Autosomal DNA testing has become an amazing tool for identifying ancestors and for verifying your genealogical research. It traces a person’s autosomal chromosomes, which contains the DNA we share with our relatives both maternally and paternally. But did you know there’s a less talked-about DNA test that focuses directly on your father’s line?
With Father’s Day almost here, let’s focus on Dad’s paternal line.
Our male ancestors have carried the Y chromosome or Y-DNA along their migrations for all of existence, passing its variations from father to son in a direct male line of descent. Because the Y chromosome is passed from father to son virtually unchanged, males can trace their paternal or male-line ancestry back thousands of years. A Y-DNA test can trace your father, his father, his father’s father and so on, down the male line. Because the Y-chromosome is male specific, females can’t take this test. We can, however, learn about our paternal line through a man directly related to our paternal grandfather.
But, all is not lost, ladies! If you have a relative with whom you share a common male ancestor, ask him to take the test for you. Biological relatives sharing the same paternal line as you include: your father; your brother (of the same father as you); your paternal grandfather (your father’s father); your paternal uncle (your father’s brother, sharing the same father as him); and your paternal cousin (a male cousin with the same paternal grandfather as you). Basically, it’s not enough for the relative to be on your father’s side of the family. They must be on your father’s side and share the same paternal line as him. If you have a half-brother from a different father, sorry, but that’s a no.
In my opinion, DNA results in general have no real meaning when taken on their own. The value comes in comparing your results with other individuals to whom you think you might be related. Along the paternal line, Y-DNA can be used to verify whether two individuals are descendants from the same distant paternal ancestor, as well as help connect you to others who are linked to your paternal line. Y chromosome testing can uncover a male’s Y chromosome haplogroup, too!
Never heard of a haplogroup? Simply stated, a haplogroup is the ancient group of people from whom one’s paternal and maternal line descends. As most haplogroups arose more than tens of thousands of years ago, these pieces of DNA basically reflect your very, very ancient ancestry. So, it’s quite possible for two people to share the same haplogroup but no recent ancestry. Your haplotype will be the same as all the males who have come before you on your paternal line.
Since DNA testing can’t identify the common ancestor that you share with another individual on its own, a useful application of the Y-DNA test is the Surname Project, which brings together the results of many tested males with the same surname to help determine how (or if) they are related to each other. By far the largest collection of Y-DNA test results is maintained by Family Tree DNA. Y-DNA results will show you all the events your paternal Y-DNA went through — its origins, evolution, and migrations.
We can’t expect a DNA test to present your complete family history through a single swab but with additional research it can help build a full history of your roots.