Question of the Week: Do you have Scandinavian roots?

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Do you have Scandinavian roots (i.e. Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland)?

According to my latest AncestryDNA summary I have 1% in Sweden.  But I don't have the paper trail there. Yet.

How about you?

P.S. Reshare the question image on Facebook so your friends and family will see your answer.

in The Tree House by Eowyn Walker G2G Astronaut (2.4m points)
edited by Eowyn Walker
I knew by paper trail that I should have about 12.5% Norwegian, as one of my great grandparents was from Norway. Originallly Ancestry didn't find any Scandinavian at all but with it update it shows 15% Norwegian and 14% Swedish. Not exactly sure where the Swedish came from but I suspect it's my brick wall at my great grandmother whose maiden name was Jacobson.
My great grandfather [[Vik-61|Einar Evan Vik]] and his parents [[Olsen-5157|Even Olsen Vik]] and [[Thoresdotter-19|Alvilde Thoresdotter]] immigrated from Norway to the US in 1884. I haven't dug too deep into this side of the family yet but am looking forward to it.
Same here 23andme.com says I have 6.8 percent Scandinavian roots particularly from denmark. But as of yet i have not discovered it on my family tree chart yet.

My Ancesstory.com shows 27% but have not found any ancestor from there yet. Only a few weeks left before subscription expires, so....may not learn of those sad

My mother's paternal grandmother was Sarah Lund from PEI. My DNA at Ancestry changed from 20% Scandinavian to 2% Norwegian. FTDNA has me at 13% Scandinavian.23andme puts me at 2% Scandinavian. As there is French, Irish and English in my DNA there is bound to be Scandinavian. Unfortunately, I know nothing about my gr grandmother. Her family may have come from England to PEI, or from Ireland. No way to find out.
2% trace of Sami on both mTdna and autosomal...many matches with Finnish and Swedish surnames, but no paper trail. I believe this must go back many many generations.
I'm supposed to have 2% Norwegian and 2% Swedish, but I haven't found them yet. Most of my ancestors were from Scotland and Ireland, so I figure it came through that.
I'm sure that applies to me as well...Ulster Scots families...Patterson, McClain, McNevin, Mountain, etc.
My Mother was 100% Swedish, as were her parents.  In doing genealogy which is very available in Sweden, I sense that he father's family much earlier came from Norway to Goteborg.  I found the understanding of patronymics was essential in tracing the Swedish side to the family to the early 1700's.  The Swedish genealogical dictionary from FamilySearch was also essential as will as maps.  What is difficult now is using DNA results to figure out how we are related?  I've connected with only one person as I recognized their name and they lived in the 1900's with a stable surname.
Hi

My uncle on my father’s side took the DNA test and had Scandinavian ancestry. The latest update suggests, 3% and 2% Sweden and Norway. Otherwise, he is 89% English and Welsh, with a little Scottish and Irish to complete. The results are a little misleading, in that ancestry also sits in Flanders, Belgium and France, according to the illustrations of migration involved. Fascinated me though. We didn’t know who my paternal great grandfather was previously and have narrowed this down to a high likelihood etc. Many thanks Janet pp Geoffrey Oswald Gell Thompson.
Very surprisingly, yes! I have no paper trail yet, but my DNA showed 19.2% Scandinavian! Excited to figure it out and suspect it may be on my paternal grandfather’s side since I’m hitting some brick walls there.
Yes, my paternal grandparents were from different areas in Sweden.  They met and married in Duluth, MN in the 1910's.  Ancestry DNA shows 40%  Sweden, 24% Norway, 5% Finland.  I've been learning how to use the Swedish records and hope to someday find the Norwegian and Finish connections.
One thing to perhaps consider is that the Scandinavian roots may be indirect. Remember that up and down the eastern coast of the British Isles had Vikings and Scandinavian raiders rape, pillage, and even settle. If you have ancestry from the British Isles and have unexplained Scandinavian roots, this could be an explanation.
Since I have a paper trail back to the 1600's with NO Scandinavian relatives whatsoever, I asked Ancestry why the 15% Scandinavian entry on my chart.

They explained to me that the DNA goes back 1000 years and that "Scandinavian" was simply a term to cover Viking ancestry. That made sense to me. And oddly enough, the "Scandinavian" did NOT come from the British side of my family but from the Slovakian side of my family.  Most all of my Slovakian DNA relatives also show "Scandinavian" in their reports, but none of my British relatives.

But now, perhaps as a result of similar complaints, Ancestry has redone my "Pie" leaving out "Scandinavian" all together and substituting "Baltic States" instead.

