Ethnic DNA Testing
Reveals Your Genetic Heritage

There are three types of ethnic DNA testing. Like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, each one makes a unique contribution to your research. Yet each test has advantages and limitations. Which type of ethnic DNA testing you should use will depend on your situation and your personal goals. Read on to learn more.

Examine Your Family Tree

Most people know something about their parents and grandparents. Even if you don’t know all the names and dates, you can draw or imagine a family tree that looks something like the following Pedigree Chart. It starts with you at the left and goes back in time through prior generations.


ETHNIC DNA TESTING TYPE #1: Y-DNA Testing of Your Paternal Line

Your paternal line runs along the top of the Pedigree Chart through your father, his father, etc. Men pass on their Y-chromosome from right to left along this path. Over many generations, small changes occur that we call mutations. It is these mutations that begin distinct branches and let genealogists find people with recent common ancestors.

Only men have a Y-chromosome. Therefore, only men can take this test. If you're a woman, you can still get answers about your heritage by testing a male in your paternal line, e.g. your brother, your father, your father’s brother, or a son of your father’s brother.

Y-DNA Haplogroups

The results of your test will tell you which haplotype you belong to. From that, your testing company will be able to predict your haplogroup. NOTE: It takes a supplementary Y-SNP test to prove your haplogroup.

Your Y-DNA haplogroup indicates the ancient ancestry of your paternal line. In addition, some haplogroups are clearly associated with certain ethnic groups. For example, Y-DNA haplogroup Q3 is strictly associated with Native American populations. And Y-DNA haplogroup E3a is the most common group among African Americans.

Typically, the testing company will provide an explanation of what your results mean for you.

[NOTE: You should prepare yourself for unexpected results. For example, 30% of American blacks and Caribbean blacks have a European haplogroup. That’s because many children of slaves were fathered by plantation owners.]

Y-DNA Genetic Cousins

One of the great benefits of Y-DNA testing is the possibility of finding close genetic matches in your testing company’s database or in one of the public databases Ysearch or Ybase . You can also benefit from joining a DNA Surname Project for the last name of your male ancestors. There are also projects focused on certain ethnic groups or geographic areas.

[NOTE: You should test at least 25 markers to find genetic cousins. You’re likely to match a lot of people on the first 12 markers and the common ancestors may have lived hundreds or thousands of years ago.]

If you’re trying to prove Native American ancestry, a DNA test alone may not be evidence enough for your purpose. By introducing yourself to your genetic cousins and pooling your genealogical knowledge to identify that common ancestor, you may be able to place yourself in a specific tribe.

ETHNIC DNA TESTING #2: Mitochondrial DNA Testing of Your Maternal Line

Your maternal line runs along the bottom of the Pedigree chart through your mother, her mother, etc. The test that connects people in the maternal line is mitochondrial DNA testing, often abbreviated mtDNA.

Since a mother passes on her mtDNA to ALL her children, both males and females can take this test. Once again, it’s the mutations that allow scientists to sort people into different branches of the human tree.

[NOTE: Check with your DNA testing company to see what options they offer. Some may include SNP testing in packages designed to determine ethnic ancestry or offer SNP confirmations.]

mtDNA Haplogroups

Your test results will indicate your mtDNA haplogroup. This will provide a clue to the ethnicity of your maternal line. For example, haplogroups A2, B2, C1, D1 (and sometimes X) indicate Native American ancestry. Any of the haplogroups that start with L (and some others) will indicate African ancestry. Again, your testing company should provide an explanation of your results.

[NOTE: Scientists chose to name both Y-DNA and mtDNA haplogroups by letters and numbers. There is some overlap in the letters. So be sure you know which type of haplogroup you and others are referring to.]

mtDNA Genetic Cousins

If you purchase an mtDNA test that checks both HVR-1 and HVR-2 regions, you may find some “high resolution” genetic cousins. The “low resolution” matches for HVR-1 only don’t mean much, since the common ancestors may have lived thousands of years ago.

Due to the fact that female surnames typically change every generation, finding a common ancestor, even with high resolution matches, can be a lot more difficult than with Y-DNA testing.

Mitochondrial DNA testing also has a public database at Mitosearch.

Limitations of Y-DNA and mtDNA Testing

Y-DNA and mtDNA pass down along exclusively male and female lines. Since each is undiluted by marriage, these types of ethnic DNA testing are highly accurate. The fundamental limitation is that they only represent a small fraction of your total ethnic ancestry.

Go back just four generations and you have 16 great-great grandparents. At that point the Y-DNA and mtDNA tests each represent only 1/16 of your ethnoancestry. You’re totally missing the people in the center of that Pedigree Chart. Go back several more generations and you have thousands of ancestors, each of which contributed to your personal DNA.

