My great grandfather was Jorgen Anton Erichsen from Drobak, Norway. He was a sailor, who jumped ship in Australia to pursue his fortune on the goldfields. Shame he didn’t find the mother lode.
Listening to your video, family name check, family history check, check and check (but Scotland, England, Norway, Eastern Europe), DNA (back in the innocent days) and mom has done out family history back to the 800's.... but I'm fm 6'1', red headed when I was young, and while this is all nice, I think it's the heart, integrity, intelligence, fortitude, and logical mind that was given from our ancestors that matters. Thanks for all you do!
DNA tests can only go back 250 years. That’s 7 generations. At 7 generations you only inherit 1% ancestry from the 300 or 1,000 or so ancestors. You only inherit 12.5% from great grandparents and after that it goes down.
My YDNA signature is I1-S12289 and I was born with blonde hair. So I must be a son of Ragnar, but I went bald as I got older. So maybe I am actually a son of Balder.
I spent a few days on the "myheritage" site and got results on my direct paternal line thanks to the church records and other people's work on that site. Results back to the 1400's. My earliest paternal ancestor lived in the same village I do now. I still live on the farm my maternal family has had since the 1300's, in a smaller town in Hustadvika, Northwest Norway. Both my last names from parents are descriptions of the type of landscape where the family farms are located.
I used Family Search and my Mom's side was easy as there were records back to Aurich and Kessel, Germany to the 1500s. Finding my Dad's Czech side was much harder. I was able to finally find a church record book from the region I thought they were from based on the marriage records after coming to the USA. I had to scroll page by page for hours until I finally hit on it. It was a pretty cool feeling and I got everything from the town to the house number etc.
One of the best ways to look for living relatives is to find the area near where your family thinks they come from and look for any similar names-spelling can vary. Find out if any are farmers. Farmers tend to keep the land in the family for many generations. Those living near are probably also related.
@@survivorisland Yeah, lots of back and forth and stopping in the Orkneys I suppose. I am Icelandic & Swedish descended Western Canadian myself. Lots of Viking blood across Western Canada.
Thank you so much for this! I’m in the UK and expected my dna to show like 1% Scandinavian etc dna and I actually got a large chunk from Sweden, Norway, Finland and a tiny bit of Iceland as well as Europe and Britain and I spent months really deep diving both sides of my family and on my moms side we have a ridiculous amount of nobility and huge names from English and Scottish history and I come from the sister of Richard iiis which ended up back up to frickin king Rollo of all people! I expected a dead end or some peasant line that was impossible to track and I honestly was floored and I still can’t believe it months later, I keep thinking I got it wrong and recheck the sources and it amazes me, I’m quite closely related to princess Diana and the Spencer’s and all sorts, it’s absolutely mental to me, it’s so fascinating to be able to trace back so far, I’m quite grateful to have such upper class ancestors so it’s easier to track but still 😳😬 I was a child with almost white hair it was so blonde and I have blue eyes so that’s so cool it’s still coming through the dna so far down the line!
I'm a big fan of your videos especially because of you debunking all the myths and pop-culture cultivated beliefs about Norsemen and Scandinavians across history. The ancestry information in Poland, where I'm from, is also not as accessible and stored as you mention about Scandinavia. Most of the records would be in churches or town halls, difficult to obtain for just your personal research. Knowing my ancestry only 3 generations has always frustrated me deeply, given how turbulent polish history was. I did jump on the heritage DNA test band wagon hoping it would bring about some more details. It came back saying I was 73.3% Eastern European (surprise, surprise), 15.1% baltic - makes perfect sense as we had a commonwealth with Lithuania for few centuries, 6.8% Balkan - again makes perfect sense, a lot of Slavic people have balkan and baltic roots, but what came as a surprise was 2.9% Scandinavian and 1% Finnish. Now looking at it globally I'm a diluted Slav with quite a rich heritage probably dating way way back. It also gave me a raw data i could run through my trueancestry site to find actual burial and excavation sites data linking to specific venues. Again this might be another gimmick, but it did really feel fantastic to see specific locations, excavation pictures and being connected to particular individuals as your ancestors - mostly ancient/medieval Estonian, Ukrainian and Swedish if to believe this site.
Fortunately for our family we have a (Norwegian) heritage book that goes all the way back to 1743 thanks to a great aunt who put it all together. Our family name is Holten in the Heidal / Vaage regions. The name changed to Hollin when my great grandparents came through Ellis Island in 1907. I'm now updating / digitizing our heritage book for my nephews and nieces. It's been fun looking through all the information even though many of the documents are in Norwegian.