I don't know whether that was to distinguish which group of Vikings were my ancestors and to show that they came from around the Baltic and NOT from Norway or what? But I am rather disappointed that they removed the "Scandinavian" terminology all together.
My 2x great grandmother mother had the maiden name Norris and descends from the Norris’s family who were messengers of the King of Norway in the 11th and 12th century.
My DNA shows 15% Scandinavian but, although I have more than 5000 names on my tree, I have not found a connection yet. It is the biggest puzzle in my DNA.
How do we get off from receiving all these replies after this question?  I replied and now receive every ones replies to the question on having Scandinavian roots.  I was very surprised at having Scandinavian roots when I did my DNA.  I was always told by my father that we were Scotch, Irish and German.  So for me, our Scandinavian roots had to have been from way back in Viking days.
You must remember that the Vikings colonized most of the northern half of Ireland and much of Scotland, so of course there would be Viking or "Scandinavian" blood in your Irish and Scottish roots.
Yes, my paternal g.grandmother Youngberg (Yjoungberg) was from Stockholm, Sweden and my paternal g.grandfather came Goteburg, Sweden. My Ancestry DNA shows 29% Scandinavian. I know that my great grandmother's parents were both born in Sweden as were their parents. I don't know about my g.grandfather's parents as they never came to the U.S. Would love to track their ancestry back to Sweden but he changed his name from Johannson to Schultz when they immigrated in 1870, and Johannson is a common name, so the search is difficult. Interestingly, we were always told they met on the ship to the U.S. and in fact, they each came on the same ship from Sweden to England and then the same ship to NYC, but they came six months apart.  She was an indentured servant and worked for a family for a year or two to pay her passage, We now believe they met on a ship from NYC to Savannah, GA but have not been able to find a source to confirm.
My 3rd great grandfather came from Hamstad, Sweden.  His name was Charles Axel Kröger (Crocker). His mother's last name was Lindblom.  My DNA on Ancestry shows 32% Scandinavian.
According to Ancestry DNA last month I had 27% Scandinavian ancestry, this month it is 2% Norwegian. However, I do know my 6th and 7th great grandparents were from Sweden so I do not understand this at all. MyHeritage shows no Scandinavian but has 2% central Asian. FamilyTreeDNA has no Scandinavian but 2% North African. My nephew matches me on FamilyTreeDNA.
If you are of UK ancestry, remember the vikings occupied England at one time, followed by the Normans, who are of Nordic descent.  If your ancestry is French, the Normans were there, too.  Ditto for Sicily and Northern Italy.
My DNA says that I am 25% Scandinavian and it fits since my family has been traced back to the year 1044, Normandy, France. Norman is short for Northman which is said to mean Viking. My ancestor most likely went to England with William the Conquerer in 1066. William is said to have given each of his soldiers lots of land when he became king of England.
My grandmother was Norwegian.  My DNA results list 32% Scandinavian.
Yep - two Great-grandfathers came from Demark.  One from Bornholm, the other from the oft-disputed border with Germany.
My DNA results are 48% Scandinavian (central Norway) 2% Finnish.  My grandparents and great grandparents were from Norway and Sweden and moved around a lot between the 2 countries. The rest of me is on my mothers side, English Irish Scottish and West Europe. No real surprises except by doing the DNA test have found a relative who was adopted, pretty cool.
My forefather Andreas Gotlieb Schoumbe came from Denmark in To South Africa 1765.  I have the documentation
I was so disappointed in my DNA results--I was really hoping for something exotic, at least Jewish ancestry or Suomi. Nope, just purely Teutonic/Scandinavian and a bit of British, which I guess comes from the Viking era.
I am a second generation American. Both my grandparents on my father's side are from Norway. I am Scotch/Irish on my mother's side. According to Geni, I am related to myself through both of my parents. I think it's hilarious!
My great-great-great grandparents were from Denmark. My original ethnicity estimate from Ancestry was 69% Scandinavian. The new report shows 12% Swedish (my maternal great grandmother) and 5% Norwegian (no relatives found yet) and 0% Danish. Interesting updates - the journey continues!
Yes! 20% Norway (Central-Hedmark/Akershus, Eastern-Ostlandet & Sor Trøndelag) and 7% Sweden. The Swedish was a surprise. The Lien (Spangrudlien in Norway) is well documented but my Barsness line from Norway is not clear past my GGGM.
Yes - I'm primarily Lithuanian on my Mum's side, but with Ancestry's updated details, my Scandinavian connection (probably mostly on my Dad's side, but who knows) broke out to a very specific 13% Swedish with 1% Norwegian and 1% Finnish. What surprised me was I'm only 5% Germanic European.
My children do as on there paternal mothers side their were Swedish.
Marcia, I also have Kroger in my family line with the two dots above the o.

Gottfried Johann Otto Kroger Born in 1750 (married Christina Dorothea Opperman born 1758 29 April 1774 Weitendorf, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany) who was father of Anna Catharin Kroeger 1775-1846 (married 21 November 1815 Kritzkow, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany,Claus Joachim Christian Franz Harder born 1783) .  How do you make the two dots over the o??

