The hierarchical genetic structure of an urban town, Kidlington, Oxfordshire, examined by the coefficient of relationship by isonymy

The surnames of the 3443 males registered to vote in Kidlington in 1977 yield a Coefficient of Relationship by Isonymy of 0·000564 {Ri=Σ(n(n–1))/2 N(N–1), in which n=the number of men of each surname and N=Σn}. Those of the four wards separately average 0·000722. However, if one includes only one male of any one surname in each residence, the values are, respectively, 0·000534 and 0·000535. That is, the only structure seen between the two levels is in the influence of men of the same surname resident in the same house. An analysis of relationship by residence on the same street yields a value of Ri somewhat higher than that for the ward as a whole, however, suggesting that even within a ward there may be a tendency for the house of relatives occasionally to lie close together.