I might add, a lot of people are dingbats when it comes to trying to identify Jews by a name. When surnames were taken in Europe during the last millennium Jews and Christians both took them. They weren't started originally to identify a person as a member of a family but just to better identify him, frequently for taxation purposes. Too many men with the same given name in the same town or village and they had to have a more efficient way of sorting them out on records. When they got through legitimate sons of the same man could have wound up with a different surname and still each could have shared his with others with no known relationship

A lot of names are viewed as Jewish in the U.S. as a large portion of immigrants with certain names were Jewish while back in their country of origin the same name was used by Jews, Christians and non believers. Names with '"stein' "berg" "man" "witz" and the list goes on are not necessarily Jewish but can be.

Never, never guess someone's ancestry by their name.

Also understand Jews today are not in total agreement on defining a Jew. Liberal Jewish congregation views anyone who is of the Jewish faith a Jew and some view anyone who identifies as a Jew with only one Jewish parent whether father or mother a Jew.

However, Orthodox and Conservatives Judaism goes strictly by the Talmud that a Jew is someone with a Jewish mother. If a person only has a Jewish father the only way they will consider that person Jewish is for him/her to go through the rite of conversion. So that means a person could be born a McGillicuddy and be Jewish by birth or they can have a Jewish father and their name is Levy and they will not be considered Jewish at all.

Here is what Ancestry.Com has about Suleiman.

Suleiman Name Meaning Muslim: from the Arabic personal name Suleiman (see Solomon). Suleiman (Solomon) is regarded in Islam as a prophet (Qur'an 27:17). Suleiman the Magnificent (1498–1566) was a renowned khalif of the Ottoman Empire. This name is widespread throughout the Muslim world.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press

The only "Full Americans" are the Indians. The rest of us go back to one continent or the other - sometimes more than one; Africa, Europe, or Asia. If someone has just one national/ethnic group in his mix but was born in the USA, he/she is written that way; Italian-American, Japanese-American, etc. If there is more than one group in the mix - as it is with most Americans - you just say "An American with mixed European (African, Asian) heritage", because anything more is too cumbersome. I have never described myself as a Swiss-German-English-Huguenot-American.

The grammar Nazi on the next stool here in the tap room of the genealogy club wanted me to tell you that since if you were by yourself it would be "I was talking about", not "Me was talking about", so when you add your friends it is "My friends and I were talking about". When you ask a geezer for advice, you get a lot of it.

She is probably a cousin's cousin, which is fun to say but not a real relation. Your question is so garbled I can't tell, really.

"Distant" is usually 3rd cousins and further.
If two people are brothers/sisters, their children are 1st cousins.
The children of those 1st cousins are 2nd cousins.
The children of those 2nd cousins are 3rd cousins, and so on.

"Removed" is when you have different generations. All of your mother's cousins and your father's cousins are yours too, but once removed. Your grandparents' cousins are yours too, but twice removed. It continues. I know a family that is president John Adam's first cousin; the parents, 7 times removed, the children, 8 times.

If you do not share a common ancestor you are not related at all. I learned when I was very young that the cousins on my mother's side were not related to the cousins on my fathers side. An exception could be if some place back down the line they share a common ancestor.

Another way to put it you have uncles and aunts who are siblings to your parents and you have uncles and aunts by marriage only. i.e. they married one of your uncles and aunts who are siblings to your parents. In other words they are brothers in laws or sistrs in laws to one of your parents. The only family of their that is related to you are the children and maybe grandchildren if they have any they produce by the uncles and aunts who are siblings to your parents. In other words, their parents, brothers and sisters and their children are not related to you at all.

Your uncles and aunts by marriage parents, brothers and sisters and their children are not related

So as Maxi stated you should figure out who your common ancestor is if there is one.

Hello,
I have been told in the past that I am related ( somehow ) to an well-known 17th centery artist. I am related to him on my Fathers side.
Since I no longer speak to my father, or his side of the family I have no one to answer my questions about my ancestry.

My question is, is there anyway ( besides Ancestry.com ) I can find out if this is true or not?

Thank you!!!