Thank you for your reply on how to make the o with dots.  It doesn't seem to work with my windows 10.  I added dates and places above just in case there is any connection to your Kroger family.
Hi, Carolyn,

You can get the double dots by selecting and holding Alt while typing  "o."  That will give you this:  ö   If you need the same with "a" it is Alt-0228  ä

This is Windows/Microsoft.  Not sure on the Mac.
My DNA shows 26% Scandinavian on Ancestry, yet 48% on My Heritage.  My great grandparents on my mom's side are both from Denmark and my great grandparents on my Dad's mom's side are from Norway.  I was fortunate that a lady on Family search understand the languages and pointed me in the right direction for both families.  It is so different that back then their last names were different.   Daughters would have their fathers first name which ended in datter and the sons would be the same except ending in sen.   Once I knew this, and got my great great grandparents, I was able to go back a couple of generations.  The coolest is finding siblings to the great grandparents who had families come to Canada as well and only live a province away from me.
I do, from Denmark. The family name is Orum, and my mother visited Denmark several times, and to a town named Orum. They came early, settled in Pennsylvania and Virginia (later WVA). There is an Orum Cemetery in Sherrard, WVA, where Peter Orum, my 4th great grandfather is buried. He was born in PA in 1752, died in Sherrard, 1852. I've visited that site, and my mother was an Orum. So much fun to find out where you came from!!
My maternal grandfather's parents came from Sweden in the 1880's.
Is Frisian considered to be Scandinavian?
Frisian is typically considered to be Germanic.

Yes I have 10% Scandinavian Roots, but no idea where they come from in my tree?

I do. Ancestry DNA says 46%, and I know for certain that my paternal grandmother Selma Anderson Niethe, was  Swedish, and her mother Maria came from Sweden as a young woman and an indentured servant. Great grandmother Maria Johannson Peterson (6-27-1869 – 1949) married Jon Jakob Andreasson (Anderson) (11-18-1866 – 1927 ) also Swedish immigrant, on April 19th, 1889 in Buffalo NY.

 

They became US citizens in 1891

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The 'two dots" are known as an 'umlaut', pronounced OOM-louwt. I have not been successful using the suggested typing method.
Å = alt 0197

å = alt 0229

Ä = alt 0196

ä = alt 0228

Ö = alt 0214

ö = alt 0246

æ = alt 0230

Ø = alt 0216

ø = alt 0248
I tried this, too, typing in a fresh yahoo mail "compose" and got nothing when I hold down alt. I have windows 10.
My  Mother & two sisters recently submitted DNA samples to AncestryDNA. My sisters both came back with 60+%  Norwegian - Scandinavian results. My Mother's showed 9% Norwegian. I can trace my lineage back to the Normans and have documented proof of this, however I had no idea of having such high rates of Scandinavian DNA, considering we left there over 1000 years ago. I will be sending my DNA in for testing soon hopefully.
According to my DNA results, I do have Scandinavian roots, going way back though. The first few hundred years are mainly Dutch, German, Belgian and French.
Anyone out there who has ancestry from say,... the Orkneys, Shetland and the Isles of Lewis or any of the outlying archipelago's from Scotland will undoubtedly have Scandinavian genes.
I wrote earlier that I had an Ancestry DNA result of 15% and have never found a person in my tree (of more than 5000 people) who could connect me to that branch. After doing the Ancestry update, the Scandinavian DNA content has reduced to 3% Norway, which would be easily explained by my Irish and Scottish family members, probably Viking history. In fact the new numbers I have are much more in line with my own research.
These results are all fascinating! My maternal Grandparents were both born in Denmark, my mother being a first generation American. My maternal Great Grandparents were born in Denmark and Sweden. I have been able to trace my Danish family back to 1761 and my Swedish family back to 1779. Given that history, on 4 different DNA test sites:

Ancestry original results 24% Scandinavian, 71% Europe West

Ancestry updated results 19% Swedish, 2% Norwegian, 44% Germanic Europe

23andMe 20.1 % Scandinavian (5 markers in Denmark) 26.2 British & Irish

FTDNA results 17% Scandinavian, 52% British Isles

My Heritage 25.7% Scandinavian, 74.3% North & West European

I would have thought I would be at least 50% Scandinavian! The Western European always includes Denmark to hopefully with more advances in DNA testing my Danish will be pinpointed.

Our family names are Jonsson, Moller, Larsen, Hansen, Jenssen, Mortensen. Lolles, Andersdatter, Nielsen, Pedersen, Hansdotter, Martensson, Frandesen.
I think you need a number pad on your keyboard to type the special letters using the Alt key and numbers. For some reason the other numbers don't work.
This is my second response due to when I answered the first time, it was due to my original 27% results from my Ancestory.com DNA testing. I felt there was some surprise at other regions indicated but overall was fairly acurate from family stories. Somehow, science changed and they since announced I have 0%. Imagine that...new criteria they say, or am I to believe any of it now other than may just be a prediction of the names I have in my tree....
Yes, Brenda, I have had a similar disillusionment - with the National Geographic Geno 2.0 project, for which I paid $100 for the initial !.0 testing, and then $200 for the 2.0, sucked in by the lure of the addition of my paternal lineage, and the chance to discover the neanderthal contribution to my genetic heritage. Imagine my surprise as a Northern.European to be informed by the results that I had 4% Denisovan gene! An internet search brought me to the site of an eminent National Geographic Society genetic paleoanthropologist who stated that it was impossible and that it therefore brought into question, also, the credibility of the percentages for the neanderthal data (and, I would add, for all of their data!!!)  All my attempts to get some redress on this issue finally elicited only the cavalier response that they have withdrawn their denisovan claims. Meanwhile, I am out $300. I think that it is an outrage!
Sorry...Glenda!
I’ve traced back to my 14th great-grandmother with proof to Margaret of Denmark and Norway, Oldenburg Queen consort of Scotland, also working on finding proof (very difficult) that I have ancestral connection to the Founder of Denmark, l’ll keep researching.

