Ancestry dna ethnicity test

Thanks, so many helpful comments on here.

Clawdy

In some ways I wish I'd not done it, because my sister and I always loved that suggestion of Jewish heritage, so the 2% Basque thing was a bit of a disappointment.

As SueDonim says, much depends on whether anyone in that family has been tested. I am trying to find a DNA connection with my grandfather, but I don't think there are many living people in that line. Be patient and maybe you will find a connection in time.

MiL has always been fascinated by her Scottish/West Indian heritage. The DNA test showed she is 1% Central African. She was delighted.

Clawdy part of the way in which these tests work is comparing like for like. It’s possible no one from your GGF’s family has ever done a DNA test, so it wouldn’t show up.

In some ways I wish I'd not done it, because my sister and I always loved that suggestion of Jewish heritage, so the 2% Basque thing was a bit of a disappointment.

I saw a review of these dna tests and the concensus was that as each is using a different database to assess the samples, while the high % results are reliable when it gets down to telling people they are 2% native Indian or 2% chinese, these results should be treated with caution ans when they ran tests, using samples from the same person the test results at the bottom end varied considerably from company to company

The results depend upon how many people are in the database. Mine has been pretty accurate so far. The closest connections are people I know about already, some 3rd cousins showed up and it was easy to see how we were related. I find it interesting to see how populations shifted, what their occupations were, etc.

My DNA has been with 23&Me for about 10 years. I really like the updates and scientific research they do.

A few years before my father died I got him to send off a sample of his DNA. Now my dad and both sons are on 23&Me. My mother refused to do it.

What I find fascinating is that we have DNA relatives we are not all related to. We don't inherit the same genes.

What we have to ask ourselves is 'do we actually know anything?' apart from our DNA profile. I have a couple of unmarried village girls from the 1700s so I can't ever know who the father was. And anyone might unknowingly have an illegitimate child in their tree.

It also changes from time to time depending how many are doing it. I have suddenly acquired some French heritage which was interesting because I know that dated back before the fifteenth century and I didn’t think it would show up.

DNA is a highly accurate science.
Working out ethnicity from the results is speculative and totally dependent on the company database. The more people tested the less inaccurate it will be. Do not bother to get tested if you are only interested in “ethnicity”, you are wasting your money.

granmaretto that’s really interesting thanks so much for answering, my Dad a Suffolk man I ve traced back to 1690 all English through and through didn’t move out the County
Mum, Leicestershire again gone back to nearly as far and all Leicestershire and Cambridgeshire and like you the only tiny U.K. my granddaughter has in her DNA test were Scottish and Irish (which we expected) so where am I in her DNA ? Not even 1% of me

You'll get 50% of your DNA from your mother and 50% from your father, but that doesn't mean you will get exactly 25% from each of your four grandparents. Maybe you'll get 40% from one and 10% from another, which means you will be missing some DNA from one grandparent. However, a sibling may have the percentages the other way round, which is why it helps to have other family members tested.

BlueBelle I don't have any English either. I am mostly Scottish/Irish. I know my gt grandmother's family were from Norfolk and have traced them back to the 1500s. Weird

I compared mine with my sister's and we have more-or-less the same but in different amounts. I also had 2% Welsh which she didn't have and I think she was a little bit Scandinavian.
We were both a bit Jewish. I find it fascinating.

Thanks, it's interesting to hear other people's experiences!

My granddaughters Ancesrptry DNA showed no English at all but I ve done my family tree both sides back to 1690 and all were English so where’s my DNA gone in her ???

You only get a selection of DNA from some of your Ancestors, to get a better idea of your ancestry any close family members should also do the DNA test, sisters, brothers, parents if still alive, then you will get a bigger picture.
My Welsh ancestry totally disappeared when they reran my tests. Even though I have Welsh ancestors, I now appear to be part Scottish, however I don’t have any close family left to take a test as well, so it remains a mystery.