Map of frequency of my Y-chromosome (father’s father’s father’s…etc.) [From here]
My Y-chromosome line is R1b-U106, determined by a professional test my father did last year. Above is a map of its distribution in Europe today. The darker the color, the more men native to that region have this Y-chromosome.
My father had this Y-chromosome, as did his, father, and his father before him, and so on. Every man’s Y-chromsome is passed on in the same way as we pass on surnames. All those with R1b-U106 will share the same male ancestor (father’s father’s father’s father’s….etc.). Nobody really knows how long ago or where that man lived.
My father had this Y-chromosome, as did his, father, and his father before him, and so on. Every man’s Y-chromsome is passed on in the same way as we pass on surnames. All those with R1b-U106 will share the same male ancestor (father’s father’s father’s father’s….etc.). Nobody really knows how long ago or where that man lived.
Whoever that Stone Age man was, he has millions of descendants alive today: 20% of Englishmen, 19% of German men, 17% of Danish men, 13% of Swiss men, and an astonishing 35% of Dutchmen. Also, 15% of White American men. This means that in the USA, about 15 million men have this Y-chromosome line; tens of millions more in Europe. (Sample sizes for these are not big [Wiki], so give or take).
Famous people known to be R1b-U106 (from here):
Famous people known to be R1b-U106 (from here):
- U.S. Civil War General (and later President) Ulysses S. Grant,
- U.S. President Polk,
- The royal Bourbon line of France, including the king they beheaded after the 1789 French Revolution (multiple descendants tested to determine this).
Because this just deals with a shared patrilineal ancestor some large number of generations ago, it actually doesn’t tell anything directly about a person’s overall ancestry. For that, another test is needed (which is not yet totally reliable).
Note on Names: The R1b-U106 Y chromosome variant is sometimes called R1b-S21, other times called R1b-M405, and formerly called the totally-unmemorizable “R1b1b2a1a1”. That’s what we get for the field of genetic testing being so new. From what I can tell, by 2014, R1b-U106 is now the dominant name.
Note on Names: The R1b-U106 Y chromosome variant is sometimes called R1b-S21, other times called R1b-M405, and formerly called the totally-unmemorizable “R1b1b2a1a1”. That’s what we get for the field of genetic testing being so new. From what I can tell, by 2014, R1b-U106 is now the dominant name.