I am more interested in the culture of my Swedish ancestors. I thought my mother was directly German, but on her father's direct line, our ancestor was a Swedish soldier, fighting for Germany and the Netherlands in the 30 Years war with Gustavus Adolphus. He settled to farm in Germany after his military service. The Viking thing is interesting, but I just see it as an ancient Piracy, brought on by hunger and testosterone! I love this channel for the Pagan culture and Germanic history, etc. You do great work. I was adopted and was told my real father was Irish, but when I hired an investigator and took part in DNA testing, I found out my Y-DNA was called the "Dutch DNA" and my Maternal DNA used to be about 15% of Danish women, but has declined over the centuries. My DNA is Scandinavian, NW Europe, Germanic Europe and 25 percent Bato-Slavic, from my East German ancestors who lived in Kaliningrad Russia, so this channel is awesome to me.
Everybody had a long ship way back when! I'm an American mutt with German, Scandi, .... [Lutheran swirl] and a bit of Russ. One Catholic ancestor way back when, makes me 1/32nd Irish and 1/32nd French. If we can judge by the names. Remember,. it's not where you were, but where you're going! Do most of us find our ancestory in the new world is divided along religious lines? I am curious abouthat. Happy Yule !
Hi, interesting background, i advice you to look into old maps because the land as it is today was not same during old time. That is what some DNA companies miss out taking in. Take care! Jonny Stockholm Sweden
There wasn’t much else to do in those days. Many Vikings were also mercenaries. These were largely landless men, probably second or third sons with no property rights. They had the option of getting a “job” or living a life of adventure. The same could be said even in post Middle Ages in the 1700s. Only first borne and second borne could inherit land. One of my Scottish ancestors came over to the Smerican colonies for land as he was a third son. He only inherited the title of Sir. He got his land after his military service. In Europe many third sons or second sons would make a career in the military to gain wealthy, maintain status and to basically earn respect and sone authority (especially in Britain). My ancestor did this (a Stewart from Scotland) and he received an officers commission and land (for his service). His descendants would later be deported to Canada for being loyalists during the war of independence 😂 (my dad’s people are Anglo Canadians). I live in the state that Scottish ancestor lived in too and even in the same county which is an odd coincidence.
@@jonnyolsson3551 Yes, I have read about the history. I match more Danish people than Swedish with genetic matches, and I'm sure it is because of the border being in flux!.
A very interesting video, my mother recently carried extensive research into our family history and it turned out that our ancestors on both the paternal and maternal sides of the family where at the battle of Hastings. On my maternal side I’m related to Roger Bigod, a Norman Knight who became the first Earl of Norfolk. Through him I can trace my ancestry back to 732 in Norway. On my Father’s side I’m related to a Danish mercenary who fought for a Knight and was awarded land in Lincolnshire. I took a DNA test after we discovered this information and it showed me a being a large percentage Norwegian / Icelandic and Germanic. Interestingly I showed up with 8% each of Scottish and Irish - I’ve got no idea where that came from
The Norwegian on my mother's side is pretty well documented. They came from Bergen. Norwegian was spoken in my grandparents home. My father's side was pretty sketchy. One of my sisters made progress and connected with some long lost relatives. Turns out I'm 50% Scottish. Our Scandinavian genetics are pretty apparent. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and I have a red beard.
I'm basically the same, but half Danish and half Norwegian from my mother's side. My grandfather's parents were pure Scandinavian. I believe that most people of some mixed blood or ancestry will more strongly identify with their most prominent ancestral DNA background. I honestly don't identify with my Scottish ancestry. I dig Braveheart and would like to visit there. But yeah, this kinda stuff you can feel in your bones.
This is very interesting. I am from Northern Europe, specifically between Norway and Iceland known as the Faroe Islands. I took a DNA test on MyHeritage and the result was a bit shocking. It showed that I am 100% Scandinavian/Northern European. Without interference from anyone else. It is quite common that DNA often shows that you have DNA from many different countries. But not in this case. Having said that, I know very little about DNA. I have no idea how far back it goes. What I do know is that life on earth did not begin in the Faroe Islands 😊 🇫🇴 🇧🇻
Amazing advice about the mainstream DNA test kits… people should be very wary. And thank you for making this video! I am lucky enough to have an extensive family tree that has been preserved of my Danish heritage and have knowledge of relations to Danish royalty hundreds of years ago. My grandparents and great parents have always claimed to know of Viking ancestry as well, but I haven’t been able to get concrete proof as their is not a ton of accessible genealogy info online in relation to Danish Vikings’ lineage. I’ve been at a standstill with this search for a while now, so the methods described in this video are greatly appreciated! Your content is truly incredible, and I’m so grateful for all that you share with us. Merry Christmas my friend!
