Canipe males taken a DNA test? I'd be interested to see if others have the same y-haplogroup as me. I have always believed Canipe to be German, but now I'm curious about these Irish results!