Ways to Trace Your Viking Ancestry
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- Опубліковано 20 тра 2024
- Great Sources and Tools Below
Among the 20 major Y chromosome haplogroups associated with Vikings are |1, R1a, R1b, G2, and N.
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🔍 Discover Your Viking Heritage! 🔍 Unravel the mysteries of your past and trace your roots back to the fearless warriors of the North with our comprehensive guide on tracing Viking ancestry. In this video, we'll dive deep into the world of genealogy, unveiling the best strategies and tools to unveil your Norse heritage.
🌐 Key Topics Covered:
Viking Genealogy Basics: Learn the fundamental steps to kickstart your journey into Viking ancestry research. From understanding family records to exploring historical archives, we've got you covered.
DNA Testing for Vikings: Explore the power of DNA testing in uncovering your Viking lineage. We'll guide you through the best DNA testing services and how to interpret the results to trace your roots back to the Viking Age.
Online Resources and Databases: Navigate the vast ocean of online resources and databases tailored for Viking genealogy. Unearth valuable information from digital archives, historical records, and specialized platforms dedicated to Norse heritage.
Visit Viking Strongholds: Take your journey offline and embark on a pilgrimage to Viking strongholds and historical sites. We'll share tips on planning your visit to key locations connected to Viking history.
Connect with Viking Communities: Join online forums and communities dedicated to Viking genealogy. Connect with like-minded individuals, share experiences, and gain insights into effective research strategies.
#VikingAncestry #GenealogyResearch #NorseHeritage #DNATesting #VikingGenealogy #AncestralRoots #FamilyHistory #VikingDNA #HistoricalArchives #OnlineGenealogy #VikingStrongholds #AncestryJourney #DiscoverYourPast #NordicHeritage #ScandinavianAncestry #VikingHistory
Ready to embark on an epic journey to uncover your Viking heritage? Hit play now and let the exploration begin! Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe for more fascinating genealogy content. 🚀 #VikingPride #AncestryAdventure #UnlockingHistory
00:00- Intro
01:45- What is Viking?
02:50- Nobility/Peasants
04:05- Last Names
06:30 Place names
07:45 Oldest records
10:00- Outside Scandinavia
10:45- UK
12:20- Mainland europe
13:30- East
15:00- More research
15:35- Physical Appearance
Thank you for pointing out my same concerns with these DNA test companies. Nefarious to say the least
My great grandfather was Jorgen Anton Erichsen from Drobak, Norway. He was a sailor, who jumped ship in Australia to pursue his fortune on the goldfields. Shame he didn’t find the mother lode.
it is Drøbak! no place called "Drobag" in Norway!
@@stigc.minkstuen Yes you’re correct. Slip of the fingers typing.
My matrilineal ancestry is Scandinavian. I'm Canadian so I guess that makes me a candi-scandi. Kidding. Stay safe and be well. Love from Canada. ♥
Scandinadian. Canavian. Canascandinavadian.
Scandi-candi
Listening to your video, family name check, family history check, check and check (but Scotland, England, Norway, Eastern Europe), DNA (back in the innocent days) and mom has done out family history back to the 800's.... but I'm fm 6'1', red headed when I was young, and while this is all nice, I think it's the heart, integrity, intelligence, fortitude, and logical mind that was given from our ancestors that matters. Thanks for all you do!
DNA tests can only go back 250 years. That’s 7 generations. At 7 generations you only inherit 1% ancestry from the 300 or 1,000 or so ancestors. You only inherit 12.5% from great grandparents and after that it goes down.
All my life, people kept saying I looked Scandinavian. It's even been the theme of various nicknames I've had since the 90's. I never understood it until I traced my family heritage. Both my paternal and maternal families stem from Norman royals who teamed up with William the Conqueror in 1066.
I thought it was just because I was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed metalhead with a strong interest in paganism. Hah! My version of Me started making more sense after that.
I've since migrated to Europe where I belong. My son will be born this winter.
Danish/Norwegian DNA in Normandy was quickly reduced because the original Viking settlers didn't bring brides with them, and married local women. Their children then went on to marry other men and women who had 0% Danish/Norwegian DNA, and so on. So most of Norman DNA is more likely to be Frankish, Burgundian, or something non-Germanic like native French/Breton (from Brittany), Roman, Gaul, etc. That's not to say that you don't have Viking ancestors. But this idea that Vikings are somehow genetically distinct from anyone with Germanic ancestry is based in pop culture. You're just as likely to get all those traits you listed from English ancestors, who would have originally been Woden-worshiping bear warriors from Angle, Saxon, and Jutish tribes. Or German ancestors, who were the same from the Suebi, Alemanni, Bavari, Franks, Saxons, and a myriad other groups. Or from Dutch, Belgian, or Swiss ancestors, who descend from the Alemanni, Franks, and Frisians.
Most of northwestern Europe is heavily dominated by DNA that originates in Scandinavia, and at least half of these people were converted to Christianity surprisingly late, in some cases just a few years before the start of the Viking Age (Frisians and Saxons). So that's not nearly enough time for there to be some hard barrier in the DNA between, say, Denmark and the Netherlands or Germany. There is no such thing as "Viking DNA." The Frisii, Goths, and many others used to harry and shout old Germanic battle cries in the name of Odin just like the rest.