You May Need to Test Someone Else

You can still use these tests to identify the haplogroups of others in your known family tree. You just have to clearly understand the concepts of paternal and maternal lines and find the right people to test.

For example, suppose you believe that your great grandfather was a Native American. But he was not in your direct paternal line. Just follow his paternal line forward in time through his sons and their sons to find an appropriate living male for the Y-DNA test.

If no suitable test subject is available in your great grandfather’s paternal line, consider the female lineage. Was your great grandfather’s mother a Native American? If so, follow her direct maternal line forward in time. The person you use for an mtDNA test can be male or female as long as that person’s mother is in the proper maternal line. All children have the mother’s mtDNA. But only the daughters pass it on.

[NOTE: You may still not get the results you expect. It only takes one outsider in one of your great grandfather’s direct ancestral lines to turn that paternal or maternal line toward an unexpected haplogroup.]

Genealogy Testing Companies

Companies that offer DNA testing for genealogy purposes are an excellent source for Y-DNA and mtDNA testing. Family Tree DNA is the original company with the largest database. This gives you the best chance of finding genetic cousins. They did my testing and are an excellent choice. To learn why I prefer this company read my FTDNA Review.

[NOTE: My links to other sites open in new windows. If they don't work, check your popup blocker.]

A list of other companies that do Y-DNA and mtDNA testing would include DNA Heritage in the US and Ethnnoancestry, Oxford Ancestors and iGENEA in Europe.

[NOTE: Some testing companies do not maintain a database of results that you can search for genetic cousins. To me this defeats one of the main purposes of getting tested.]

Anthropology and Archaeology Increase Resolution

For many of us, just knowing our haplogroups won’t tell us a whole lot. It can place our ancient ancestors on a specific continent. But that’s about all.

Scientists have been able to recover and test DNA from many ancient skeletons. Some DNA testing services are using this type of data--plus data from current populations--to tie your Y-DNA and mtDNA results to certain “Indigenous Peoples.” This is a finer distinction than a haplogroup. One European company, iGENEA, claims to do things like distinguish Celtic DNA from Germanic DNA and identify Jewish ancestry.

Another company, African Ancestry, has an African Lineage Database. This includes DNA data from over 30 African countries and over 200 ethnic groups. They claim to find identical Y-DNA or mtDNA matches for approximately 85% of the people they test.

If you want to confirm Jewish ancestry, read this article by the founder of Family Tree DNA.

ETHNIC DNA TESTING #3: Autosomal DNA Testing

Your Y-DNA came exclusively from your father down the paternal line. And your mtDNA came exclusively from your mother down the maternal line. But 22 of your 23 chromosomes are a mixture from both sides of your family. Some companies do ethnic DNA testing through these “autosomal” chromosomes to measure your total ancestral composition.

Although there are many variations in how they do it, the basic idea is to compare your results with that of specific population groups. The basic assumption is that certain marker values occur at different frequencies in different populations.

Some companies, like DNA Tribes and DNA Testing Systems, do ethnic DNA testing with the same CODIS STR markers developed by the FBI for individual identification. They compare your results to population databases and identify the ethnic groups or world regions where your total combination of ancestry is most common.

One company, Roots for Real, offers autosomal testing for African ancestry. 23andMe does DNA testing primarily for health and medical purposes. But it also includes all three types of ethnic DNA testing in its combined package of tests.

Autosomal Testing Limitations

A match obtained through autosomal DNA testing does not guarantee that you or any recent ancestor is a member of that ethnic group. It just identifies one or more populations where your combination of ancestry is common. This indicates shared ancestry at some point in time. But it could have been thousands of years ago.

This third type of ethnic DNA testing is marked by conflicting methods, secret proprietary formulas and still-small databases. Plus, results are inherently less certain than traditional Y-DNA and mtDNA testing. All this makes autosomal testing somewhat controversial.

Furthermore, some companies in the field of ethnic DNA testing have failed. Trace Genetics sold out to DNA Print Genomics in 2005. Then DNA Print Genomics, which offered a proprietary “AncestryByDNA” process, ceased operations in early 2009.

Personally, I have had my autosomal DNA tested at 23andMe. Since my background is 100% European, I did not learn a lot. But I think people of mixed or unknown heritage will find the test worthwhile. They now offer an Ancestry version without the health testing that saves you some money.

Before you search for the specific companies that do ethnic DNA testing, I suggest you learn as much as you can about DNA testing right here on my web site. In particular, check the Family Trees and Ancient Ancestry sections.

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