The Vikings weren't some magical group of people whose DNA and culture were somehow separate from the rest of Germania. If you have English, German, Dutch, Swiss, or northern French ancestry, you're just as Germanic as someone with Danish or Norwegian ancestry. People worshiped Odin and went into berserker trances during Roman times, too, and those people went on to become part of countries like England and Germany. You don't have "Viking DNA" just because one particular group who has more or less the same DNA as Germans or Anglo-Saxons resisted Christianity for slightly longer than the others and used longboats to go raiding hundreds of years later. Frisian, Frankish, Alemannic, Angle, Saxon, Bavarian, etc. DNA is from the same genetic cluster, the languages are related, and the religion and way of life were originally the same. When the Vikings first landed at Lindisfarne, they were raiding the great great grandchildren of the Germanic pagans from centuries earlier who had close marriage ties with Scandinavia, the same artwork on their helmets, the same myths, etc. In fact, your average Englishman along the east coasts of the British Isles, whether in London or Yorkshire, has up to fifty percent of their DNA coming from an original homeland in Denmark or southern Sweden prior to the start of the Migration Period.
As a 100% pure blood Scandinavian, I feel like you're coping hard. The people of old Germania were only partly: Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria. / More central and eastern europe than western. These people can to some extent claim Germanic, but NOT Scandinavian, as us Scandinavians evolved our "race" and culture seperate from the rest of Europe. It's true that some of the Viking traditions originate in old Germania, but that does NOT mean that every person who has some Germanic blood can claim Scandinavian. You also makes it sound like those who tests positive for a high percentage of Scandinavian ancestry who resides in the UK have so much Viking ancestry because their ancestors in (Denmark & Sweden) migrated there before the Vikings arrived, which is just laughable. If that were the case it would say Germany on the DNA test, not Sweden or Denmark. The people of UK who have Scandinavian ancestry have so much Scandinavian blood because they got absolutely dominated over the course of centuries by the Vikings, not by peaceful migration before the Viking age.
@@Kain81023 There's so much wrong here that I don't even know where to begin. First, as for this idea that native Scandinavians somehow have much more "Viking" DNA than the other Germanic territories: DNA tests have proven that Icelanders are up to 50% Celtic because of a massive intaking of Irish women as brides and concubines during initial colonization. Along the coasts of Norway, there is a decent amount of Portugese DNA due to naval trade in recent centuries. To the north, Sami ancestry is quite high. Scandinavians did not evolve a "separate" culture from the rest of Europe. By the early 900's, they were already converting to Christianity, particularly in Denmark. They heavily intermarried in Russia among the native Slavic population. And in Normandy, the vast majority of DNA is Frankish, Gaulish, or Breton in nature, with only a small portion coming from Danes from the first generation of settlers. Sure, in the UK, up to 50-60% of DNA even in heavily Anglo-Saxon areas might be of Celtic origin, but in places like Frisia and Lower Saxony in northern Germany, there is actually more Scandinavian DNA than in Iceland, for example. These are areas with strong cultural ties between the Frisians and Saxons on the one hand, and the Danes and Norwegians on the other, with little input from Romano-Celts, Gauls, or other Celtic groups. The reason for why Germanic ancestry implies original ancestry from Scandinavia is because that's the ancestral homeland of all Germanic peoples, and the DNA has changed little since the Iron Age, even if it has been "mixed" quite heavily (in all regions) over the centuries. So the actual "Germanic" component of the DNA is the same thing as what we might think of as a Scandinavian component, because that's just where these people came from. The Visigoths were a sub-branch of Goths, or Gutes, related to Beowulf's Geats. The Langobards came from southeast Sweden before winding up way down in Italy. The Vandals, Rugi, and Heruli all have their origins there, as well. Beowulf frequently makes mention of marriages and kinship connections between Geats, Swedes, Danes, and Wuffings, who later migrated as Wulfings to East Anglia in England with their Angle relatives, where the poem was preserved. The Saxon rebel leader was the nephew of a Danish petty king at the time of the building of the Dannevirke. The list goes on and on. Odin did not exist in a vacuum. There was Wotan, Woden, Wodan, and Godan for a reason. Your point about Viking ancestry in the UK is utter nonsense. I can link you to specific papers that break down DNA results in the UK by region. Whether East Anglia, the east midlands, or Kent, there is DNA categorized as North German, general German, Swedish, or Western Europe. In these studies, it is pointed out that it is almost impossible to tell the difference between North German and Swedish, and you have to combine the