I have traced my ancestral past back to the winnili, better revered as the langobard, as well as the visigoths, and the Angles..which I presume were in the Schleiswig Holstein region, I beg correction is this isn't correct. I love your channel, and Megi odin blessi thig!
Welcome home
I grew up in a small tiny fishing village in Southern Sweden. My childhood friend ( 5 years older than me) said he didn't like Norwegians UNTIL he found out that his ancestor were quite famous Norwegian viking Chieftain/ Jarl! There we go! He is an amateur genealogist.
Norse and sami here. I love my super-Nordic heritage :)
_(Thanks to a famous relative, I managed to get names "before rural" christianity)_
Fortunately for our family we have a (Norwegian) heritage book that goes all the way back to 1743 thanks to a great aunt who put it all together. Our family name is Holten in the Heidal / Vaage regions. The name changed to Hollin when my great grandparents came through Ellis Island in 1907. I'm now updating / digitizing our heritage book for my nephews and nieces. It's been fun looking through all the information even though many of the documents are in Norwegian.
dude you should absolutely contact the Gudbrandsdal Museum (in Vågå), there is a man working at the arkiv and he is writing a book about the families in the area. you will probably have a very interesting exchange of informations
My family has a book, too. We've been in North America for about 400 years and it has genealogical record from my generation back to the mid 1700s.
I spent a few days on the "myheritage" site and got results on my direct paternal line thanks to the church records and other people's work on that site. Results back to the 1400's. My earliest paternal ancestor lived in the same village I do now. I still live on the farm my maternal family has had since the 1300's, in a smaller town in Hustadvika, Northwest Norway. Both my last names from parents are descriptions of the type of landscape where the family farms are located.
That is so beautiful. I envy you!
That is so very interesting!
I used Family Search and my Mom's side was easy as there were records back to Aurich and Kessel, Germany to the 1500s. Finding my Dad's Czech side was much harder. I was able to finally find a church record book from the region I thought they were from based on the marriage records after coming to the USA. I had to scroll page by page for hours until I finally hit on it. It was a pretty cool feeling and I got everything from the town to the house number etc.
Wow. I stopped the video to read this one. Fascinating stuff. ♡
I am more interested in the culture of my Swedish ancestors. I thought my mother was directly German, but on her father's direct line, our ancestor was a Swedish soldier, fighting for Germany and the Netherlands in the 30 Years war with Gustavus Adolphus. He settled to farm in Germany after his military service. The Viking thing is interesting, but I just see it as an ancient Piracy, brought on by hunger and testosterone! I love this channel for the Pagan culture and Germanic history, etc. You do great work. I was adopted and was told my real father was Irish, but when I hired an investigator and took part in DNA testing, I found out my Y-DNA was called the "Dutch DNA" and my Maternal DNA used to be about 15% of Danish women, but has declined over the centuries. My DNA is Scandinavian, NW Europe, Germanic Europe and 25 percent Bato-Slavic, from my East German ancestors who lived in Kaliningrad Russia, so this channel is awesome to me.
Everybody had a long ship way back when!
I'm an American mutt with German, Scandi, .... [Lutheran swirl] and a bit of Russ. One Catholic ancestor way back when, makes me 1/32nd Irish and 1/32nd French. If we can judge by the names.
Remember,. it's not where you were, but where you're going! Do most of us find our ancestory in the new world is divided along religious lines? I am curious abouthat. Happy Yule !
Hi, interesting background, i advice you to look into old maps because the land as it is today was not same during old time. That is what some DNA companies miss out taking in. Take care! Jonny Stockholm Sweden
There wasn’t much else to do in those days. Many Vikings were also mercenaries. These were largely landless men, probably second or third sons with no property rights. They had the option of getting a “job” or living a life of adventure. The same could be said even in post Middle Ages in the 1700s. Only first borne and second borne could inherit land. One of my Scottish ancestors came over to the Smerican colonies for land as he was a third son. He only inherited the title of Sir. He got his land after his military service. In Europe many third sons or second sons would make a career in the military to gain wealthy, maintain status and to basically earn respect and sone authority (especially in Britain). My ancestor did this (a Stewart from Scotland) and he received an officers commission and land (for his service). His descendants would later be deported to Canada for being loyalists during the war of independence 😂 (my dad’s people are Anglo Canadians). I live in the state that Scottish ancestor lived in too and even in the same county which is an odd coincidence.
@@jonnyolsson3551 Yes, I have read about the history. I match more Danish people than Swedish with genetic matches, and I'm sure it is because of the border being in flux!.
A very interesting video, my mother recently carried extensive research into our family history and it turned out that our ancestors on both the paternal and maternal sides of the family where at the battle of Hastings. On my maternal side I’m related to Roger Bigod, a Norman Knight who became the first Earl of Norfolk. Through him I can trace my ancestry back to 732 in Norway. On my Father’s side I’m related to a Danish mercenary who fought for a Knight and was awarded land in Lincolnshire. I took a DNA test after we discovered this information and it showed me a being a large percentage Norwegian / Icelandic and Germanic. Interestingly I showed up with 8% each of Scottish and Irish - I’ve got no idea where that came from
Thank you for sharing!!
Thank you for a great video with lots of info.
Excellent video as always! Tusen tack! :)
You are so informative. Appreciate it
Greetings from viking dublin.
