It\u2019s easy to have genealogical DNA testing done these days, but it isn\u2019t always easy to understand the results. Many people feel surprised when they see their ethnicity results and wonder whether the test messed up. Odds are, the test was fine. It\u2019s how the results are interpreted that makes the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many Americans have ancestors from the British Isles, but their tests don\u2019t always show that or show it in a way they don\u2019t expect. What does Great Britain DNA mean in your DNA test results? It means that sometime in the last few hundred years, you had ancestors from Great Britain. But you also have to consider whose test you took which I talk about below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are several companies that offer genealogical DNA testing. When it comes to measuring ethnicity, they all use the same test: an autosomal DNA test. But they don\u2019t all divide up the world the same way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While that makes Ancestry DNA look like an obvious winner for tracking ancestors, that may not be true. Broader categories make it easier to match what you have already found and avoid the danger of missing ancestors because you\u2019re looking in the wrong place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People used to move around a lot less in the past. Because they lived in one spot for generations and had kids with other people living in the same spot, some genes became dominant in that place. That\u2019s why, for example, redheads are more common in Ireland and Scotland than anywhere else in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By comparing how closely your DNA matches other people from certain regions, the test can estimate<\/a> where your ancestors came from. It isn\u2019t exact \u2013 people did move around and intermarried \u2013 but it is getting more accurate all the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You might think that a couple of islands on the corner of Europe would be isolated, but that isn\u2019t the case. People have been invading it for thousands of years and leaving their ancestors behind. Romans, Vikings, Anglo-Saxons, Normans, and more have all left their genetic mark on the British Isles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That means that, even though your ancestors have lived in Britain for many generations, some of their genes could have come from farther away, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if you were born in Britain yourself, your ethnicity will still, on average only show 60% British Isles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first significant influx of foreigners were the Romans, who spent close to 400 years in Britain. They mainly remained in the south and founded several cities, including Londinium (which later became London). They fought their way into Scotland and Wales at times, too, but not Ireland. Their descendants may have Southern Europe show up in their ethnicity results.<\/p>\n\n\n\nEngland got invaded (a lot)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Who came when?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n