Preliminary Phylogenetic Analysis of Briese Family Relationships
A comparison was made of 37 STR markers on the Y-chromosome of eight individuals bearing the surname Briese. The genetic study showed three distinct genetic lineages bearing the Briese surname. Five of the eight were shown to have had a common ancestor within genealogical time, which suggests that a cluster of related Briese families lived in the Deutsch Krone area of West Prussia in the 18th century. These findings support the hypothesis that the Briese surname originated as a place name.