Genetic genealogy is the use of DNA testing in combination with traditional genealogical methods to infer relationships between individuals and trace lineages.

What is genetic genealogy?

Several companies offer these tests, including AncestryDNA, 23andMe, MyHeritage DNA, and FamilyTreeDNA. I recommend starting with AncestryDNA.

What companies offer genetic genealogy testing?

Yes, one of the key uses of DNA tests is to identify relatives. When your DNA results are compared to others in the database, you can find people who share significant amounts of DNA with you and are likely your relatives. This means adoptees or people with unknown parentage of any sort are able to locate their biological families without having any information at all.

I’m adopted, can you find my biological family even if I have no information?

A genetic genealogy test works by analyzing a person's DNA, usually extracted from a sample of saliva. This DNA is then analyzed for specific regions that can be compared to others in a database to identify genetic matches.

HOW DOES A GENETIC GENEALOGY TEST WORK?

While DNA tests are very accurate at identifying close familial relationships (like siblings or parents), their accuracy decreases for more distant relationships. Additionally, the "ethnicity estimates" provided by these tests are only approximations and can vary between companies.

How accurate are genetic genealogy tests?