This article shows you how to compare DNA results with someone in your match list. If you want to compare DNA results with anyone who’s taken an AncestryDNA test or with multiple people at once, see DNA Compare.
- From any Ancestry page, click the DNA tab and select DNA Matches.
- From your match list, click the name or username of a match.
- Select the tab that matches what you want to do: compare Trees, compare Origins, or view Shared Matches.
- Trees: see if they have a tree (public, private, or unlinked), share any common ancestors, or have any matching surnames and birth locations in their tree.
- If their tree is public, scroll down to see a preview of it. If it’s private, you can message them asking for permission to view it. If they have unlinked trees, you can select a public tree to view or message them to ask to see their private trees. You can also message them and suggest they link a tree to their DNA results.
- On the left, see a list of common ancestors (people who appear in both your tree and your match’s linked tree). Click on a common ancestor to discover how you might be related to this match and see the relationship path (ThruLines) that connects you.
- Scroll to the Surnames section to see a list of last names that appear in both your tree and that match’s tree.
- Scroll down to Ancestor Birth locations to see a map of birth locations for ancestors that appear in both your tree and that match’s tree.
- Note: To see a preview of your matches’ trees or use the features that rely on access to trees (common ancestors, matching surnames and birthplaces in matches’ trees, and ThruLines), you must have an AncestryDNA Plus™ or Ancestry family history membership and a linked family tree. To link a tree to your DNA test, follow the steps in Linking a Tree to your AncestryDNA Results.
- Origins: see a comparison of your DNA regions with theirs.
- Shared regions are listed with your percentages on the left and their percentages on the right.
- Gray regions are unique to either you or that match—they don’t appear in both.
- Shared Matches: see which other DNA matches you share with the match you're viewing.
- Trees: see if they have a tree (public, private, or unlinked), share any common ancestors, or have any matching surnames and birth locations in their tree.