two groupings to account for both Anglo-Saxons and Danes. In other words, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Frisians, and Danes are almost genetically indistinguishable in these ancestral populations. This idea that English people were "dominated" by Vikings is also nonsense. The Vikings did not arrive in the British Isles until 793, and even then things were slow going until larger, more organized armies gradually appeared with greater frequency going into the 9th century. These later Scandinavian migrations, particularly where the Danelaw eventually emerged, account for anywhere between 6 and 10 percent of English ancestry, depending on region. The other 30-40% of "Scandinavian" DNA in England is Anglo-Saxon in origin, and would have started appearing in the early fifth century, many hundreds of years earlier. This is the vast majority of DNA that is marked as either North German or Swedish in the studies. Again, we can thank the Dannevirke for this separation between "Scandinavia" and continental Germania, and before Widukind's day and the campaigns of Charlemagne, there was no clear separation between Germany and Denmark on either side of the wall. Jutes and Angles were geographically much closer throughout history to Danes and Swedes than they were to Saxons. But all maintained regular contact until the official subjugation and conversion of the Saxons. The East Anglians migrated from the Schleswig-Holstein region of northern Germany and parts of Jutland, bringing kin with them from Geatish and Danish tribes. They spoke the same proto-Germanic dialects, before the slight splitting between the North Sea and Northern branches occurred. They worshipped the same gods. The Sutton Hoo helm from the 6th century with twin dragon Odinic warriors dancing in ecstasy is further proof of this, as it was constructed at roughly the same time as similar armor was being made during the Vendel period in Sweden, with identical iconography. You are a troll who doesn't have a clue. End of story.
Wait why are either of you replying to my comment with this…? I’m not saying Vikings were some magical group of people whose DNA is this or that as both of you have said. I am purely sharing my understanding of my own personal family tree and lineage. Our ties to the royal family in the 1600’s and 1700’s is an absolutely confirmed fact. My family has also as far back as I can tell in our genealogical records had the understanding that we were descended from a Viking community. I am lucky enough to have extensive and detailed records of my family’s ancestry, and yet I’ve not been able to find much on our direct tie to Viking peoples in Denmark. That’s all I was saying! 🙃
My oldest is Olaf Arfvidsson Thegner. He was born on Christmas day 1615 in Thegneby, Vist, Västra Götaland, Sverige. I have/had bright blonde hair and Grey eyes. Very rare eye color. My skull is a bettering ram. I am 235lbs and 6'4"tall. Also a berserker
I know that the original people who went to America (New Sweden) in 1641. Hans Mansson and Ella Stille. Other than that, I have 50% German and Frisian (mother’s side) plus about 30% from the British Isles. I swear to God, I have been haunted in my dreams as long as I can remember about “Going North”. I’ve lived in Singapore and Florida until I was 16 years old. I remember such a powerful feeling of not being where I belong. I think that my ancestors want me to go back to the old country. I feel so comfortable when I visit Seattle. The climate there is comparable to Northern Europe. I live in Texas now and cannot stand the heat. Before I even gotten my DNA tested, I had this fascination about moving to Stockholm (which is where Ella Stille was originally from!!!).
These are the exact reasons why i have never taken such dna tests. But i know a lot about my mothers side of the family, our history goes back to the 1400s, French nobility from Normandy. We still have our titles and our coat of arms. My Fathers side come from the north in Scandinivia, unfortunately i don't know much about those ancestors. Love your video's.
I’ve been working on my family tree for over 30 years. I have both my mother and my father’s side traced back to the 1600’s. Took a DNA test and had to erase my fathers fathers entire side of my family tree, since DNA shows we’re not related. History and paper records don’t mean anything unless your DNA shows those records and history actually belong to you.
I don’t know for sure if I have any Scandinavian blood. I know I’m Welsh, Native American and with a splash of Czech and Sicilian. My Grandfather from the Welsh line had found a guy in the past that allegedly traced us back to Duke Richard the Fearless of Normandy, who was the great grandfather of King William and the grandson of Rollo. The legitimacy of that though is a bit iffy. From there he tracked that line eventually ending up with minor holdings in Wales, which was actually true. For a while we were minor nobility in Wales and some heirlooms passed down confirm that. Regardless of if there’s actually any Norman link there or if it’s just purely Welsh, it’s still a very cool line. Celts are badasses in their own rights and the welsh deserve credit for keeping one of the last remaining Celtic languages alive despite attempts from the English to suppress it.
