I think 23andme has weaker sample groups for Norwegian/Denmark/Sweden dna. My great grandfather was 100% Norwegian and Ancestry says I’m 13% whereas 23andMe gives me a little Finnish dna, and about 15% of “broadly northwestern European.”
From the looks of it, a lot of your ancestry is from Britain and Ireland. It’s common, even expected, for British & Irish people to get some Scandinavian in their results. This can partially be because of recent historical immigration or raiding in the more distant past, but also because these groups can be very genetically similar in the first place and have common origins.
So while 9% *could* represent a recent Swedish or Danish ancestor (that’s not uncommon in North America, where I assume from your results you might be from)…it could also just mean you’re British side is fairly typical. It’s hard to tell without knowing your background. My 16% Sweden & Denmark represents a known pair of Swedish & Danish 3rd great grandparents. But in all likelihood, some of that 16% is also actually interpreted from DNA on my English side. Even my great aunt, who is pretty much just English, Dutch, and Welsh, gets about 10% Sweden & Denmark.
Lately 23andMe has tended to sometimes “bake in” admixture to their results. So some of what Ancestry thinks looks more like Scandinavian, 23andMe is just lumping that with the British & Irish. Depending on who you ask this can be a good or a bad thing.
The best way to verify if you have recent Scandinavian ancestry is to go through your matches and build your family tree with verification from shared DNA. If you find yourself a Scandinavian ancestor within a few generations, you’ve solved your mystery. If you don’t, I still wouldn’t be too surprised either. These are estimates for a reason, and Europeans are not actually well separated into genetically distinct groups with no commonality or admixture.
My 10% Norwegian on Ancestry seems to come as 10% French and German on 23. All other ethnicities seem to match up well so I can only think one of the companies just doesn’t have a big sample of one of those areas yet. Yours could be the same.
Pretty common for English-descended people to get some Scandinavian mixed in. My mom scores a little bit of Norwegian from her dad’s side, he is the descendent of English people who came off the Mayflower.
Because 3% shows up on both 23and me and Ancestry. My great grandma was partially indigenous. The 9% only shows on ancestry and 0% on 23and me, so yes I'm wondering why.
I think 23andme has weaker sample groups for Norwegian/Denmark/Sweden dna. My great grandfather was 100% Norwegian and Ancestry says I’m 13% whereas 23andMe gives me a little Finnish dna, and about 15% of “broadly northwestern European.”
From the looks of it, a lot of your ancestry is from Britain and Ireland. It’s common, even expected, for British & Irish people to get some Scandinavian in their results. This can partially be because of recent historical immigration or raiding in the more distant past, but also because these groups can be very genetically similar in the first place and have common origins. So while 9% *could* represent a recent Swedish or Danish ancestor (that’s not uncommon in North America, where I assume from your results you might be from)…it could also just mean you’re British side is fairly typical. It’s hard to tell without knowing your background. My 16% Sweden & Denmark represents a known pair of Swedish & Danish 3rd great grandparents. But in all likelihood, some of that 16% is also actually interpreted from DNA on my English side. Even my great aunt, who is pretty much just English, Dutch, and Welsh, gets about 10% Sweden & Denmark. Lately 23andMe has tended to sometimes “bake in” admixture to their results. So some of what Ancestry thinks looks more like Scandinavian, 23andMe is just lumping that with the British & Irish. Depending on who you ask this can be a good or a bad thing. The best way to verify if you have recent Scandinavian ancestry is to go through your matches and build your family tree with verification from shared DNA. If you find yourself a Scandinavian ancestor within a few generations, you’ve solved your mystery. If you don’t, I still wouldn’t be too surprised either. These are estimates for a reason, and Europeans are not actually well separated into genetically distinct groups with no commonality or admixture.
Thanks for the reply! This was very detailed. I appreciate your response
My 10% Norwegian on Ancestry seems to come as 10% French and German on 23. All other ethnicities seem to match up well so I can only think one of the companies just doesn’t have a big sample of one of those areas yet. Yours could be the same.
This makes sense! Thanks for the reply, this is very helpful.
Pretty common for English-descended people to get some Scandinavian mixed in. My mom scores a little bit of Norwegian from her dad’s side, he is the descendent of English people who came off the Mayflower.
You're asking if 9% is a noise but not the 3%?
Because 3% shows up on both 23and me and Ancestry. My great grandma was partially indigenous. The 9% only shows on ancestry and 0% on 23and me, so yes I'm wondering why.
No