Galton-Watson process

noun

A branching stochastic process arising from the statistical investigation of the extinction of family names, which are modelled as patrilineal, while offspring are randomly either male or female, and names become extinct if holders die without male descendants. It is useful in understanding human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups.

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Meanings

nounGalton-Watson process (plural Galton-Watson processes)

plural Galton-Watson processes

  1. A branching stochastic process arising from the statistical investigation of the extinction of family names, which are modelled as patrilineal, while offspring are randomly either male or female, and names become extinct if holders die without male descendants. It is useful in understanding human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups.

Origin

Devised by Francis Galton and Henry William Watson and published in an 1874 paper.

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Cite this entry
APA

Galton-Watson process. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Galton-Watson%20process

MLA

“Galton-Watson process.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Galton-Watson%20process. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Galton-Watson process,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Galton-Watson%20process.

Source: Galton-Watson process on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.