Olafson?
Fascinating stuff, thank you.
Happy Christmas from New Zealand 🙂
great video my man love the format and unbiases peace and calm
This channel has that balance of academic and magical, and I just love it so much 🌸
Kirkebok records are not that difficult to find. A lot of the Norwegian ones are online and are free to look at. You do need to know which parish your family is from though. Finding Scottish records is not necessarily all that easy in Caithness as there is a 1+ Generation gap in them.
Ty for continuing your amazing videos my friend …. I hope life is treating you very well 😎 ✌️ ❤️
I know that the original people who went to America (New Sweden) in 1641. Hans Mansson and Ella Stille. Other than that, I have 50% German and Frisian (mother’s side) plus about 30% from the British Isles. I swear to God, I have been haunted in my dreams as long as I can remember about “Going North”. I’ve lived in Singapore and Florida until I was 16 years old. I remember such a powerful feeling of not being where I belong. I think that my ancestors want me to go back to the old country. I feel so comfortable when I visit Seattle. The climate there is comparable to Northern Europe. I live in Texas now and cannot stand the heat. Before I even gotten my DNA tested, I had this fascination about moving to Stockholm (which is where Ella Stille was originally from!!!).
Good video thanks ⚔️ I hope it helps people out
Thank you for the info
This was so exciting to watch. I have family names ending in "sen" "berg" also names like Lund and Hansen, and many more. Some of my family went from Scandinavia into the UK, many came from Schleswig-Holstein and other places. I would love to really start doing some deeper research.
Thanks for the tips. Right now Im only back to the early 1800s when looking into my great great grandfather. So investigating records might be on the agenda when visiting Norway.
You have a new subscriber! Great videos!
I'm a big fan of your videos especially because of you debunking all the myths and pop-culture cultivated beliefs about Norsemen and Scandinavians across history. The ancestry information in Poland, where I'm from, is also not as accessible and stored as you mention about Scandinavia. Most of the records would be in churches or town halls, difficult to obtain for just your personal research. Knowing my ancestry only 3 generations has always frustrated me deeply, given how turbulent polish history was. I did jump on the heritage DNA test band wagon hoping it would bring about some more details. It came back saying I was 73.3% Eastern European (surprise, surprise), 15.1% baltic - makes perfect sense as we had a commonwealth with Lithuania for few centuries, 6.8% Balkan - again makes perfect sense, a lot of Slavic people have balkan and baltic roots, but what came as a surprise was 2.9% Scandinavian and 1% Finnish. Now looking at it globally I'm a diluted Slav with quite a rich heritage probably dating way way back. It also gave me a raw data i could run through my trueancestry site to find actual burial and excavation sites data linking to specific venues. Again this might be another gimmick, but it did really feel fantastic to see specific locations, excavation pictures and being connected to particular individuals as your ancestors - mostly ancient/medieval Estonian, Ukrainian and Swedish if to believe this site.
I have my family tree, was done by an aunt of mine..I have family still living in Karmoy west norway, hoping to visit one day. Thanks for the info , have learned so much from you! Blessed be
Thank you, this was very helpful. I'm lucky in that a lot of my ancestors were nobility and royalty so it has been easy to trace back to actual vikings as far as there are records. However, my closer Scandinavian and Northern German ancestroy has been much harder to trace, so I really appreciate this information.
The Norwegian on my mother's side is pretty well documented. They came from Bergen. Norwegian was spoken in my grandparents home. My father's side was pretty sketchy. One of my sisters made progress and connected with some long lost relatives. Turns out I'm 50% Scottish. Our Scandinavian genetics are pretty apparent. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and I have a red beard.
I'm basically the same, but half Danish and half Norwegian from my mother's side. My grandfather's parents were pure Scandinavian. I believe that most people of some mixed blood or ancestry will more strongly identify with their most prominent ancestral DNA background. I honestly don't identify with my Scottish ancestry. I dig Braveheart and would like to visit there. But yeah, this kinda stuff you can feel in your bones.
Thank you so much for this! I’m in the UK and expected my dna to show like 1% Scandinavian etc dna and I actually got a large chunk from Sweden, Norway, Finland and a tiny bit of Iceland as well as Europe and Britain and I spent months really deep diving both sides of my family and on my moms side we have a ridiculous amount of nobility and huge names from English and Scottish history and I come from the sister of Richard iiis which ended up back up to frickin king Rollo of all people! I expected a dead end or some peasant line that was impossible to track and I honestly was floored and I still can’t believe it months later, I keep thinking I got it wrong and recheck the sources and it amazes me, I’m quite closely related to princess Diana and the Spencer’s and all sorts, it’s absolutely mental to me, it’s so fascinating to be able to trace back so far, I’m quite grateful to have such upper class ancestors so it’s easier to track but still 😳😬 I was a child with almost white hair it was so blonde and I have blue eyes so that’s so cool it’s still coming through the dna so far down the line!
My grandma had an extensive genealogy done. My 1st traceable ancestor was Rolf The Viking. Also got some ❤druids in there. And I'm very in touch with it
I took one several years ago and got quite a surprise. I knew I was nearly entirely Russian on my dad's side, but on my mom's I learned I was mostly Germanic, Swedish, a bit of Scottish, and a tiny bit Slavic (that actually comes from my dad's side, I double checked the info)
Today (12/21) I uploaded my genetics into my true ancestry and they pinpointed my closest ancient ancestors as the Svear. Don't quite know how accurate that site is regarding DNA info, however. Definitely pretty cool.
