This kind of thing always fascinates me - how DNA reflects on who we are and where we are from... on a cellular level!
For me, some of this is very much as expected - the close links to Orkney come through strong, West of Scotland was not particularly anticipated... Irish was. For me this just re-affirms a lot about who I am and where I came from.
For Jen it is a bit different... because she doesn't have that connection. The only group we really share is Danish and Dutch connections, which is about the equidistant point between our heritage groups (equally distant on both counts).
These are how closely our DNA is matched to current populations of these areas, however, and when you start peeking back into the more historic and ancient layers it gets a whole lot more complex! Interestingly we are both carriers of quite a lot of Viking DNA though, Jen more from Denmark/Southern Norway and Sweden and mine more in the northern areas of Norway and Iceland with more than a smattering of Pict and Gael for good measure!
Of course… once I start looking into my Mum’s side everything just goes crazy! Links to France and quite a strong link to French Royalty for starters… but equal links to Austraian Royalty which really took me by suprise!
Or - putting it another way - my links to Clan Abernethy are, apparently, my strongest link of anything… with 2.56% overlap in the DNA. Scottish Royalty is about 1.57% and Clan Sutherland… oddly given my name… down at 0.56%. Looking to the DNA inherited from Mum… Austrian, French and Spanish royalty show an 8.73% overlap EACH!
I think I shall be spending a lot more time on this working out my own roots as well as Jen’s! It’s a load of fun… and I am starting to think about various adventures to go and visit some of our ancestral homelands!