The estimates change from time to time. Go back and check your DNA Origins. I had 13% Scandinavian and now I have none. This is the explanation on Ancestry.

What happened to my Scandinavia region?

As we’ve gotten more data, we’ve gotten better at distinguishing between regions. This is especially true for regions and ethnicities with a similar genetic makeup or that overlap, such as England, Wales & Northwestern Europe. Because we can now more clearly distinguish each region’s DNA, some people’s estimates may show more or less DNA from Scandinavia.

I'm 15% Norwegian born in 1953. . My maternal great grandmother was full Swedish. I stand 5'10" and I'm a woman. How tall are you?  :)
I don't know how I got contacted by this question. I've seen no evidence of my having any Scandinavian ancestry. Love 'em, but I'm not one.
I have Norwegian roots on both sides of my family, born 1950,  5 ft10.5, I have a great aunt who was 5ft 9 and all the men are over 6ft

Just now seeing this question.  (Still too busy fartling around adding members to my tree to come and read billions(?) of forum posts.  cheeky )

My mother's grandfather was born in Liverpool to a Swedish father and a possibly Swedish mother.  The family name as it went to Australia is Williamson.  Gr-granddad's name was Ole Halley (often rendered as Harry).  His father's name was Larsse and mother was Anne Swanson (at least as recorded on Ole's marriage certificate).  The only other name I have is from family knowledge passed to me by my mother, via her uncle, that of Ake Wiberg (I believe that is the correct spelling).  Apparently this Ake Wiberg went to Australia some time in the middle of the 20th Century with a bunch of books that contained our family tree back in Sweden, going back to the late 1400's.  There was a copy of this book for each one of Ole's kids.  As my mother's father was deceased by the time Ake arrived in Queensland with these books, his copy was left with the uncle to be held in trust for the two children of my grandfather (because you couldn't cut it in half).  Years later when we tried to find our copy of this book, we were told it'd been stored in the shed down in the garden and had gone missing.  No other members of the (extended) family know anything about our copy, or their own copies.  The "Swedish family tree" book has, apparently, vanished.  (When I heard this I almost cried.)

TLDR: yep, I have Swedish ancestors, but, sadly, I only know two generations.

To answer the question Do I have Scandinavian roots? Yes, I am rooted with the term Swede-Fin. My grandmother from Norway/Sweden. Her mother from Finland, the grandmother from Finland. My grandfathers from Finland and Ireland. You could say we have more scandinavian blood than Irish
Through my father's side, I do have Scandinavian roots and that of Norway. Then through my mother's side, I'm finding out that some ancestors were from Kristianstad, Sweden. I am still doing research on my mother's side of the family. Also I'm waiting for the results from the 23 and Me dna test that I have taken. Maybe that will show exactly how much Scandinavian roots I have. I am having difficulty connecting the ancestors from Sweden and the ones from the United States. I don't know who married who.
The easiest way is to start with your grandparents and work backwards. Talk with family members to get accurate birth and/death dates. You can also order those through the city or state they were born in. This way you know who gave birth to tour grandparents etc. Also check with funeral homes where they passed for more info and the church has a great deal of info as well. Hope this helps get you started.
Yes, I know for sure without any DNA test that my Great Grandparents came over from Sweden; my Great Grandfather [[Laurin-17|Carl Gustav Herbert Laurin]] was born in Visby, Gotland and my Great Grandmother [[Johnson-7564|Hilda Ingebory Johnson]] was born in Klara, Stockholm.
My 23 and me test shows 1.3% Scandinavian.
My mothers fathers fathers family came from Norway in 1867 first landig in Grosse Ile Quebec Canada then crosing over into Minnesota, and my grandfathers mothers family came from Denmark. My mothers mothers family all came from Norway approximately 1870's.
Hi there,

My Great Grandfather was from Norway, around 1890-1900, he and his other two brothers left Norway because the prospects for work were very low, I think times had been hard and there was also a shortage of food.My Great Grandad Hans Albert Hansen came to New Zealand and his other two brothers went to Canada.

Like you, someone from Norway researched the family tree and even came all the way to New Zealand to meet us, this was in 1984 and my son who was two at the time, was the youngest entry in the book.