I’ve been enjoying exploring your channel for a bit now. This one really inspired me to dig into my family tree some. Found out my mom’s side is Irish / English and my dad’s side is Italian / German / Swedish. I’m still researching before doing a dna test, but am excited to find out more.
Very informative. My paternal Grandmother was a Hetland of the former Hetland municipality of Norway, which included Stavanger, where my father was born. My paternal Grandfather was a Simonsen, “son of Simon”, both names representing the two examples you explained of how last names were formed. My father had the Viking look…blond, blue-eyed, Superman physique….very Viking like. Great video, Sir.
Thank you for this video Thor. I have been researching for years and everything you say is true, based on what I know!!! For those in the US -- please remember that there was a Swedish colony near Wilmington Delaware, established about 1638. It was called Ft. Christina. Look it up to find out more about it, and it does have some info on names of people that arrived in America at that time. The colony was abandoned, but some stayed. I was eventually able to trace my ancestor back to Kopparberg Sweden. Luckily the resources in Kopparberg are online and the people (friends) there have done a good job of preserving records and making info available. It takes some work, but it can be possible! My little known Kruze ancestor from Kopparberg is more precious to me in many ways, even more than my noble line (which yes, does go back to Rollo). I imagine him being very smart and strong -- staying here after the colony was abandoned. He would have traveled south and west based on my records. Eventually settling in the "wilds" of Western NC -- marrying into English, German, and American Indian families. (BTW Thor, part of my noble line also traces to Charlemagne --- so part pagan, part Christian -- appropriate, since my Mormon mother left the church and married my atheist father!! it is true!! 🤣)
Awesome!!
My maternal grandfather's grandfather's family came to the USA in 1896. I found the actual ship list. They came to live in Alabama & Mississippi. My grandfather is Howard Swendson, but the name spelling I found in Odd, Norway is Svensen. I'm hoping to travel to Norway by next year!!!
Thank you for this! I've been hesitant to use those DNA test companies for the reasons mentioned.
Thanks for the video. My mom did the DNA test. She was surprised to find out we have a lot of DNA from Scandinavia. She had a Scottish last name and expected that part but not the northern European part lol. Thanks again
Thank you for this amazing video. Latest genetic research out of Sweden states that the mitochondria from the mother, determines the heritage of the child. Look to your mother’s genealogy…her mother, her mother’s mother etc. It all comes down through the female.
These are the exact reasons why i have never taken such dna tests. But i know a lot about my mothers side of the family, our history goes back to the 1400s, French nobility from Normandy. We still have our titles and our coat of arms. My Fathers side come from the north in Scandinivia, unfortunately i don't know much about those ancestors.
Love your video's.
I’ve been working on my family tree for over 30 years. I have both my mother and my father’s side traced back to the 1600’s. Took a DNA test and had to erase my fathers fathers entire side of my family tree, since DNA shows we’re not related.
History and paper records don’t mean anything unless your DNA shows those records and history actually belong to you.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 🎉 My surname started in Yorkshire Northern England a long long time ago and my Grandfather was from Waterford Ireland.. Skelton is a Norse and Anglo Saxton name from the first Viking raids. I did a lot of searching. A lot
thanks for this insight - im deep into research on all this- including my matching ancient dna samples. you might like to hear what my research has been yeilding.
Exploring my family has always been very important to me. I've always known I had German roots due to my last name and my bestemor telling me the stories she heard from her oldeforeldre about our lineage, but also the Norwegian in our family. And then on my mothers side we're either Finnish, Russian or both, but those records have been lost to time other than knowing they were most likely railroad workers in the areas near Trondheim in the late 1800s. I always wanted to know more but have had a hard time finding any sorts of records. All I know for sure is I'm part German, part Eastern European and mostly Norwegian
Thanks to a very thorough research on my mother’s name Ruigrok, a family tree has been formed back to royalty back to Trojan ancestors in Creek history. Some go back to the Scottish bloodline to Engelbart. One goes to Martel 1, even biblical branches are being covered. I think the name Ruigrok can be traced back to Ragnar because its last name Lothbrock is similar to the clothing in the name Ruyghrock which means rough battle dress. The first mention of the last name is coupled to a person from Zeeland which can place it in the Netherlands and also Danish area!
Well said about the DNA. But there are certain programs and online resources you can use, which are very helpful. In Norway there was no act relating to names until 1923, so anyone could use whatever name they wanted. But there was and is a very strong tradition of keeping track of our ancestors. Most people came from a farm, and would use that name along with the patronymic.
I was adopted so had no choice but to do DNA checks (three different ones). My folks are small but I’m 6’3” 250 pounds with facial features you described and bright blue eyes. Results…Northwest Europe, England, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden and Northern France so I’m assuming I have “Viking” genes.
Great video keep up the good work. 👍😄
You are Nordic, brother.
