My 23 and Me Ancestry Results Are In!

My 23 and Me test results are in! I have been wanting to do a DNA test for years to figure out my ancestry.

The 23 and Me test was easy to do. I couldn’t eat or drink for at least an hour before. I had to register my kit online, spit into a tube until I filled the line, seal the tube, and pop it in the mail with the pre-paid box that it came in. 

The results only took a few weeks to come back! Much earlier than I had anticipated. 

I am very fortunate to know quite a bit of my family history, but there were still many blanks. Although the DNA does show my ancestry, because I am female (and therefore missing the Y chromosome), the male line of my ancestry cannot be completed. Therefore, I have to have my father or brother take a DNA test if I want to know the rest of the puzzle. (I’m working on talking both my dad, brother, and maternal great-uncle into taking the test so I can trace the rest of my history on both of my parents sides). So although I do not have a clear picture on 100% of my DNA, I do have my mother’s side of the family to trace back and ancestral DNA from both of my parents can be found in my recent ancestral history, and what a history it is! 

I already knew that my family history had plenty of ancestry from the United Kingdom, France, and even a bit of Native American. It was truly wonderful to see that confirmed. Yet, my DNA also held a few surprises! 

This is my DNA ancestral map. The countries and regions in color are where my ancestry is from. As you can see, I have 56.2% ancestry from the UK and Ireland. 21% French and German (Switzerland is also included in my DNA), and the biggest surprise of all: 3% Spanish and Portuguese. I never saw that coming and I still have no idea where it came from in our family history. I’m thinking it might be from my paternal grandfather. 

These are screenshots of my report. 

This is a greater breakdown of the regions. Apparently I am 1% Sub-Saharan African and .3% East Asian and Native American! However, as I had assumed, I am mostly European. 

I also have ancestry spanning all throughout Europe. 

These are the regions of the UK where my ancestry is from. The darker the color on the map, the stronger the ancestral connection. 

I already knew that my great-grandfather is a descendant of Adrienne Duvivier, the only female founder of Quebec. She originally came to Canada from Paris. I also have French ancestry on both of my parents sides. I thought this number would be higher. Still 21% French felt pretty good to see, as I love French culture and it is a prominent part of my family history here in the U.S. Switzerland and Germany came as a fun surprise. 

The amazing part about this discovery is that my husband and I are planning to move to Colmar, France, in a few short years. Colmar is a city in the Grand East region! I had no idea that I was planning on living in the same region where my ancestors are actually from! Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have an ancestor from Africa. Of course, humans originally came from that area. But this is actually fairly recent history. According to 23 and me, I had a 3rd/4th/5th/6th great-grandparent that was 100% African Hunter-Gatherer and another 3rd/4th/5th/6th great-grandparent that was 100% Senegambian and Guinean. These ancestors were born as recently as 1720-1810! That really isn’t going back very far! 

The more I thought about it though, I realized that the time period this great-grandparent was living in was not a good one for history; a large portion os slaves brought into the U.S. during the mid 1700s to early 1800s came from Senegal and Guinea. It is very likely that this great-grandparent may have been brought to the U.S. as a slave. This news actually made me a little sad. Although it is possible they became an ancestor of mine through a different means, the time period is too coincidental. It was a terrible time in history. 

I have always known about my Native American family history, although finding records is near impossible. I was very happy to see this confirmed. However, I really did think that this would be a larger percentage because of certain features of mine that run in my family; my very dark hair, dark brown eyes, and the shape of my eye opening, as well as my ability to turn golden in the sun instead of burn. Several people in my family have a unique shape to their eyes that I have seen in portraits of Native-Americans and it undoubtably comes from that ancestry. As a kid, I used to hate my eyes. I thought they looked “too small” and were shaped a little funny. It wasn’t until my early 20’s that I started to love the uniqueness of them. 

Still, ancestral DNA is still very new and not very many people are doing it just yet. As more and more information is gathered, DNA results will become more detailed. As they say, your DNA does not change, but the research does. In the future, these numbers may change slightly and more information may become available. I really hope that is the case because my DNA also came with another surprise: East Asian ancestry. Although very little, I was amazed to see it there at all. 

I am very proud of my ancestral map! To be honest, I thought that there would be even more surprises hidden in my DNA. However, there may still be once I get back the results of my brother’s, father’s, or great-uncle’s DNA. 

The test also tells you how much neanderthal DNA you have! 40,000 years ago, early humans connected with neanderthals. This is a recent time-line. I really cannot wait to see what else will be included when my male family members participate in the test. 

The DNA test also tells you how many relatives of yours have taken the test and which parts of the world they are located. If they give permission, you can see their results and even connect with them online. My sister came up in my search as well as several 1st, 2nd, and 3rd cousins that I know. I have relatives all over the map. You can also pay extra to get your family health report, which I might consider doing in the future. For now, I’m simply happy with the ancestry results. It certainly left me with even more questions though! 

The DNA test also traces the line of all of your female ancestors (as well as all of your male ancestors if you have the Y chromosome), telling you the migration history of your ancestors from the earliest humans to today. 

Have you taken an ancestry test? I would love to hear your stories in the comments below. I would also be happy to answer any questions you have for me about using 23 and me.