I use my DNA results daily from the major ancestor program to identify or to affirm new relatives.
In a couple of months, I will surpass 30,000 so called documented relatives.
As the 1950 census is slowly being released! About 2x a week for the past 8 weeks, I get a supposed DNA surname hit not listed on or via any of the above 30 K relatives.
I/we/my/our family members had never heard/known about these people until we were told that they were showing up on the 1950 census. Often, they have surnames, which we have never heard of nor have in those close to 30K so called documented relatives or with other relatives. Some are supposedly 1st-3rd cousins.
Often, these new surnames are complete surprises/unknowns with my family and our families in the Ancestor site.
Unexpected DNA Matches ~ Ancestry
DNA results can have a big impact on how we understand our family connections. If your results show something you weren’t expecting, we hope this page can help you.
If you’ve discovered that someone unexpected is a close relative, or that a known family member isn’t in the category you were expecting, you may be wondering if your results are accurate.
A few things could be going on. We will explain some of these scenarios.
First, some basics.
If someone appears in your list of matches in the categories of third cousin or closer, you can be confident that you are biologically related to that person. This means that people on your list of DNA matches who fall into any of the following categories are your relatives:
Parent/child
Full sibling (a brother or sister who shares both parents with you)
Close family
First cousin
Second cousin
Third cousin
What does this mean?
If a match is identified as a parent, child, or full sibling, you can be certain that the genetic relationship has been identified correctly (except in the extremely rare case of a sample switch, such as when two people take their tests together and inadvertently switch tube codes). The children of identical twins are a unique case; these cousins appear to each other as half siblings, and the twins appear as the parents of both sets of kids.
The close family category and all cousin categories are based on how much DNA you share. Because of this, more distant relatives may not always show up in the expected categories. For example, someone in the “first cousin” category could be your first cousin, but they could also be your great-grandparent or great-grandchild, half aunt or half uncle, half niece or half nephew, and more. You may need records or other information to really figure out how you’re related.
There’s a scientific reason for all of this, and that’s because with biological relationships, there’s a range of possible shared DNA. For example, a grandparent and grandchild (who usually appear as “close family”) may share anywhere from 1,200 to 2,300 centimorgans of DNA. First cousins can share anywhere from 480 to 1,300 centimorgans. Since there’s an overlap there, it’s possible that a relative who shares, say, 1,250 centimorgans with you may appear in either the close family or the first cousin category.
Your relationship to people in the fourth cousin categories and further out may not always be due to a recent shared ancestor. It may be due to DNA that’s common in a population you both come from. This is more likely if people usually married within that population, as was the case with people who lived on islands, for example.
Missing matches:
If you’re missing a match or seeing an unexpected match where you expected someone else to be, remember that your DNA matches are your biological relatives. Adopted family, step-family, and people who married into your family usually don’t share DNA with you.
So, what does it mean if a biological family member isn’t showing up, or someone unexpected is showing up in their place? A few things could be going on:
They haven’t taken an AncestryDNA® test.
One of you tested with a different company. Check each of your tests; for you to match with each other on Ancestry, you both need to have taken AncestryDNA® tests.
They chose not to see and be seen by matches.
Your list hasn’t been updated since they received their results. It may take up to 24 hours for a new relative to appear.
One of you received a bone marrow transplant from another person. When someone receives a bone marrow transplant, some of their cells contain the DNA of the donor, and this can affect who they match with.
It’s also possible that a person you thought was a close relative isn’t biologically related to you. Though it’s possible that it’s a mistake, it’s extremely unlikely. Relationship predictions are almost always accurate for people who are second cousins or closer.
What now?
We understand that discovering you are not related to someone in the way you thought, or finding unexpected close relatives, can be challenging. Know that you are not alone.
We encourage you to seek the help you need to process these results. We have provided resources below that may be helpful to you as you navigate your discovery.
Learn more about unexpected results here.
Ancestry is not affiliated or associated with any of the support resources below.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aWmkyN2W7bZL2yulzSI8SL-HIsXq3RFz6toME9PTifM/edit