All my life, people kept saying I looked Scandinavian. It's even been the theme of various nicknames I've had since the 90's. I never understood it until I traced my family heritage. Both my paternal and maternal families stem from Norman royals who teamed up with William the Conqueror in 1066. I thought it was just because I was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed metalhead with a strong interest in paganism. Hah! My version of Me started making more sense after that. I've since migrated to Europe where I belong. My son will be born this winter.
Danish/Norwegian DNA in Normandy was quickly reduced because the original Viking settlers didn't bring brides with them, and married local women. Their children then went on to marry other men and women who had 0% Danish/Norwegian DNA, and so on. So most of Norman DNA is more likely to be Frankish, Burgundian, or something non-Germanic like native French/Breton (from Brittany), Roman, Gaul, etc. That's not to say that you don't have Viking ancestors. But this idea that Vikings are somehow genetically distinct from anyone with Germanic ancestry is based in pop culture. You're just as likely to get all those traits you listed from English ancestors, who would have originally been Woden-worshiping bear warriors from Angle, Saxon, and Jutish tribes. Or German ancestors, who were the same from the Suebi, Alemanni, Bavari, Franks, Saxons, and a myriad other groups. Or from Dutch, Belgian, or Swiss ancestors, who descend from the Alemanni, Franks, and Frisians. Most of northwestern Europe is heavily dominated by DNA that originates in Scandinavia, and at least half of these people were converted to Christianity surprisingly late, in some cases just a few years before the start of the Viking Age (Frisians and Saxons). So that's not nearly enough time for there to be some hard barrier in the DNA between, say, Denmark and the Netherlands or Germany. There is no such thing as "Viking DNA." The Frisii, Goths, and many others used to harry and shout old Germanic battle cries in the name of Odin just like the rest.
I have traced my ancestral past back to the winnili, better revered as the langobard, as well as the visigoths, and the Angles..which I presume were in the Schleiswig Holstein region, I beg correction is this isn't correct. I love your channel, and Megi odin blessi thig!
Historical records indicate most of my father’s ancestors lived in England. (eg, the last person there burned at the stake for heresy). He was surprised when his DNA was estimated at 1/3 Norse. After looking into it, I realized they all lived in areas colonized by Danes. My mother’s maiden name was Wiggins. I had no inkling it was derived from “wigand” until her DNA was estimated as 1/3 Norse. Papaw Wiggins was 5-feet tall, bald, and bow-legged. He didn’t look Viking at all. Finally, we all assumed the surname of my friend, McGuigan, was Irish or Scottish. Not according to the Google. “Son of the Viking”
Kirkebok records are not that difficult to find. A lot of the Norwegian ones are online and are free to look at. You do need to know which parish your family is from though. Finding Scottish records is not necessarily all that easy in Caithness as there is a 1+ Generation gap in them.
I grew up in a small tiny fishing village in Southern Sweden. My childhood friend ( 5 years older than me) said he didn't like Norwegians UNTIL he found out that his ancestor were quite famous Norwegian viking Chieftain/ Jarl! There we go! He is an amateur genealogist.
I took one several years ago and got quite a surprise. I knew I was nearly entirely Russian on my dad's side, but on my mom's I learned I was mostly Germanic, Swedish, a bit of Scottish, and a tiny bit Slavic (that actually comes from my dad's side, I double checked the info) Today (12/21) I uploaded my genetics into my true ancestry and they pinpointed my closest ancient ancestors as the Svear. Don't quite know how accurate that site is regarding DNA info, however. Definitely pretty cool.
The earliest ancestor I know of was born in 1410 in the northern port city of Lubeck, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Who knows if those previous to Peter Merklin engaged in viking, but I've got the height, stature, fair hair, and blue eyes to play one on Halloween!
Thank you for this video Thor. I have been researching for years and everything you say is true, based on what I know!!! For those in the US -- please remember that there was a Swedish colony near Wilmington Delaware, established about 1638. It was called Ft. Christina. Look it up to find out more about it, and it does have some info on names of people that arrived in America at that time. The colony was abandoned, but some stayed. I was eventually able to trace my ancestor back to Kopparberg Sweden. Luckily the resources in Kopparberg are online and the people (friends) there have done a good job of preserving records and making info available. It takes some work, but it can be possible! My little known Kruze ancestor from Kopparberg is more precious to me in many ways, even more than my noble line (which yes, does go back to Rollo). I imagine him being very smart and strong -- staying here after the colony was abandoned. He would have traveled south and west based on my records. Eventually settling in the "wilds" of Western NC -- marrying into English, German, and American Indian families. (BTW Thor, part of my noble line also traces to Charlemagne --- so part pagan, part Christian -- appropriate, since my Mormon mother left the church and married my atheist father!! it is true!! 🤣)
I fortunately, have a unique surname, it is Norman, carried into Brythonic and Celt 🏴 in the United Kingdom. It was and has been changed in spelling but is still spelled the same way. It means "writer of the testimonials ". We have a coat of arms, and a physical trait of early age silver hair, beards and sapphire eyes, and a strange liking for colder weather. And my mother's maiden was a very prominent Germanic name
This was so exciting to watch. I have family names ending in "sen" "berg" also names like Lund and Hansen, and many more. Some of my family went from Scandinavia into the UK, many came from Schleswig-Holstein and other places. I would love to really start doing some deeper research.
