As the global leader in family history and consumer genomics, Ancestry is constantly developing innovative ways for you to explore your identity through DNA and unlock deeper insights into your family history. Today, AncestryDNA launched its largest update to date which will match its DNA customers to more than 3,000 places and populations around the world.

As genetic science continues to advance, AncestryDNA is now able to offer users a closer look at where their families originated with increased precision and granularity alongside an updated user experience.

New User Experience:

In support of this increased specificity, AncestryDNA has adopted a few new terms to describe different aspects of your results.

• Ancestral regions: the percentages outlined in what was formerly known as your “Ethnicity Estimate” will now be called “ancestral regions.” These features show places your ancestors likely lived roughly 1,000 years ago.
• Ancestral journeys: customers will now see “ancestral journeys”—formerly known as “Communities”—in their results. This feature shows where your relatives likely lived and moved in the past 300 years.
• Subregions: subregions provide added granularity to users’ results with smaller, more specific areas within a region. We’re proud to announce 54 new subregions in Europe as part of this year’s update.
• Ethnic groups: “ethnic groups” reflect communities of people who share common cultural characteristics, such as language, religion, customs, traditions, and often national origin.

These changes to the AncestryDNA experience make it easier for you to gain deeper insights, explore the places you’re from, and better understand your results.

With more individuals incorporated into our ancestral regions reference panels and improved DNA science, AncestryDNA is proud to offer 24 new ancestral regions across Europe (5), West Asia (3), South & South East Asia (8), and Africa (8). Accounting for 5 retired regions, this update expands our total regions from 88 to 107 to provide more specificity for our customers. Learn more about the update here.

Out of 21 ancestral regions in Africa, 13 now feature content representing 64 ethnic groups from across Western, Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa. Customers assigned to certain African regions will now discover detailed information at an ethnic group level, providing them with unique insights into the communities and cultures from which they may descend. These new multimedia experiences have been developed by individuals who either belong to or have close connections with the featured groups.

The breadth of this update now gives every AncestryDNA user around the world the opportunity to rediscover their results—this time with increased precision and a more detailed understanding of the DNA that makes each of us unique. With this breakdown of where your ancestors came from, AncestryDNA connects you to the places in the world where your story started.

Revisiting your results

Your DNA doesn’t change, but our knowledge and ability to compare your results to our ever-improving reference panel does. With new individuals added to our ancestral regions reference panels and with new customers joining our AncestryDNA network, we can continue to provide increased precision and granularity.

We encourage you to revisit your DNA results and explore new ways to learn more about your family, your history, and your unique story.