We apparently got sent a book, or my aunty did but I have no idea where it is now.and have personally never seen it.  I was wondering if you can still get copies, if there is a place that does that kind of thing and still has a record of all their books printed. It would be interesting as it went back a long way and it would be much easier for a local person to do that than someone on the other side of the world :)
Yes! Some of my Swedish ancestors came from Finland. Some of my Norwegian ancestors came from Denmark and before that from Schleswig. Some of my Danish ancestors came from the Faroe Islands. Some of my German ancestors came from Schleswig as well.
My paternal 2nd great grandmother, Anna Bernhardina Löfdahl,  was born in, Hammarlöv parish, Malmöhus, Sweden. When I took the Ancestry DNA test in 2012, my percentage was 21% Sweden. After the updates, it changed a few times, this last updated changed to 10% Norwegian.
I am 4.43 percent Scandinavian. That's also we're my last name comes from norman

I do! laugh I have a parent that is an adoptee, so until I had my DNA tested, I had no idea that I had any Scandinavian roots AT ALL. According to my DNA, I am 29.6% Scandinavian! I would love information on the culture and heritage if anyone is willing to share!

According to my DNA I have 26%. My Aunt did her DNA in order to help me determine which side of the family I should concentrate on. I'm looking forward to the results.

My previous response to this thread said (in part):

My mother's grandfather was born in Liverpool to a Swedish father and a possibly Swedish mother.  The family name as it went to Australia is Williamson.  Gr-granddad's name was Ole Halley (often rendered as Harry).  His father's name was Larsse and mother was Anne Swanson (at least as recorded on Ole's marriage certificate). 

.

.

Welp .. let's throw that out the window, because recently obtained information (yet to be 100% verified) shows that Ole (as we knew him) may have *cough* "fudged" things on his official documentation in Australia.  Perhaps it was his way of distancing himself from his past life, for whatever reason, but (according to this new information) he was not born in Liverpool, even if that's where his journey as his new self began.

It seems he was actually born in Bäckaskog in Kristianstad, Sweden, one of at least four children.  Just WHY he felt the need to not only reinvent himself, but to lie about it, may never be known.

But my link to Sweden just jumped a generation closer with this information. 

Oh, yeah, his father wasn't Larsse at all.  He was Waldemar/Valdemar Larsson.  His mother wasn't Anne Swenson/Swanson, either.  She wouldn't have been "son", but we didn't know that because we thought she might have been English.  His mother was Anna Svendr. 

So, for now gr-grand Ole remains as he is (Williamson), but as soon as I get a 99% "yes, this is accurate" response, he'll be getting a name change.  The question then will be "do I use a V or W?" for the spelling.  cheeky

"Svendr" sounds like it may be Svendotter (daughter of Sven). In the church books the names were often shortened.

i lived in Iceland for three years( military spouse) and i always felt I belonged in Iceland- there was a connection to this gorgeous, unpredictable island, and me.  Then I get my DNA test back and it stated- 8% Scandinavian! Who would of thought this!:-) 

I wrote this comment when a list was shown in one post here of special characters needed to type Swedish, and complaints that it didn't work. In answer to the problems of typing special characters using the alt-key and numbers, I've been told that one needs the numbers from the keypad, not from the basic keyboard, to enter those alt-numbers.
"Svendr" sounds like it may be Svendotter (daughter of Sven). In the church books the names were often shortened.

.

.

Sorry Staffan, I'm just now noticing this reply.  I had figured it was Sven's daughter, even though I've become used to something longer than "dr", so thank you for confirming that.  :)

I'm still slightly flabbergasted at knowing this at all.  My mother would be in total shock, if she were still living.  My kids are ecstatic.  (Even my cousin, a member of the LDS, doesn't know this.)

I'm still unsure about making the LNAB change without confirmation from the person who uploaded the information—or a look at the original register entry—but don't know what would be a reasonable wait time, or how to find/see the original (and how to understand it, if I find it).

More than anything, right now, I'd like to get my hands on my branch's copy of the family "book" my maternal grand-Uncle went to Sweden to get, that went missing somewhen in the 1940s—1980s.

DNA test say 35% Scandinavian
Three words that struck dread into the hearts of young men everywhere:  compulsory military service.  How old was he (or claimed to be)?  Many young men fudged the facts while looking over their shoulders for the long arm of the military police.  You never know when the Swedish / Russian / French / German navies are going to pull into your new port.
My father's family came from Norway.  My mother's from various parts of the German Empire.  My DNA says I am almost 60% Scandinavian.  Since some of my mother's ancestors were in northern Germany it is not surprising since they were in the region where much of the 30 Year War was fought, with heavy Swedish Danish participation.  Plus with all the incursuans into Europe during the Viking age, Scandinavian DNA is probably all over the place at some level.
My Paternal Grandfather is Oscar Wahlstrom from Sweden and my Maternal Grandfather is Johannes Oalai Telstad from Norway, so, yes very Scandinavian.

Trying to figure out how to add Family Search to Wikitree I have tons on my tree.
.....
Four of my eight great-grand parents were 100 % Norwegian.
I have a few links to Scandanavian countries. Its more ancient, medieval lines.

