I’ve always wondered if having green eyes and freckles and bright red hair (when I was little) meant I was Viking or my passionate nature possibly derived from Irish roots? Well, my genetic testing results are in and I seem to be more Scandinavian (19.6%) than the average UK result (that’s usually nearer 10%) and yes to a Celtic bloodline – an (almost) whole third (32.1%).
What I didn’t know and it just shows how amazing these family history DNA tests are is that almost half (44.4%) of my ancestors were from north west Europe. This is France, Germany and covers the Netherlands and Switzerland. Could that be why I loved learning German as a teenager and I’m thinking of going back to German classes! Maybe not but it’s fun to surmise.
So…. drum roll……..my complete family history DNA test reveals I’m:
44.4% north western European (German/French)
32.1% Celtic (Irish, Scottish, Welsh)
19.6% Scandinavian
3.9% Eastern European
Not an ounce of Anglo Saxon in there unlike the average UK resident who will find they are nearly 37%. Well indeed, it seems like so many of us here in England, I’m actually an immigrant ! Although I live in Devon I was born in north east England and the family tree I’ve been working on for the past 20 years shows lines going as far back as 1700 in Newcastle and surrounding areas.
Ancestry.com has found that “the average UK resident is 36.94% British (Anglo Saxon), 21.59% Irish (Celtic) and 19.91% Western European (the region covered today by France and Germany).
Following these top three regional ethnicities in the average UK resident are Scandinavia (9.20%), the Iberian Peninsula (Spain/Portugal) (3.05%), and Italy and Greece (1.98%).”
Genealogy is one of the most popular hobbies in the world today and I was lucky enough to enjoy sharing this with my wonderful Granddad Alec when I was younger and now he’s no longer here I work on it on my own sharing highlights with my children. My Granddad always thought our line may have come from Scotland and I know he would have jumped at the chance to have had his DNA tested too had these tests been around then.
I would love to hear from you if you have had a test done too. Please add a comment below.