In this blog post I will be sharing what you can expect for Ancestry DNA Test Results.

I break down the different sections of information provided – Story, Inheritance, and Matches.

A few months ago I wrote an article discussing the risks and rewards of genealogical testing.

If you haven’t taken a DNA test but are curious about the process I recommend you read: Risks and Rewards

(Throughout this article may be affiliate links and ads. There is no extra cost to the buyer, thank you for supporting my blog!*)

DNA Story Results

“Your DNA Results Summary” leads you to a dashboard page that shows all the options to explore. 

So once you take a test, your results on the website will be broken down into categories:

• DNA Story- Ethnicity
• Maternal / Paternal Inheritance
• Family Relative Matches

The DNA Story outlines your ethnicity, inheritance, communities, and matches. The results of these sections will vary over time.

Ethnicity

The ethnicity estimate is how Ancestry.com, “compares your DNA against a worldwide reference panel to see which populations your DNA looks most like.”

So it basically is seeing how your results align with other people from around the world. 

This provides the opportunity for changes and new information over time. Ancestry.com will alert you if an update is released and causes changes to your results. 

I think there is a misconception that it means your results were wrong the first time around. However, my interpretation is – as more people contribute DNA, there is more information to work with.

Ancestry compares DNA samples to groups of people that have lived in one place for a long time.

Your ethnicity will be displayed both on an interactive colorful world map, and a list of percentages. 

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Example:

At the time of writing this article (March 2023) my Ancestry DNA test results of ethnicity are listed as:

• 37% Eastern Europe & Russia, Southeast Poland
• 21% England & Northwestern Europe
• 12% Germanic Europe
• 9% Sweden & Denmark
• 6% Northern Italy
• 6% Ireland
• 5% The Balkans
• 3% Scotland
• 1% Wales

When viewing your results, click each percentage line item. It will show you the geographical location on the world map.

Maternal or Paternal DNA Inheritance

This section is new from the year 2022! You can view the information in either a colorful circle chart or in a columned list. 

The DNA percentages are divided into two sections:

• One for Paternal (Father’s side)
• One for Maternal (Mother’s side).

The only catch here is you have to identify which set of results are from your Father versus Mother. 

For example, I knew my small Italian percentage came from my maternal-grandfather, based on family research. So I labeled that column as Maternal. 

You’re probably wondering- well how can Ancestry.com figure out the two sides of DNA?

They have a new technology program called SideView, which uses segments of identical DNA with other matches to split your results in half.

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Side Note

Before we dive in to Matches I want to share a couple of notes.

A lot of people assume once they take a DNA test, all the information will be magically provided to them. And unfortunately, that is not the case. 

It helps to personally know or research, a least a little bit of family background details to help understand what your results mean and who your matches are. 

Without that knowledge, you may just be looking at a list of names you don’t recognize. 

For tips on starting the process, I recommend this article: Starting a Family Tree

Another unfortunate thing to keep in mind and prepare for, is you may match with someone that either:

1. No longer logs in to their account
2. Doesn’t respond to messages
3. Sadly may have passed away

But in the scenario the person passed away, please don’t completely rule out the opportunity of contact with that family line. Someone else may be able to respond to you.

Personally I have access to my grandfather’s dna results and his account.

I plan on keeping it because I can continue to monitor updates and respectfully acknowledge any messages he may receive. 

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DNA Matches 

Now the DNA matches are both a very fun, and at times overwhelming aspect of viewing results.

You may be like me. I come from what I consider a small family, yet I have over 19,000 matches!

18,000+ on my paternal side and 1,950 on my maternal side. Like, how in the world can that be!? (LOL) 

But it also goes to show how many people have taken tests. 

And I fully admit, I have absolutely no clue who a lot of these people are. And I took my test 3 years ago and have been doing family research for about 8 years.

However, there have been times I connected with a new found relative. Which was so exciting!

To read more articles about family research click here: Genealogy Posts

View Your Family Matches

Okay so now, when you are ready to view your Ancestry DNA test results of matches, this is what you will see.

A list of names, possibly broken down by parent.  (I say possibly because this is a very new program)

The named matches can be sorted by Relationship (close to distant relative) to Date (Newest to Oldest)

Once you select a profile to view, you will see their:

• Account Name
• Relationship to you
• Percentage of Shared DNA
• Inheritance Side
• If it is public, a link to their family tree
• Sometimes a number of how many other people you match it 

For the Relationship, it may not be fully accurate but it will give you a general idea of how they are connected.

This also improves over time as more people test. 

For example, when my grandparents took a test, it showed as ‘close relative to 1^st cousin’

So Ancestry knew we were closely related but didn’t quite now how. Whereas now after updates, it says Grandfather / Grandmother.

For the shared DNA it will say something like “1,500 cM | 30% shared DNA”

You’re probably wondering- what the heck is a cM? (at least I felt that way LOL)

So helpful terms defined by Ancestry.com:

“cM: The total amount of DNA you share with your matches as measured in centimorgans (cMs). The higher the number, the more closely you are related.”

“Segments: The DNA you share with your matches is distributed across segments- short segments, long segments, or some combination of both. The length of the longest segment you and a DNA match have in common can help determine your relationship. Often, sharing fewer, longer segments indicates a closer relationship.” 

To learn more about how Ancestry calculates matches, visit: https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Making-the-Most-of-AncestryDNA-Matches

Conclusion

I hope this article helped to share some insight in understanding Ancestry DNA Test Results.

Please let me know in the comments if you have any questions or want to share your genealogy outcomes!

To read more articles about family research tips, please click here: Genealogy Posts

Family Tree Book:

Our Family Tree Book from Peter Pauper Press

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