Thanks for the tips. Right now Im only back to the early 1800s when looking into my great great grandfather. So investigating records might be on the agenda when visiting Norway.
I was adopted so had no choice but to do DNA checks (three different ones). My folks are small but I’m 6’3” 250 pounds with facial features you described and bright blue eyes. Results…Northwest Europe, England, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden and Northern France so I’m assuming I have “Viking” genes. Great video keep up the good work. 👍😄
Those Vikings really got around Europe. When you really dig into Europe's history back to 55 B.C. or so there was a number of huge migrations that crossed Europe. Groups like the Goths, Cimbri and Teutons made incredibly long journeys. The Cimbri and Teutons meet Roman forces in far northern Italy and defeated the legions in several battles. Then they wandered to west but decided to go back to north Italy. But Rome had gotten its act together and handed a decisive defeat to the wanders. Cimbri were likely from southern Sweden with Teutons from northern Germany. The remnants of the two tribes assimilated into other areas and "vanished". Among historians/researchers the Norse were very good at mixing in to populations they "moved" to Normandy is a good example. Most Dutch people will have some Scandinavian in their blood, although some are crushed and some get angry when they find out they're not 100% Dutch. Actually there's no such thing as Dutch DNA. Blame it on the Romans and Vikings.
I am fortunate as my family lineage links to the Ornevinge family in Sweden. Ornevinge is descended from the Brahe family with ties to Stenbock, Leijonhufvud, and Vasa. Once a lineage of nobility is found, the records are much easier to find because not only the church, but also the state retained records as titles were tied to land ownership and asset accounts.
Extremely awesome video for demystifying my Germanic heritage. My family lost most of their tradition and history during the Lutheran expansion, but my cousin who is a professional genealogist was able to trace back to at least the 1500s in very northern Germany. We were a family of some sort of nobility, as we had a castle and a major battle in military history books occurred there. (My dad learned of it in his military history classes.) So, I was curious as I wanted to claim that Nordic heritage but didn't want to claim something that wasn't actually mine to claim. I was missing the history that made all of it make sense, thank you!
Ask your grandparents! Your greats also, if you still have them. We know from this that Denmark and Normandy on my mother's side, and 400 years of North America on my father's with Lowland Scotland before that. Old people know things, that's why we have them.
Hi ..i'm from Argentina and i have a little % of Scandinavia and other little bit of finnish ...one of my grandparents was adopted in spanish so i dont know my really last name ..i cant have any information about that( he had blonde hair and blue eyes anyways by my others spanish and italians ascentors had Green and blues eyes..not all but the half of my ancestors yes ) so i dont know maybe never will know..anyways my fenotipe is mediterranean
My grandma came over from Norway in 1934, her family were farmers. Their last name, Kvernplassen (I think I spelled that correctly) came from the farm they are from and still bears the same name today. I'm not sure what or if they had a last name before that. I never felt the need to try and connect my ancestors to vikings but maybe that's because I have so much family there still. I do love you're channel though and learning more about the history.
Yes, it was a mill for a long time before they began farming there. I'm a little surprised they didn't change their name to Miller when they came here. Instead, they went with the tried and true Olson. @@ketle369
My surname is Latimer , it means interpreter. It came to Britain with the Normans and translates to he who speaks Latin. My dna test was overwhelmingly northern British /Irish with a small amount of Norwegian. Also a smattering of Welsh . Coming from Liverpool , it makes me a typical scouser . Great video by the way mate . New sub
I found relatives in Holland, contacted them, Found out more info (reunited my father with his cousin), was told we are Danish but lived in Avaldsnes for generations until they left for the Netherlands in late 1800s They still carry the "son" at the end of the name but "sen" instead. Was pretty easy, but unbelievably lucky to find family in Europe that were active on MyHeritage.
I’ve been enjoying exploring your channel for a bit now. This one really inspired me to dig into my family tree some. Found out my mom’s side is Irish / English and my dad’s side is Italian / German / Swedish. I’m still researching before doing a dna test, but am excited to find out more.