@@c.antoniojohnson7114 I’m not the brightest but I’m thinkin so lol. 👍
My surname is Latimer , it means interpreter. It came to Britain with the Normans and translates to he who speaks Latin. My dna test was overwhelmingly northern British /Irish with a small amount of Norwegian. Also a smattering of Welsh . Coming from Liverpool , it makes me a typical scouser . Great video by the way mate . New sub
Have you looked into Queen Catherine Parr? She was Lady Latimer at one point! Could be interesting to see if you’re related to her or her in laws 🥰
Amazing advice about the mainstream DNA test kits… people should be very wary.
And thank you for making this video! I am lucky enough to have an extensive family tree that has been preserved of my Danish heritage and have knowledge of relations to Danish royalty hundreds of years ago. My grandparents and great parents have always claimed to know of Viking ancestry as well, but I haven’t been able to get concrete proof as their is not a ton of accessible genealogy info online in relation to Danish Vikings’ lineage. I’ve been at a standstill with this search for a while now, so the methods described in this video are greatly appreciated!
Your content is truly incredible, and I’m so grateful for all that you share with us.
Merry Christmas my friend!
The Vikings weren't some magical group of people whose DNA and culture were somehow separate from the rest of Germania. If you have English, German, Dutch, Swiss, or northern French ancestry, you're just as Germanic as someone with Danish or Norwegian ancestry. People worshiped Odin and went into berserker trances during Roman times, too, and those people went on to become part of countries like England and Germany. You don't have "Viking DNA" just because one particular group who has more or less the same DNA as Germans or Anglo-Saxons resisted Christianity for slightly longer than the others and used longboats to go raiding hundreds of years later. Frisian, Frankish, Alemannic, Angle, Saxon, Bavarian, etc. DNA is from the same genetic cluster, the languages are related, and the religion and way of life were originally the same.
When the Vikings first landed at Lindisfarne, they were raiding the great great grandchildren of the Germanic pagans from centuries earlier who had close marriage ties with Scandinavia, the same artwork on their helmets, the same myths, etc. In fact, your average Englishman along the east coasts of the British Isles, whether in London or Yorkshire, has up to fifty percent of their DNA coming from an original homeland in Denmark or southern Sweden prior to the start of the Migration Period.
As a 100% pure blood Scandinavian, I feel like you're coping hard.
The people of old Germania were only partly: Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria. / More central and eastern europe than western.
These people can to some extent claim Germanic, but NOT Scandinavian, as us Scandinavians evolved our "race" and culture seperate from the rest of Europe.
It's true that some of the Viking traditions originate in old Germania, but that does NOT mean that every person who has some Germanic blood can claim Scandinavian.
You also makes it sound like those who tests positive for a high percentage of Scandinavian ancestry who resides in the UK have so much Viking ancestry because their ancestors in (Denmark & Sweden) migrated there before the Vikings arrived, which is just laughable. If that were the case it would say Germany on the DNA test, not Sweden or Denmark.
The people of UK who have Scandinavian ancestry have so much Scandinavian blood because they got absolutely dominated over the course of centuries by the Vikings, not by peaceful migration before the Viking age.
@@Kain81023 There's so much wrong here that I don't even know where to begin.
First, as for this idea that native Scandinavians somehow have much more "Viking" DNA than the other Germanic territories: DNA tests have proven that Icelanders are up to 50% Celtic because of a massive intaking of Irish women as brides and concubines during initial colonization. Along the coasts of Norway, there is a decent amount of Portugese DNA due to naval trade in recent centuries. To the north, Sami ancestry is quite high.
Scandinavians did not evolve a "separate" culture from the rest of Europe. By the early 900's, they were already converting to Christianity, particularly in Denmark. They heavily intermarried in Russia among the native Slavic population. And in Normandy, the vast majority of DNA is Frankish, Gaulish, or Breton in nature, with only a small portion coming from Danes from the first generation of settlers. Sure, in the UK, up to 50-60% of DNA even in heavily Anglo-Saxon areas might be of Celtic origin, but in places like Frisia and Lower Saxony in northern Germany, there is actually more Scandinavian DNA than in Iceland, for example. These are areas with strong cultural ties between the Frisians and Saxons on the one hand, and the Danes and Norwegians on the other, with little input from Romano-Celts, Gauls, or other Celtic groups.
The reason for why Germanic ancestry implies original ancestry from Scandinavia is because that's the ancestral homeland of all Germanic peoples, and the DNA has changed little since the Iron Age, even if it has been "mixed" quite heavily (in all regions) over the centuries. So the actual "Germanic" component of the DNA is the same thing as what we might think of as a Scandinavian component, because that's just where these people came from. The Visigoths were a sub-branch of Goths, or Gutes, related to Beowulf's Geats. The Langobards came from southeast Sweden before winding up way down in Italy. The Vandals, Rugi, and Heruli all have their origins there, as well. Beowulf frequently makes mention of marriages and kinship connections between Geats, Swedes, Danes, and Wuffings, who later migrated as Wulfings to East Anglia in England with their Angle relatives, where the poem was preserved. The Saxon rebel leader was the nephew of a Danish petty king at the time of the building of the Dannevirke. The list goes on and on.
Odin did not exist in a vacuum. There was Wotan, Woden, Wodan, and Godan for a reason.
Your point about Viking ancestry in the UK is utter nonsense. I can link you to specific papers that break down DNA results in the UK by region. Whether East Anglia, the east midlands, or Kent, there is DNA categorized as North German, general German, Swedish, or Western Europe. In these studies, it is pointed out that it is almost impossible to tell the difference between North German and Swedish, and you have to combine the two groupings to account for both Anglo-Saxons and Danes. In other words, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Frisians, and Danes are almost genetically indistinguishable in these ancestral populations.
