Where did my Scandinavian DNA come from?

[dcx4610]

Hello,

I just recently did the Autosomal DNA test and have some questions regarding the MyOrigins breakdown and specifically where might my fairly high percentage of Scandinavian DNA came from.

My breakdown is as followed:
British Isles - 54%
Scandinavia - 35%
Southern Europe - 8%
Middle Eastern/Asia Minor - 4%

I haven't done the Y DNA test yet but my grandfather has and he came back with the J2 haplogroup which originated in the Turkey/Caucus area so it should be the same for me. A little surprising but it is what it is.

My DNA test backed up the J2 haplogrup showing I'm 4% Middle Eastern with Asia Minor/Turkey highlighted.

From there, the migration pattern looks pretty explanatory. From Turkey to Greece to Italy to Spain. Possibly Roman migration.

My most distant ancestors I could locate are from Scotland/Ireland and the J2 haplogroup is pretty rare there. It does look like Roman soldiers with J2 may have been around Hadrian's Wall near Wales but what I'm trying to figure out is why I have so much Scandinavian DNA.

Obviously Viking raids must have made a big difference but how would my J2 ancestor relate to this? After Spain, did they end up in Norway perhaps and assimilated with the Vikings or could all of the DNA inherited be from the women in each nearby region?

I'm a light brown hair, blue eyed, fair skinned male and definitely look the Scottish/Irish/Norwegian mix but I'm baffled at how my Middle Eastern J2 ancestor may have ended up in Norway/Scotland/Ireland. Any ideas?

[josh w.]

Hello,

I just recently did the Autosomal DNA test and have some questions regarding the MyOrigins breakdown and specifically where might my fairly high percentage of Scandinavian DNA came from.

My breakdown is as followed:
British Isles - 54%
Scandinavia - 35%
Southern Europe - 8%
Middle Eastern/Asia Minor - 4%

I haven't done the Y DNA test yet but my grandfather has and he came back with the J2 haplogroup which originated in the Turkey/Caucus area so it should be the same for me. A little surprising but it is what it is.

My DNA test backed up the J2 haplogrup showing I'm 4% Middle Eastern with Asia Minor/Turkey highlighted.

From there, the migration pattern looks pretty explanatory. From Turkey to Greece to Italy to Spain. Possibly Roman migration.

My most distant ancestors I could locate are from Scotland/Ireland and the J2 haplogroup is pretty rare there. It does look like Roman soldiers with J2 may have been around Hadrian's Wall near Wales but what I'm trying to figure out is why I have so much Scandinavian DNA.

Obviously Viking raids must have made a big difference but how would my J2 ancestor relate to this? After Spain, did they end up in Norway perhaps and assimilated with the Vikings or could all of the DNA inherited be from the women in each nearby region?

I'm a light brown hair, blue eyed, fair skinned male and definitely look the Scottish/Irish/Norwegian mix but I'm baffled at how my Middle Eastern J2 ancestor may have ended up in Norway/Scotland/Ireland. Any ideas?

As far as J2 goes, you have over 10% ancestry from southern Europe and the Mediterranean which is the likely source of that line. I can't completely rule out Norway since I have Ashkenazi matches from there (I am 100% Jewish). Keep in mind that the Engles (Anglo-Saxons) were also Scandinavian. The Engles landed in Scotland. My son is half Ashkenazi and half Scots English although some of that originated in Scandinavia. Essentially Y dna has nothing to do with appearance--my son and I have a northern European 'look'.

[loisrp]

Do you have any Scandinavian matches at FTDNA or Gedmatch?

[dcx4610]

Do you have any Scandinavian matches at FTDNA or Gedmatch?

I'm new to FTDNA and I'm not quite sure how to check. The "Matches" section just seems to list people that are related but most don't have Family Trees created.

I haven't looked much into Gedmatch yet. Honestly I'm a little leery about uploading my DNA to a site like that. I guess I need to read more about it.

[John McCoy]

Some people on GEDmatch report that they have a lot of Jewish matches, or Scandinavian matches, etc. I have no idea how they know this, given that very, very few people actually post a GEDCOM file on GEDmatch. My guess is that they are making assumptions based on which surnames they believe are Jewish, Scandinavian, etc. Personally, I hesitate to make that leap, and besides, without a pedigree, I certainly wouldn't want to assume that the surname's apparent ethnic origin is representative of the rest of the person's pedigree.

[loisrp]

Some people on GEDmatch report that they have a lot of Jewish matches, or Scandinavian matches, etc. I have no idea how they know this, given that very, very few people actually post a GEDCOM file on GEDmatch. My guess is that they are making assumptions based on which surnames they believe are Jewish, Scandinavian, etc. Personally, I hesitate to make that leap, and besides, without a pedigree, I certainly wouldn't want to assume that the surname's apparent ethnic origin is representative of the rest of the person's pedigree.

If you have significant Scandinavian matches on FamilyTreeDNA, it is super-clear. It will be obvious that the people in question are from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, or Finland (which I know is not technically Scandinavian). If you can't tell from their names (first, middle, and last), you will be able to tell from their list of surnames, which most have, or of course their family trees if available. If you look through all your matches and don't see this, then I think you can conclude you don't have these matches. On Gedmatch, although most Scandinavians do not use a .no, .se, .dk, or .fi email address, at least a few will do so and you should be able to note a few in your list of 2000 top matches. But it is way less obvious on Gedmatch than on FTDNA.
It does happen that someone is living in Sweden, but actually Moroccan, or some other combination, but it will be clear enough if that is the case.

[wombat]

"Obviously Viking raids must have made a big difference but how would my J2 ancestor relate to this?"

It wouldn't. Y line is just one single line, strictly paternal so by just 6 gens back it's only 1/64th of your total ancestry. So there are tons of other lines taht could be from parts of England with lots of old Viking influence or even a a few actual Scandinavian ancestor or two hidden in there somewhere. Also being a mix of way NW and then maybe a bit of way SE maybe confused it a little and made it emphasize the Scandinavian element of your B&I standing out against the other element so strongly.

[Viveqa]

The anglo-saxons came from Denmark.