Family Tree USA – September 2019

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Ethnicity Estimates

DNA Q&A

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Q

Which DNA testing company

has the best ethnicity estimates?

A

First of all, there are three fac-

tors that aff ect the accu-

racy and usefulness of ethnicity

estimates you receive from a

testing company, no matter

which one you choose. We’ll

save the fi rst two (fancy math

and timing) for a later discus-

sion. But the most relevant to

your question are the reference

populations—the people a company

is comparing you against.

These reference populations are made

up of regular people living today whose DNA

can be used to represent the typical genetic

makeup of a particular area. Each person in

a reference population had grandparents who

all lived within 60 miles of each other in a par-

ticular place. But if a testing company doesn’t

have a reference population that refl ects your

ancestral makeup, your results won’t be able

to provide detailed, accurate information on

where your DNA is from.

For example, Family Tree DNA <www.

familytreedna.com> doesn’t have an ethnic-

ity category specifi cally for Ireland. So even

if you’re 100-percent Irish, you won’t fi nd the

term “Irish” in your DNA test results. Rather,

you’ll be in the “British Isles” category. That

result might not surprise you, but someone

with ancestry in Poland probably wouldn’t fi nd

“Broadly European” very helpful. That result

is technically accurate, but it’s too broad to be

interesting or useful.

So, to return to your question: The best eth-

nicity estimates will come from the company

that has your ancestral population(s) as a refer-

ence population. Each of the major companies

provides a complete list of their reference popu-

lations, so you can check that list to determine

which company may be best for your particular

mix of heritage.

All of the major companies are going to be

good at providing a basic background for those

of Western European descent. (Family Tree

DNA is a decent baseline.) But some companies

also excel in other areas of the world. Here’s a

quick rundown of the major companies and

their areas of expertise:

 (^) 23andMe: Eastern European or South/
Central American ancestry
 (^) AncestryDNA: DNA Migrations tools that
help researchers determine where their ances-
tors were in the last 200 years, and what larger
movements of people they may have been pa r t of
 (^) Living DNA: The United Kingdom, with 21
subsets that provide more detailed results there
(e.g., 12 percent Northumbershire, 6 percent
Devon)
 (^) MyHeritage DNA: Five Jewish reference
populations, plus some other unique popula-
tions like Indigenous Amazonian and Inuit
No matter which company you choose, be pre-
pared for changes and updates, as ethnicity esti-
mates are an ongoing area of research. 
Diahan Southard