This idea that English people were "dominated" by Vikings is also nonsense. The Vikings did not arrive in the British Isles until 793, and even then things were slow going until larger, more organized armies gradually appeared with greater frequency going into the 9th century. These later Scandinavian migrations, particularly where the Danelaw eventually emerged, account for anywhere between 6 and 10 percent of English ancestry, depending on region. The other 30-40% of "Scandinavian" DNA in England is Anglo-Saxon in origin, and would have started appearing in the early fifth century, many hundreds of years earlier. This is the vast majority of DNA that is marked as either North German or Swedish in the studies.
Again, we can thank the Dannevirke for this separation between "Scandinavia" and continental Germania, and before Widukind's day and the campaigns of Charlemagne, there was no clear separation between Germany and Denmark on either side of the wall. Jutes and Angles were geographically much closer throughout history to Danes and Swedes than they were to Saxons. But all maintained regular contact until the official subjugation and conversion of the Saxons.
The East Anglians migrated from the Schleswig-Holstein region of northern Germany and parts of Jutland, bringing kin with them from Geatish and Danish tribes. They spoke the same proto-Germanic dialects, before the slight splitting between the North Sea and Northern branches occurred. They worshipped the same gods. The Sutton Hoo helm from the 6th century with twin dragon Odinic warriors dancing in ecstasy is further proof of this, as it was constructed at roughly the same time as similar armor was being made during the Vendel period in Sweden, with identical iconography.
You are a troll who doesn't have a clue. End of story.
Wait why are either of you replying to my comment with this…? I’m not saying Vikings were some magical group of people whose DNA is this or that as both of you have said. I am purely sharing my understanding of my own personal family tree and lineage. Our ties to the royal family in the 1600’s and 1700’s is an absolutely confirmed fact. My family has also as far back as I can tell in our genealogical records had the understanding that we were descended from a Viking community. I am lucky enough to have extensive and detailed records of my family’s ancestry, and yet I’ve not been able to find much on our direct tie to Viking peoples in Denmark. That’s all I was saying! 🙃
Thank you for putting together a basis on researching Scandinavian ancestry. As an amateur genealogist, I have traced my Grandfather's birth to the Eide farm on Holsnoy Island, Southeast of Bergen. My Grandfather and his sister settled in Minnesota, USA. Through my cousin's research, I have found a genetic link to King Charlemagne. Also, a link to King Harald Fairhair. It is on my bucket list to visit the island where relatives still live.
Minnesota Is full of Viking DNA!
in my family, somewhere down the line we went from Anderson to Berge after we took over a farm.
My grandma came over from Norway in 1934, her family were farmers. Their last name, Kvernplassen (I think I spelled that correctly) came from the farm they are from and still bears the same name today. I'm not sure what or if they had a last name before that. I never felt the need to try and connect my ancestors to vikings but maybe that's because I have so much family there still. I do love you're channel though and learning more about the history.
Your last name means “Mill or grindstone place” in Norwegian.
Yes, it was a mill for a long time before they began farming there. I'm a little surprised they didn't change their name to Miller when they came here. Instead, they went with the tried and true Olson. @@ketle369
The earliest ancestor I know of was born in 1410 in the northern port city of Lubeck, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Who knows if those previous to Peter Merklin engaged in viking, but I've got the height, stature, fair hair, and blue eyes to play one on Halloween!
3:30 - basically Church Books in translation. Fridtjof Nansen is part of the collage of this video (as the featured picture of it) as well as Erik the Red discovering Vinland (i.e. Newfoundland in Canada).
00:10 My favorite thing about you.
00:33 My 2nd favorite thing about you.
Mom's maiden name was Engebritson, out of Norway (I was told Oslo area when I was a child) and Grandpa's name was Gisle. I'm 3rd gen American and have never met a family member actually IN Norway.
Furthest we can trace our family is medieval York, which was of course a Viking city and region, and later Norman-ruled, so can reasonably infer Viking ancestry. Have visited York several times, but hope to visit up north in Scandinavia some day. So vastly different a climate from where we now live in Australia.
Hello, I'm a Jensen here - one of the most common names that has proven impossible to trace. I only know my ancestry is mainly Norwegian and Danish; my great grandparents immigrated from the southernmost region of those countries in the late 1800's, but they sadly did not pass their family histories to their children. I look forward to using your information to potentially puzzle together my lineage! Thank you as always for your content, Skal!
Hello fellow Jensen
Clan Gunn here in America.. Yes you are very right about genetics... We only need look in the mirror to know.. Great video. Thanks.
I've done a lot of genealogy work on my family. As was noted in the video, people didn't move around much, so when you find ancestors prior to the mid 1800s they've typically always been in that place. In fact the vast majority of my ancestors lived the past 800+ years in Sunne, Värmland, Havrebjerg Sogn, Denmark, and a couple of villages in Friesland. I was able to trace thousands of ancestors in those places almost entirely through church records. And my genealogy history kind of ends where those church records begin. There are a few exceptions. For instance my German ancestor who moved with his father (a Lutheran Minister) to Sunne 500 years ago. And the one branch of the family from the Rhineland. There is something about that which is comforting, especially in these modern times where people move all over the place constantly... it can feel as though we are rootless or unmoored. Knowing my people were there in those places for so long feels good.