My husband's grandfather was in the Swedish army, it appears.  https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Nystrom-385-5

You need to trace your ancestors back to the original New Sweden/New Netherland settlements in Delaware. There were a lot of Finns that emigrated to settle that area, just before the Dutch took it away from the Swedes.
I just saw this post..sorry I'm so slow...I am half Swedish and half Danish..mother was the Swede, and my father was the Danish. Their are so many ways that Christenson or Sen was spelled, and my great grandfather remarried soon after his wife died that no one was suppose to talk about him, so my research stopped. On my Swede side they changed their last name to include part of the parents name.
My Ancestry.com DNA shows 48% Norway -

Eastern Norway

Southeastern, Central and Northern

Big surprise!!!

178 Answers

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Best answer

Well,....Ancestry says....My Scandinavian changed to Sweden. I am assuming that is Viking blood that got to Britain. I would have expected Norway or Danish more than Sweden. Maybe it was the Swedes that got to  Ukraine on their way to the Mediterranean. But then I have more than the 50% Eastern Europe that I would link to my mother. I didn't think you could get more than 50% from one parent, but how do they count their percentages? Then again there was that Albertson line. "George G. F. Albertson of Brookline, N.Y. is said to have researched this line. "The New England line" probably descended from Nicholas, probably of Sweden, revised in Scitnate, Mass. in 1636, had son John, who had grandson Jacob." 

by Sue Hall G2G6 Pilot (167k points)
selected by Steve Hatchett
+26 votes
I do - Depending on test at least 50% or more - and according to knowledge and documentation, definitely so. My paternal grandmother (Anderson) was born in Sweden in 1898 and migrated to US with her mother and one sister in 1901. My maternal great-grandparents - 3 were born in Norway (Engh, Gudim and Braaten) and one in Sweden (Johnson) before they came to the US in the 1870s. It's exciting to explore migration patterns and reasons behind movement. My stumbling block is not understanding Norwegian/Swedish documents found on the Internet - or on written pages provided by a "cousin" from Norway. Eventually some words become "clear" in usage but not enough to be sure at times. Patronymics can also add a degree of uncertainty.
by Sandra Miles G2G1 (1.8k points)
Hi Sandra,

This had me curious, so I had a look in the Swedish archives. I found your grandmother and traced what happened to her older sister who stayed in Sweden. I added the information and sources to their pages.

- Elisa
Elisa -

How wonderful! This is going to take me a bit to digest and incorporate in my Legacy program as well. I'm not sure how you managed in such a short time to pull this information together, but I can't thank you enough for this effort. To explain a bit further, most of what I had was family story passed to me, from what I can recall, from my grandmother's (Esther Marie Anderson Mollenhour) sister, Astrid, and her half-sisters (mother married in 1906 in Illinois) who were all adopted after their mother died (shortly after childbirth) in 1913. I may have also gotten some info from her oldest son (my uncle). Via DNA, I have made contact with some of the descendants of the half-sisters, most of whom knew little about their ancestor's birth family. Story is that mother had three daughters (including the oldest who stayed in Sweden, my grandmother and younger sister who migrated to US in 1901) by a Conrad Anderson. I know nothing else. Supposedly mother was "mistress" to Conrad who had a separate family and supposedly the oldest daughter stayed with father's family. That's not what it appears from info provided, but I certainly need to explore the information more thoroughly. This could be also why she was using name of Berglund (being "illigitimate"?) rather than Anderson. I'm going to have to review my documentation more closely for my grandmother and her younger sister now as well - just that their father was Conrad Anderson. My grandmother died when I was six and my father didn't know much either, and the sole surviving sibling is now 85. I love the genealogy community! Thank you!

Sandra (Mollenhour) Miles   (v.miles@comcast.net)
+21 votes
I just saw our updated origins on Ancestry & my wife & I both have some Scandanavian roots.
by Doug Lockwood G2G Astronaut (2.6m points)
+19 votes

Yes , My 4th great grandmother was 

Nancy Deweese  , which her family ancestor came from the Netherlands 

Willem Dewees  I have not took a DNA test but my brother has and it shows he has 2 percent  Norway on his Ancestry .. so far this pretty much the only family line from the Netherlands .. but my son's wife has the same ancestor , her father's mother was a Deweese and has the same ancestor .. 

by Janine Isleman G2G6 Pilot (102k points)
Janine:  I just did my (autosomal) dna with MyHeritage and the results proclaim that I am 76% English and 24% Scandinavian (+ 0.7% Middle East). From the paper records I know that maternally I have Huguenot / Frisian connections and paternally I have Dutch / Frisian connections. I believe that the Frisian dna results are labelled Scandinavian.
So that’s what happened to our Frisian/Dutch ancestry!
+21 votes
Did AncestryDNA about a year ago, just before my 96-year-old father passed away. There were no huge surprises, except one --I'm Scandinavian. Despite all the family stories and research I had collected, I had absolutely no indication of this. It was the last thing I expected to discover, though in retrospect there had been hints maybe. My father finally revealed he did hear once that we were, in his words, "Norwegian-Swede" somewhere along the line, and his brother since then has taken the same test, confirming this. Turns out, our Hollenhors ancestors from Prussia (whom we had thought were Low German and Polish) were, according to other descendants of that family, from Norway, the precise area identified in the most recent update at AncestryDNA.
by Martyn Mulford G2G6 Mach 2 (29.8k points)
edited by Martyn Mulford
+21 votes
That was my big surprise when I took the Ancestry DNA test - I had 13% Scandinavian.  As others have said, there is no paper trail. I thought maybe it had something to do with Viking invaders in Britain and Ireland.  Or it could be my German ancestors on the border.  I haven't really added up the numbers yet to see if I have the correct amount of Germany ancestry. Duh.  My sister has only 1%, but then again, she has 13% Ireland and I only have a trace.

