Question for anyone with Scandinavian heritage (natives, British, French, Africa)

[N610DL]

Originally Posted by tassity22

Many names were Anglicized at Ellis Island and so the culture and heritage was forever lost. Most people believe they have English heritage now because of that. I grew up believing we were English heritage because of all the English names in our family, but now I realize those were Anglicized and so our family history was wiped out.


I'm also finding out many people believe that you must be blond to have any Scandinavian heritage. I don't know why that stereotype is perpetuated.

That’s for sure. My Grandmother did this and from what was once a rather German Jewish last name changed to a surname that has high densities in England, New Zealend, and Norway.

But my lineage is in none of those countries - my Irish heritage originated in Sweden, but no idea where or when. My whole family is from Northern NJ which while not a Scandinavian area at all is a melting pot so it’s plausible.

[RDM66]

Originally Posted by tassity22

I got my ethnicity results back today. I have only 3 ethnicities. Most of it Scandinavian - 67%.

I find this strange because all the names in my mother's side of the family, I have researched and they are all Irish and English surnames. However, my mother's family is all very light blond hair with blue eyes.

It is possible my ancestors Anglicized their names and did Scandinavian people do that very often when they came to America?

Of course, it's possible that your family Anglicized their surnames. But were you aware that a large percentage of people of British & Irish heritage are actually Scandinavian? About 1,000 years ago, Britain was settled and colonized by three German/Scandinavian tribes: the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes. These three tribes hailed from the Danish peninsula. There was civil war in Britian's ancient history. The Angles and the Saxons defeated and wiped out the Jutes. Then the Angles then made war on the Saxons. The Angles won, and that's why England is called England: The Land of the Angles, or "Angle Land," a group of people with deep roots that go back to Scandinavia.

A few short decades after the Angles conquered "Angle Land," the Vikings raided parts of the British Isles. The Vikings also established footholds in Scotland and Ireland, where some of them stayed and assimilated with the Angles. Whenever you see anyone from either Ireland or Scotland with red hair (a "ginger"), there's Viking/Scandinavian blood in their heritage.

[England Dan]

The genetic input of Vikings is largest in the Orkney`s and Shetland Isles off Scotland, and then Yorkshire and East Anglia in England. There is some in Cumbria England and a little on the Isle of Man: but that is barely a percentage point amongst indigenous Brits. I have heard of Britons and Irish taken as slaves by Vikings, apparently in the thousands over many years, that might explain Irish DNA in deepest Scandinavia. The Viking men just did not fancy British women ( or vice-versa)
The three Germanic tribes again had a larger input in England ( mainly South/East England)and Scotland, but even Anglo-Saxon blood on average in England is 20% approx. The Normans and Romans also made no genetic imprint.
Side note :A lot of people in my local pub in Hertfordshire are very dark haired, either looking French or Italian, until they open their mouths; maybe these lads are of (Celtic) Belgic stock. The Belgic tribes covered all South East Britain.
Not many Vikings in Herts.

[ozarknation]

I wonder if Baltic is the same thing as Scandinavian?
Population
Anatolian Farmer 6.76
Baltic Hunter Gatherer 20.46 <==== I am about 20% Baltic
Middle Eastern Herder 7.64
East Asian Farmer 0.96
South American Hunter Gatherer 24.35
South Asian Hunter Gatherer -
North Eurasian Hunter Gatherer 2.28
East African Pastoralist 2.62
Oceanian Hunter Gatherer -
Mediterranean Farmer 27.09
Pygmy Hunter Gatherer -
Bantu Farmer 7.83

[Mircea]

Originally Posted by England Dan

The Normans and Romans also made no genetic imprint.

But, of course they did.

Haplogroup J2 is present in 3.5% of England proper. That would be the result of Middle Easterners and Greeks in the Roman Legions and Auxiliaries based in Britain.

[nightbird47]

Originally Posted by RDM66

Of course, it's possible that your family Anglicized their surnames. But were you aware that a large percentage of people of British & Irish heritage are actually Scandinavian? About 1,000 years ago, Britain was settled and colonized by three German/Scandinavian tribes: the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes. These three tribes hailed from the Danish peninsula. There was civil war in Britian's ancient history. The Angles and the Saxons defeated and wiped out the Jutes. Then the Angles then made war on the Saxons. The Angles won, and that's why England is called England: The Land of the Angles, or "Angle Land," a group of people with deep roots that go back to Scandinavia.