Finding each of my ancestors who established our family/sur names was super interesting. Even stranger by today's standards was finding countless instances of ancestors who named their first sons after them selves, and seeing the names Nils Nilsson or Jan Jansson repeated over and over again...like a glitch in the records. LOL.
So much of the local records from Sweden and Denmark are available online now. It makes the research so much easier than it was even 10 years ago.
I have a Hans Hanson from Bergen. All his boys took the last name Bergen.
My son and grandson showed a small amount of Scadanavian/Viking ancestry from my husbands side, not mine. I didn’t realize people found this to be so favorable!
Hi mate hope all is well just seeing when you gonna do the calendar holiday guide flag
For as down under
Facebook and Reddit Pagans are a fascinating group,i like your style. Happy Yule to all my Nordic brothers and sisters.
Thanks for a informative and interesting channel, be aware do that the country borders looked different during Viking age, what you call Norwegian Vikings today you must ad some parts of Sweden because of that the land borders where different, same for Danish Vikings where you need to ad south of Sweden into it, so better to talk about West, South and East of Scandinavian Vikings. Jonny😊😊
The Mormon church has records galore, on just about every family in this country. "U.S.A." A very good place to start. There, and the counties in which your grandparents were born and or married. Family bibles...
The Mormons run all the genealogical sites. It all started from their internal record keeping for their "Baptism of the Dead" practice. Then they realized they can make money off all the data they gathered.
Nice ive looked into the family Crests and the Coat of Arms I'm inthrauld with what Ive found wow
My last name is Bain. It’s Irish/Scottish and it was a lot of fun to learn my family history.
Jensen family traced to a small farm in Rousthøje , Denmark in mid 1800s. Exactly like you mentioned! Records come from the Rousthøje kirke with help from family.
Always wonder how long they lived there and had their farm.
Jensen is also like the most common last name ever for a Dane.
Love this informative video...great for you drawing attention to the importance of dna testing by properly qualified people!!
I can honestly say and proud of my Scandinavian ancestry in my family tree. Orkney are in the Orkney saga. I have Norwegian , Norman, Danish ,Finland, Swedish , germanic. My family names are johnson, smiths, Fitzgeralds, Coates, just a few of the names , one name still resides in the orkneys. The Scarths family!
Anyway thankyou for the talk . God yule 😊🧙⚔️
I can trace my ancestry directly back to Tancrede the Viking and Rollo, pretty cool. Also a Gunn which I can trace to ancient Scotland on my mother's side who came to America in the 1600's, plus Rasmussen and Andersson which I can only trace to their arrival points in the US in the early 1800's, from Denmark and Sweden respectively.
My father's side are Gall-Ghàidheil who ended up being Scots Irish and coming to America in the 1700's. Lots of Scandinavian DNA in my family.
My tree has way to much to it.. im part scottish , irish , northern English, German ,and Scandinavian.., also will u ever do videos on certain houses (familys)/clans? Just found yer channel, also im right at 6ft and i have all the facail features..
Well i'm fully Swedish, which Ancestry DNA (89% Swedish, 5% Finnish, 4% Norwegian and 2% Baltic) and 23andme (96% Scandinavian and 4% Finnish) also corroborated.
I'd be highly shocked if i DIDN'T have viking ancestry haha.
I also checked every physical apperance box except i have brown hair instead of blonde.
lol still welcome to the club
I believe there are also emigration records in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, just probably not centralized; they seem to be kept in the major coastal towns from which the ships left - this is probably only of use if you are in the New World (that is, primarily US and Canada). If you're in the US or Canada, it can be difficult to locate the name of the ship, but it can be done, and if you do know the ship or year, it's another step closer.
I’m 4th generation 100% Norwegian family farm still there, talk to cousins occasionally 😀 helix test shows western Scotland and Ireland
This is such an interesting video! Agreed...do not trust the DNA BS tests! I am fortunate enough to have royalty in my family tree and as you say, am able to trace my lineage way back beyond even the vikings. And I am honored by the Vikings, Saxons, and royal houses that I am connected to. I can even find pictures of some of the castles they lived in, the banners they carried, and the family crests as well. But what I have discovered in tracing it back is just how interconnected it all is. The farther back you go, the more you can see how the blood lines intermingled. Because the vikings traveled so much, their bloodlines are scattered all across many regions (as you said). And many of them married into royalty. Their blood is mixed with many cultures. And it amazes me just how diverse it all is! But I am Proud to call my self Viking! It also seems fitting to my personality! Thanks you so much for sharing this information!! P.S. I Love your store! I am Penny.... the one who buys so many things from you! You have the best Authentic items!
The closest thing to royalty I have is Danish aristocracy banging his mistress full of babies in the 1700s.
But given the rest of my family are Danish farmers, living in Denmark, we all have danish names and look Danish, I find it pretty likely that I may in fact be a little Danish.
There are family names in Greece with the name Varangis (Βαραγκης). There is an upscale furniture store I pass every day, a few minutes from my home and, actually named Varangis (Βαραγκης) with a website and they have stores throughout the middle east. Very beautiful furniture. Other surnames feature Varangi as part if it are: Varaggoulis (Βαραγγουλης) for example.