I found the Scandinavia thing to make a great excuse:

How come you put cumin in everything? - because I'm Scandinavian.

Why didn't you put out the trash? - because I'm Scandinavian

You are so pretty.  Why am I not as pretty as you? - because you are not Scandinavian.

Okay, the last one didn't ever happen, but you get the idea.  It played well for a while, I'll have to try it again.  The idea came about because I have a younger half-brother and he used to cry because my sister and I were allowed to stay up later than he.  We used to tell him it's because he's not Italian.  His parents never knew why he always cried because he's not Italian.
by Lucy Selvaggio-Diaz G2G6 Pilot (821k points)
Oh, I thought cumin was German. Or Hungarian (second to the paprika).

And I thought Scandinavian would be dill.
Or why I like salmon?  I was just picking random things.
Good one, Lucy. Gotta remember that one, and just use my ancestry like that. Long reign HAGGIS!
Why do I love Lutefisk? Because I'm Scandinavian. No one else could even stand to eat Lutefisk!
So true, Richard :-)
+22 votes
Yes i am from Denmark Copenhagen, my dad was from Randers and his family are Danish. My grandfather are Danish from Varde Jutland.

But he emigrated first to USA then Hong Kong where he married my grandmother who’s dad came from Paisley in Scotland and her mother was Chinese
by Susan Laursen G2G Astronaut (3.0m points)
Susan, you’ve got Scottish blood! We gotta be related!
+18 votes
I have Ancestors from Orkney in Scotland and they are presumed to be descended from the Vikings. My DNA ethnicity estimate says I am 22% Scandinavian.

Unfortunately since the Orkney BMD records have been lost or were never written down, I cannot get back much earlier than 1797 - which was the first recorded marriage of my 4x Great grandparents. I have not been able to find any records of their birth place or parents, which is very frustrating.
by Robynne Lozier G2G Astronaut (1.2m points)
I read about a man (probably a relative of mine) who fled religious persecution in Dundee, Scotland, and landed in Norway.  This was in the mid 1600's, I think.  I hesitate to get more specific since the wording was confusing. (The word "he" was used after information about three different male individuals, so it's difficult to know which "he" was being spoken of.)

I wish I knew my history better, but I wonder how many Scottish people fled religious persecution and went to other countries.

Reba
RG, mine might not have fled religious persecution, but definitely economic played a part. Scotland, to Ulster, to America. But the Test Acts didn’t help.
+20 votes
All of my maternal great-grandparents immigrated into the US from Norway.  I always believed I was 50% Norwegian. However, I am getting a number of Swedish DNA matches that I can't figure out, and assume the Norwegians and Swedes did more "mixing" than I realized.  I still think I'm about 50% Scandinavian,  

Although I know that Norwegian records are supposed to be excellent, I have not learned to navigate them.  I have gotten generous help from others to pull together the sources I currently have, but still can't master how to locate and interpret them myself.  

I have gotten frustrated with the Norwegian Digital Archives, since I haven't figured out even the most rudimentary process to find an ancestor, even if I know approximately where they were located.  I can pull up 20 million results or zero results in a search, but rarely anything usable, even when starting out "knowing" locations, times, and names in Norway. I can't figure out how to enter the search parameters. Then I have an awful time citing the sources after someone kindly leads me to them. I'm just so sure I'm overlooking something very simple. (But now I'm just venting).

Reba
by R. Greenup G2G6 Mach 7 (70.5k points)
RG, I get the same from FamilySearch. I try entering different parameters, sometimes getting the same result, and sometimes getting a load of hits, but it’s a Mexican menu to me. (40,000 choices, no way to tell.)

You are allowed to vent!
Family Search can be somewhat daunting for newcomers, and now they have changed the layout with parents at the bottom instead of to the right. Sources entry changed from bottom of page to top of page. Maybe difficult to learn the system, but the reward is probably the single largest genealogical database in the world.  The source linker feature is amazing with burial, census, and old world links. The sources alone make it worth the trip sometimes. (And sometimes I still say, "Grrrrrrrr") :)
Reba,

I'm glad you've got your DNA results back. Growing up in a scandinavian family sure has it's perks and also has some guess work when researching roots. One thing I have learned that really bugged me was my grandmother spoke in 3 different dialects (Norwegian, Swedish, and Finnish). We have tried many times to translate her writtings but have been unsuccessful, even when submitting it to the Ministries for translation. The reason I say this is... I recently found part of her language was Bokmal and Nynorsk... the other portions are being researched.