A few short decades after the Angles conquered "Angle Land," the Vikings raided parts of the British Isles. The Vikings also established footholds in Scotland and Ireland, where some of them stayed and assimilated with the Angles. Whenever you see anyone from either Ireland or Scotland with red hair (a "ginger"), there's Viking/Scandinavian blood in their heritage.

My grandfathers line goes back to Scandinavian farmers who left when the land was not producing, and settled in what today would be the north/central portion of England. The family surname is Spurgin or Spurgeon. Back in the early medieval time a scandinavian farmer who's name was Spurg settled down with an English wife. The interesting thing is the two heritages are mixed, for the northern version of that first listed great grandfather would be Spurg'sson if it followed their pattern, but it was Spurgeon, meaning 'of Spirg' which is the British version. I was able to follow multiple generations as the area they settled was also where the church did a yearly census, most of which remains. Families are listed by last name and numbers. Spurg's decendents lived where the modern city of London was rising, squeezing estates with their serfs out of the way.

Squeezed out of their farmland by the growing city, my direct fivex great grandfather turned to thievery. He got caught, and left a court record of his appeal to the court and his defense. Instead of execution, he and his family was shipped to Virginia as a bond servants. His brother followed him to the same place. Their father followed for the same reason. Eventually released, they moved to Kentucky, where the family established a long term home.

From there, the family eventually ended up in Missouri and Kansas, where they chose the union to fight with. There's pages of Spurgin/eons there still. And I have numerous cousins in Iowa.

When life is leaving me lemons, I think about how harsh a life those who came before lived, and how if they could make their way so can I. I'm from a collection of survivors.

But the reason why they were being pushed away was the small city which grew near them had blossomed , and was taking the farms. The modern name of that city is London.

[PA2UK]

Originally Posted by ozarknation

I wonder if Baltic is the same thing as Scandinavian?

Probably not. It's more likely to either be the Baltic States (primarily Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), or countries that border the Baltic Sea (Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Sweden). This is the map for Baltic in Eurogenes K15: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9o...lIVFBEUjQ/edit and this is Eurogenes Hunter Gatherer vs Farmer map (though it's not very specific): https://www.gedmatch.com/images/HG_F.jpg

And of course, Eurogenes Hunter Gatherer vs Farmer is an ancient/prehistoric calculator anyway, not relevant to recent genealogy.

[Mightyqueen801]

I showed up as 52% British Isles, 44% Scandinavian, but no one came from any "Scandinavian" countries. My paternal gggrandfather was born in England and everybody else came from The Netherlands. We know this beyond a shadow of doubt. The Scandinavian is included in there.

[ozarknation]

Originally Posted by PA2UK

Probably not. It's more likely to either be the Baltic States (primarily Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), or countries that border the Baltic Sea (Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Sweden). This is the map for Baltic in Eurogenes K15: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9o...lIVFBEUjQ/edit and this is Eurogenes Hunter Gatherer vs Farmer map (though it's not very specific): https://www.gedmatch.com/images/HG_F.jpg

And of course, Eurogenes Hunter Gatherer vs Farmer is an ancient/prehistoric calculator anyway, not relevant to recent genealogy.

As per wiki, Denmark is a Scandinavian country:

Scandinavia[a] (/ˌskændɪˈneɪviə/ SKAN-dih-NAY-vee-ə) is a region in Northern Europe, characterized by common ethnocultural North Germanic heritage and mutually intelligible North Germanic languages.[2] The term Scandinavia in local usage covers the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, but in English usage, it also sometimes refers to the Scandinavian Peninsula or to the broader region which includes Finland and Iceland.[1] This broader region is usually known locally as the Nordic countries.[3]

[PA2UK]

Originally Posted by ozarknation

As per wiki, Denmark is a Scandinavian country:

As is Sweden. I didn't say it can't include some Scandinavian nations, just that it is not "the same thing as Scandinavia", since it does not include all Scandinavian countries, and it includes far more countries which are not Scandinavian.