I have my family tree, was done by an aunt of mine..I have family still living in Karmoy west norway, hoping to visit one day. Thanks for the info , have learned so much from you! Blessed be
US census were done every 10 years and are a good way to get started and with any luck you might trace it back to the old world. Having nobility back there will make it easier, but they had lots of kids and used the same first names over and over for and by every sibling and every generation
My grandma had an extensive genealogy done. My 1st traceable ancestor was Rolf The Viking. Also got some ❤druids in there. And I'm very in touch with it
Thanks to a very thorough research on my mother’s name Ruigrok, a family tree has been formed back to royalty back to Trojan ancestors in Creek history. Some go back to the Scottish bloodline to Engelbart. One goes to Martel 1, even biblical branches are being covered. I think the name Ruigrok can be traced back to Ragnar because its last name Lothbrock is similar to the clothing in the name Ruyghrock which means rough battle dress. The first mention of the last name is coupled to a person from Zeeland which can place it in the Netherlands and also Danish area!
Oldest people I know of from my family were born in the 1580's, but Im 100% certain my family lived in Sweden, Norway, Denmark during the Viking age as well. It's beyond clear that Im North Germanic seeing how all my relatives have looked. The genes are obvious.
Hello, I'm a Jensen here - one of the most common names that has proven impossible to trace. I only know my ancestry is mainly Norwegian and Danish; my great grandparents immigrated from the southernmost region of those countries in the late 1800's, but they sadly did not pass their family histories to their children. I look forward to using your information to potentially puzzle together my lineage! Thank you as always for your content, Skal!
In my opinion anyone with Norwegian ancestry has Viking ancestors ,the tiny population would surely share same history especially as the Viking @ge covered 300 years
Very informative. My paternal Grandmother was a Hetland of the former Hetland municipality of Norway, which included Stavanger, where my father was born. My paternal Grandfather was a Simonsen, “son of Simon”, both names representing the two examples you explained of how last names were formed. My father had the Viking look…blond, blue-eyed, Superman physique….very Viking like. Great video, Sir.
Well said about the DNA. But there are certain programs and online resources you can use, which are very helpful. In Norway there was no act relating to names until 1923, so anyone could use whatever name they wanted. But there was and is a very strong tradition of keeping track of our ancestors. Most people came from a farm, and would use that name along with the patronymic.
Thank you, this was very helpful. I'm lucky in that a lot of my ancestors were nobility and royalty so it has been easy to trace back to actual vikings as far as there are records. However, my closer Scandinavian and Northern German ancestroy has been much harder to trace, so I really appreciate this information.
My Grandmother's name was Rigmor Mortensen. She was born in America, her parents were directly from Denmark 🇩🇰 My Great Grandfather went by George in America, but his name was Ragnar.
The Mormon church has records galore, on just about every family in this country. "U.S.A." A very good place to start. There, and the counties in which your grandparents were born and or married. Family bibles...
The Mormons run all the genealogical sites. It all started from their internal record keeping for their "Baptism of the Dead" practice. Then they realized they can make money off all the data they gathered.
My son and grandson showed a small amount of Scadanavian/Viking ancestry from my husbands side, not mine. I didn’t realize people found this to be so favorable!
I was getting so frustrated that so many lines of mine stopped in the 1600s. I got as far as the late 1400s with one line. Thanks for explaining why that is so!
This is such an interesting video! Agreed...do not trust the DNA BS tests! I am fortunate enough to have royalty in my family tree and as you say, am able to trace my lineage way back beyond even the vikings. And I am honored by the Vikings, Saxons, and royal houses that I am connected to. I can even find pictures of some of the castles they lived in, the banners they carried, and the family crests as well. But what I have discovered in tracing it back is just how interconnected it all is. The farther back you go, the more you can see how the blood lines intermingled. Because the vikings traveled so much, their bloodlines are scattered all across many regions (as you said). And many of them married into royalty. Their blood is mixed with many cultures. And it amazes me just how diverse it all is! But I am Proud to call my self Viking! It also seems fitting to my personality! Thanks you so much for sharing this information!! P.S. I Love your store! I am Penny.... the one who buys so many things from you! You have the best Authentic items!
The closest thing to royalty I have is Danish aristocracy banging his mistress full of babies in the 1700s. But given the rest of my family are Danish farmers, living in Denmark, we all have danish names and look Danish, I find it pretty likely that I may in fact be a little Danish.
Generally I just look in a mirror and know who I am and where I come from. But on my mother’s side my uncle traced the family tree back to the 1400’s in Yorvik/ York, Northern England. On my father’s side is a bit sketchy with English/ Scottish and part Norwegian.