When I use resources I usually begin with "Find A Grave" by entering the family member's information. From there I google it. That usually leads me to Scandinavian pages that need translation... HELLO GOOGLE TRANSLATOR! Some of the text I know, while others I do not... and dear this is where the translator comes in really handy. Citing your references/resources is easy as copy & paste, unless of course it's from a private collection (family) then just add in scanned from private collection. And then continue on with your research... I find most U.S. Census (NARA) will provide a bit more information as far as who was in the household at the time of immigration. Just look for your family members names.

Hope this bit of "tips" helps you out

Blessings,

Bea
The problem I find with using computer translation, is that the results do not always make sense. The grammar is often totally different.
Reba,

I'm relatively new to WikiTree, but I've been doing Norwegian research for over 20 years. I am 1/4 Norwegian by heritage - 2 of my 8 great-grandparents were first-generation US-born Norwegians. Their parents came from Norway. I know specifically when for 3 of the 4. I've also had great success learning the naming patterns and tracing lines within Norway. If you're still in need of assistance, please hit me up with some specifics.

Gary Christopher
+19 votes
I have ancestors in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark! In Sweden, a direct line to about 1660.  My father, born in the US, only spoke Sweish when he entered school.  As an adult, he couldn’t speak a word—well, maybe a few words. My surname was originally a Danish name, but back when Denmark ruled Norway and a big chunk of Sweden, those Hvitfelts/Huitfeldts spread all over.
by Robert Hvitfeldt G2G6 Pilot (248k points)

Yes, Hvitfelt certainly was in Sweden too. In Göteborg, second largest city of Sweden, there's a well-known school, 

Hvitfeldtska gymnasiet

I’ve visited that school.  A great great great (I forget how many “ greats”) Aunt Margareta established the endowment for it. There’s a Hvitfeldtsgatan and Hvitfeldtsplatsen as well.
I wonder if some of those ancestors made it to the southern united states and americanized their name to 'Hatfield'?
I’ve seen changes to Whitfield and Whitefield, but Hatfield is not likely.  Aren’t they the ones who quarreled with the McCoys?
+20 votes
I have at least two  from Norway- and my daughters DNA just said over at that site I do not use that  begins with an A that she has Swedish - do not think that is from me, but might be her father
by Navarro Mariott G2G6 Pilot (165k points)
“... that site I do not use...” Hilarious!
used to back in the day - you could earn hours by transcribing things census records and things - long ago on my slow slow modem
+17 votes
None that I can find by the paper trail, but I have about 8% according to Ancestry DNA. R-M269 by FTDNA. Pretty common and matches the paper trail.
by Pip Sheppard G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)
+18 votes
As far as I can tell, I'm descended from King Canute, who simultaneously ruled Denmark and parts of England.  It was a long time ago, but I've not confirmed it with DNA testing.
by David Hughey G2G Astronaut (1.7m points)
+17 votes
I don't have much faith in the Ancestry DNA as I have documented paper trails for my Swedish father and Danish mother to the 16th century. The Ancestry results said I was only 65% Scandinavian and 26% British Isles and the rest western European. Now they've revised their findings and I now have only 1% British (Irish), about 10% Germanic European and Finland, 46% Swedish and 43% Norwegian! I have found NO Norwegian in my paper trail, let alone 43%! Their results don't even mention Denmark. So unless Norway includes Denmark, something is rotten in Denmark!
by Richard Lindblom G2G6 Mach 1 (18.7k points)
Denmark is included with Western European - all those Vikings in England in the middle ages.
+16 votes
Yes, my mother's family is Danish with sprinkle of Norwegian.  Lund, Danielsen and Norby.
by David Norton G2G1 (1.3k points)
+16 votes
Yes! I am 36% Scandinavian- My  PGG was from Denmark!
by Coreen Arioto G2G5 (5.3k points)
+15 votes
My dad's father's parents were both born in Jämtland, Sweden and came to the US in the 1890s.  They're my most recent immigrant ancestors.
by K. Anonymous G2G6 Pilot (145k points)
+15 votes
My Great Grandfather came from Norway. He was born Pederson (son of Peder) then changed his sir name when he moved to a summer pasture area(Sather) as was the custom at the time. Uff da

I only have the family bible for ancestors from there. GGM was Johannesdotter, her dad was Olsen ,Ole's son, his wife was Akseldotter, Aksel's daughter and so on.
by Robert Webb G2G6 Mach 7 (74.7k points)
+16 votes

Yes, I'm firmly rooted in Swedish soil, 100% since at least five generations  and I still live here.
DNA shows 100% European, 62% Scandinavian, 17% Finland/Siberia, 16% Great Britain and Ireland, bits and pieces Arabia and Asia.

A few ancestors emigrated to the USA where one of them has made a fantastic genealogy research on one of the branches, to be found at: http://bill.sundstrom.us/archives/000109.html

by Henrik Sundström G2G1 (1.2k points)
+14 votes
A little over a quarter Danish, with some recently discovered Swede and Finn added in. My DNA tests only show 16% Scandinavian, but the paper trail is very solid, and I find matches in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland. I guess there's a reason they call those ancestry estimates!
by Gilbert Nelson G2G6 Mach 1 (12.3k points)

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