Greatness
My father is Danish, the family name ends in “sen”. According to Farmor my ancestry goes way back as you described to a village. So who knows if there were actual Vikings on Far’s side of my ancestry, or if they were just farmers or some other profession needed within their village. My mother is from England & according to my cousin’s research there’s more than likely a few Vikings in the mix on her side of the family. I’m told I look distinctly Scandinavian & I definitely look more like Farmor than anyone else in my family. My main interest is working out which pre-Christian beliefs & traditions are relevant to me & my ancestors, to think there might be actual Vikings in my ancestry is kind of fun though.
My grandmother's maiden name was Magnuson and the Magnusson family moved to the US in the mid 1800s from Sweden. When I did my family tree, indeed the Swedish line was hard to follow, but I did find alot of German, there was some Danish, a little Scottish and French.
Omg you mentioned our last name!! Scotland. 💕
A Q what about the name Bergman? Rather than as you mentioned -berg last names ?
Bergman as far as I know in Swedish means miner. And mines in Sweden are mainly in the upper part of the country.
Hopes this gives you a start/trace.
I tested through Ancestry and Did find my birth father and tested with both my half sisters through independent test and we match. So, I have to give some kudos to the tests. I know there has been some issues but mine worked out well. Yea, my dad's family is Norskog and there still IS a Nordskog farm in Norway but I can't find anything on it really. The name Was originally Nordskog but when my great-grandfather move to the US they dropped the D. They are from Fyre, Telemark areas. I'm 1/3 Norwegian. Tall, slender (when young), slender facial features-BUT-Darker hair & green eyes, lol. I have to laugh because you and my middle son look Alot alike. I was surprised when I first started watching your videos lol. Infact, my oldest son walked in just now and thought you Were his brother, lol. It's really uncanny. Same looks, same build and about same age, lol.
Yeah I took some DNA tests and got some good results with it, it matches all the research I’ve done on my own. I guess it feels weird knowing a company has all that data, but idk what they could even do with it to harm me. They at least claim that the data remains anonymous on their end.
My Grandmother's name was Rigmor Mortensen. She was born in America, her parents were directly from Denmark 🇩🇰 My Great Grandfather went by George in America, but his name was Ragnar.
My great-great grandfather came over from a small village in southwest Sweden in the 1800’s. We’re all over 6 foot tall and most of us (myself included) have blue eyes. Trying to do more digging on my family history but I’ve hit a wall.
Thank you kinsman
My brother went really deep into our family tree and we hit royalty, so we could go back really far and.... My 34x great grandfather was Ragnar Lothbrok :) and it was through 3 of my 4 grand parents, from 3 of Ragnars sons, who did exist. My brother also discovered a bunch of cool family shields, all together very interesting :)
I have a lot of the physical features of modern Scandinavians that you mentioned at the end ,but I have some Swedish DNA from ancestry DNA and I wonder if it can be trusted like you said....i did find the name "Lunt" in my family surnames .. i read it comes from surname "Lund".. it is English but comes from norse peoples .
12:45 yep William the Conqueror who descended from Rollo, I have videos about this on my channel
Yes that's exactly what I have always said about the DNA
Finally someone that gets it
Interesting video. I don't know much about my family in Scandinavia. In Normandy France it was de Brionne then after 1066 it became de Clare. My line is from Rollo they say he was from Denmark or Norway. Anyway de Clare are a noble Norman family in UK. My ancestor was William Clare here in Jamaica W.I. I did a DNA test on male line was I M170 need to look more into my family tree.
Oldest people I know of from my family were born in the 1580's, but Im 100% certain my family lived in Sweden, Norway, Denmark during the Viking age as well. It's beyond clear that Im North Germanic seeing how all my relatives have looked. The genes are obvious.
Found out that my family Tree went back to the 1600's in the Netherlands and were coppersmiths in Nijmegen in that time.
Also had a dna test and i'm north western european,Dutch British.
My true Ancestry is a good one, it's based in Europe.... I have been link to Royalty and to a Celtic Gladiator too by way of archeology... Very interesting.......
I have mostly Västgötskt ancestry, but also a few further back family branches stretching out into Värmländskt and Närkiskt ancestry as well.
👍 I have looked into ancestry but I was doing genealogy with my grandma before anyway, and we (my family) all know we come from poor French farmers who were driven out of France by a protestant king for being Catholic, then out of Canada for losing the French & Indian war to the Brits. Louisiana is where all of us are buried since 1700.
I'm the one member of my fam that moved to Tennessee and married a Pagan man. His ancestors are Norse and Welsh.
I was able to trace my family back to the Norman invaders. Apparently the last name was taken after the invasion when they then settled in Wales. They were game keepers and had pear orchards. Also according to our crest knights.
I've never taken a DNA taste but I can trace my family back to a farm outside of Trondheim. My great-grandfather, Niel Nelson, the greatest man I've ever known, taught me a funny little poem when I was young. He'd recite it with a proud smile:
A tousand Svedes
Ran t'rough da veeds
Chased by vun Norvegian
🇧🇻
I love you, Papa🫡❤️🔥
Im pretty sure that there's some Finnish underworld Laplander thing that's kept me and those before me under the radar and suppressed. I say this because of the way synchronicity bounces and ripples into and around my environment