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Many of us have surnames passed down to us from ancestors in England.* Last names weren’t widely used until after the Norman conquest in 1066, but as the country’s population grew, people found it necessary to be more specific when they were talking about somebody else. Thus arose descriptions like… Read more“What does your last name say about you?”

The most diverse apartment block may be in Bondi Beach. Residents in one apartment building took an , to find out which of over 350 regions around the world their ancestors may have come from. 17 people were tested – and their results represented nearly every single corner of the globe. The… Read more“The most diverse apartment block?”

“That’s so unusual – is it a family name?” Anyone with an out-of-the-ordinary moniker hears this question often. However, a little research may reveal a family tree peppered with even more unusual names and the reasons behind them. Here are some common naming traditions that may help unlock the mystery… Read more“It’s all his fault! Traditions behind your family’s weird names”

What do you do with 770,000 tubes of saliva collected from  customers? Ancestry scientists have an unusual answer: Create a ground-breaking map of America’s history-based diversity using the genetic data from the analysis of the samples. This unique map shows this country’s great migrations, the echoes of our pioneer ancestors in our genes… Read more“What 770,000 tubes of saliva reveal about America”

Inspired by St. Patrick’s Day, a number of us in the Ancestry San Francisco office compared our test results. We were in some cases really surprised. Take a look: Can you guess who’s more Irish*? 1. Who’s more Irish? Answer: Tiffany. Tiffany is 18% Irish and Nate is 3% Irish…. Read more“Who’s More Irish?”

Canadian travel bloggers Dave and Deb of  have been traveling the world full time for the last 8 years, visiting over 106 countries. They’ve cycled across Africa, driven from England to Mongolia, and swum in Antarctica. But their recent trip to Scotland turned out to be one of the most unique… Read more“They traveled the globe, but one DNA test changed their world”

Sidney Reilly, the secret agent widely believed to be the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s legendary character James Bond, has been uncovered in a very un-Bondlike location: an online archive. The record (shown above) was found in the British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920 collection, which details medals earned by… Read more“Real James Bond found hiding in an archive”

There is only one race. The human race. Within each of us lies a connection to more parts of the world than we know. The residents of an entire Bondi apartment block took an , to find out which of 26 ethnic regions around the world their ancestors came from. This is their incredible story. The video series… Read more“It’s a small world: One Bondi apartment building tells the story”

The earliest known Irish surname is O’Clery (O Cleirigh); it’s the earliest known because it was written that the lord of Aidhne, Tigherneach Ua Cleirigh, died in County Galway back in the year 916 A.D. In fact, that Irish name may actually be the earliest surname recorded in all of… Read more“A history of Irish surnames: is yours here?”

Many Americans are used to describing their heritage in terms of fractions — half this, a quarter that, an eighth of the other. But if you asked actress and producer Eva Longoria about her identity, she’d say “Texican,” to describe her Mexican-American family from Corpus Christi, Texas. When she took… Read more“Eva Longoria’s surprising DNA test”