Ethnic DNA Testing
Reveals Your Genetic Heritage

Many people today are curious about ethnic DNA testing. It could be yourself that you're wondering about. Or it might be your child, a specific ancestor in your family tree, or merely the ethnic roots of your distant past.

DNA tests designed for genetic genealogy can now provide insights into ethnicity.

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.

After you read this introduction, be sure to follow the links near the bottom of the page for more specific information on DNA testing for Native American and African American ethnicity.

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: Some people will get 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. Family Tree DNA has over 218,000 Y-DNA records in its database and the company sponsors over 6,700 Y-DNA surname projects. It is the one company that I recommend for Y-DNA testing.

Once you get your Y-DNA results, you can search for additional matches in the public database Ysearch. . 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: I recommend at least a 37-marker test 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.

And once again, the market leader with over 134,000 mtDNA records is Family Tree DNA.

mtDNA Haplogroups

Your mtDNA 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 genetic cousins. The 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 can be a lot more difficult than with Y-DNA testing.

Family Tree DNA is the only company to offer a mitochondrial Full Sequence test. This is the ultimate mtDNA test, since it checks 100% of your mitochondrial DNA. If you match someone on that test you can be sure the common ancestor is a relatively recent one.

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. These types of ethnic DNA testing will totally miss 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 Y-DNA and mtDNA 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.

My Recommended Testing Company

The only company I use for Y-DNA and mtDNA testing is Family Tree DNA This is the original company with the largest databases. As such, it gives you the best chance of finding genetic cousins.

They offer a reasonably priced Deep Clade test that can accurately place you in a specific subclade of your Y-DNA haplogroup. This gives you the most information currently possible about the origins of your paternal line.

For more reasons 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.]

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 chromosome pairs 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 or certain SNPs occur at different frequencies in different populations.

My First Choice for Autosomal Ethnic Testing

The most scientifically based ethnic test available today is Family Finder from Family Tree DNA. Checking 700,000 markers, the test is designed to find biological cousins and confirm close relationships. But it includes a new ethnic DNA testing feature called Population Finder.

Population Finder compares your genetics to that of more than 60 world populations. The report breaks down your overall "admixture" into percentages based on the regions of the world that you match.

Depending on your ethnic background, you may see more specific regions within the major continents or even some Native American heritage.

Notice that I said "regions" and not countries. National borders are political and not biological. And many countries are complex melting pots of multiple ethnic groups.

Furthermore, ethnic DNA testing does not yet cover all the world's ethnic groups. Fortunately, Family Tree DNA continues to add population groups as new scientific studies are published. So there's a good chance your initial results will get more specific over time.

Additional Options for Autosomal Testing

Some companies, like DNA Tribes and DNA Consultants, 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.

I have not used these companies and am skeptical about the conclusions they draw based on only a handful of genetic markers.

The only other ethnic DNA testing company that checks hundreds of thousands of markers like Family Finder is 23andMe. They do DNA testing primarily for health and medical purposes. But their test will estimate your paternal and maternal haplogroups and break down your overall admixture into European, African, and Asian percentages.

None of that information is as detailed as what you can obtain from individual tests at Family Tree DNA. But if you're interested in health testing, 23andMe offers an interesting package of results.

A Note of Caution

Some companies once used for 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. Most recently, DNA Heritage closed in 2011.

NOTE: In my opinion the two most stable companies in DNA testing are Family Tree DNA and 23andMe. All others should be used with caution.

More Specific Information

Armed with this basic DNA testing background, you should now check the Indian DNA Test and African DNA Test pages of this site, if they are of interest to you.

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