At Ancestry, we’re continuously developing new ways to help you learn about yourself and your family history through DNA. Right now, the ancestral origins portion of your AncestryDNA results include 2 main types of results: ancestral regions and journeys.
Each is calculated using different scientific methods and provides unique insights. Knowing how they differ can help you better understand your results and what they can tell you.
Ancestral regions
What are they?
Ancestral regions show what percentage of your DNA looks most similar to DNA from people with long histories in a particular region. These regions can give you an idea of where your ancestors may have lived in the distant past and information about the people, culture, ethnic groups, and histories from that area. Read more about ancestral regions.
How are they useful?
Discovering what percentage of your DNA is linked to different places around the world can help you explore your deep ancestral roots and trace them through your family tree. You can also learn about the people, culture, and ethnic groups from these regions that you may be connected to, both past and present.
What is the time frame for ancestral regions?
Regions can go back 1,000+ years.
How big are they?
They tend to be bigger and broader areas than ancestral journeys.
What scientific method do they use?
To identify your ancestral regions and calculate their percentages, we compare your DNA to the DNA of people with known origins from around the world (called a reference panel). Based on that comparison, we show how much of your DNA is linked to each one with a percentage. If you’re curious to learn more, read our ancestral regions white paper.
Macro-regions group your more specific regions under larger, more stable labels defined by geography or population (e.g., "England" or "Celtic & Gaelic"). This structure aims to enhance clarity, comprehension, and stability of results year-over-year. Macro-regions are not a by-product of our analysis of your DNA and do not have an associated reference panel. For that reason, we haven’t assigned them a percentage. Instead, you can see what percent of your DNA we assigned to each of your more specific ancestral regions that are represented in our reference panel.
Macro regions
What are they?
Macro-regions group your more specific regions under larger labels defined by geography or population (e.g., "Italy" or "Celtic & Gaelic").
How are they useful?
They can make it easier to get a “big picture” of your results showing how some are related or different, especially if you have lots of regions that otherwise might be spread throughout your results. While regions will continue to change and be updated, macro-regions should remain more stable year over year.
What scientific method are they based on?
Macro-regions are not a by-product of our analysis of your DNA and do not have an associated reference panel. That’s why we haven’t assigned them a percentage. Instead, you can see what percent of your DNA we assigned to each of your more specific ancestral regions that are represented in our reference panel.
Ancestral journeys
What are they?
Ancestral journeys show where your relatives may have lived or moved in the recent past and describe some of the historical events they may have experienced. Read more about ancestral journeys.
How are they useful?
Journeys can reveal events your relatives may have experienced and offer glimpses into what their daily lives may have been like. They can also help guide your family history research by suggesting new places to search for records.
What is the time frame for journeys?
Journeys cover recent history within the past 300 years.
How big are they?
Journeys cover the shared experiences of groups of people over time and can vary in size. They’re usually smaller and more specific than regions but can also cover larger areas if their histories include cross-continental movements.
What scientific method are they based on?
Ancestral journeys are based on our Genetic Communities™ technology—a technology that identifies groups of AncestryDNA members who are most likely connected because they share fairly recent ancestors (~300 years) who lived in or moved to the same place at the same time. If you’re curious to learn more about Genetic Communities™ technology, read our ancestral journeys white paper.
Still curious to understand more?
Cool--we're glad you're as interested in genetics as we are. Check out our white papers to learn more.
Frequently asked questions
Can I share ancestral journeys with people who have different ancestral regions?
Yes, you can share ancestral journeys with people who have different ancestral regions.
Ancestral journeys cover recent history from the past 300 years, while regions can go back 1,000+ years. This means your relatives’ recent histories can be similar, while your distant ancestors’ histories differ. For example, people might share the North Carolina Settlers journey because their relatives settled there in the 18th century. But 100 years earlier, their ancestors might have lived in different places, like England, Scotland, Switzerland, or a Germanic state.
Why don’t all my family members have the same regions, percentages, and journeys?
Because DNA is passed down randomly from parents and each person’s DNA is unique. Family members won’t have the same regions, percentages, and journeys. Even siblings (unless identical twins) have different DNA, leading to different results.
Regions and their percentages are based on how someone’s DNA compares to our reference panel. Journeys come from a person’s DNA matches and the common places that groups of their matches are connected to. Since your DNA is unique, the regions it matches, the amounts for each region, and the people it connects to are different, resulting in different regions, percentages, and journeys.
Where can I find more FAQs about ancestral regions and journeys?
To find more answers to common questions, check out our AncestryDNA Regions and Journeys FAQ page.