I'm fortunate enough to belong to a Scottish clan with records dating back to the mid 1100s. Oddly enough, the first recorded member of the family was named Bertolf, which is a very Germanic name. Currently I'm in the process of determining his origin. I was also lucky to have done my DNA by family tree DNA which has a dedicated geneologist that works through very specific DNA subclades. They traced my DNA to Scandinavia before 1100. I would recommend only family tree DNA over all other groups for anyone interested.
3:30 - basically Church Books in translation. Fridtjof Nansen is part of the collage of this video (as the featured picture of it) as well as Erik the Red discovering Vinland (i.e. Newfoundland in Canada).
Jensen family traced to a small farm in Rousthøje , Denmark in mid 1800s. Exactly like you mentioned! Records come from the Rousthøje kirke with help from family. Always wonder how long they lived there and had their farm.
Thank you for putting together a basis on researching Scandinavian ancestry. As an amateur genealogist, I have traced my Grandfather's birth to the Eide farm on Holsnoy Island, Southeast of Bergen. My Grandfather and his sister settled in Minnesota, USA. Through my cousin's research, I have found a genetic link to King Charlemagne. Also, a link to King Harald Fairhair. It is on my bucket list to visit the island where relatives still live.
My maternal grandfather's grandfather's family came to the USA in 1896. I found the actual ship list. They came to live in Alabama & Mississippi. My grandfather is Howard Swendson, but the name spelling I found in Odd, Norway is Svensen. I'm hoping to travel to Norway by next year!!!
I have traced my family tree to the deCarteret family of Normandy, my Ancestor Renauld deCarteret was a Knight in the first Crusade of 1096. After around 1100 he settled in Jersey Channel Islands, this is on my Grandad's Mother's side. I do have the tree to prove this, so his line would have came down with Rolo.
one of my neighbors is finnish and they have a book of records of family birth and death dates that go back to the 750 or so. the book itself of course is a lot newer but was updated every few years personally, my great grandparents came from norway (grandma's family) and sweden (grandpa's family) my grandmother's last name is vik which is cool. we found a bunch of stuff about our family which was fascinating, including my great grandparents' marriage certificate
I've done a lot of genealogy work on my family. As was noted in the video, people didn't move around much, so when you find ancestors prior to the mid 1800s they've typically always been in that place. In fact the vast majority of my ancestors lived the past 800+ years in Sunne, Värmland, Havrebjerg Sogn, Denmark, and a couple of villages in Friesland. I was able to trace thousands of ancestors in those places almost entirely through church records. And my genealogy history kind of ends where those church records begin. There are a few exceptions. For instance my German ancestor who moved with his father (a Lutheran Minister) to Sunne 500 years ago. And the one branch of the family from the Rhineland. There is something about that which is comforting, especially in these modern times where people move all over the place constantly... it can feel as though we are rootless or unmoored. Knowing my people were there in those places for so long feels good. Finding each of my ancestors who established our family/sur names was super interesting. Even stranger by today's standards was finding countless instances of ancestors who named their first sons after them selves, and seeing the names Nils Nilsson or Jan Jansson repeated over and over again...like a glitch in the records. LOL. So much of the local records from Sweden and Denmark are available online now. It makes the research so much easier than it was even 10 years ago.
My surname is a Gaelic term for Vikings , and after exploring my YDNA thoroughly , it is obvious my paternal lineage came from Norway during the Viking Age and settled in the Hebrides . But YDNA shows that most with my surname don't have a Norse paternal lineage but a Celtic one instead. I got lucky , but in short , don't assume anything about your lineage based on your surname because it's probably not what you think it is.
00:10 My favorite thing about you. 00:33 My 2nd favorite thing about you. Mom's maiden name was Engebritson, out of Norway (I was told Oslo area when I was a child) and Grandpa's name was Gisle. I'm 3rd gen American and have never met a family member actually IN Norway.
10:38 this was the exact moment all the facebook descendants of Ragnar changed their mind and are now pursuing their highlander ancestors. 😛 God jul Thor 🎄
Exploring my family has always been very important to me. I've always known I had German roots due to my last name and my bestemor telling me the stories she heard from her oldeforeldre about our lineage, but also the Norwegian in our family. And then on my mothers side we're either Finnish, Russian or both, but those records have been lost to time other than knowing they were most likely railroad workers in the areas near Trondheim in the late 1800s. I always wanted to know more but have had a hard time finding any sorts of records. All I know for sure is I'm part German, part Eastern European and mostly Norwegian
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 🎉 My surname started in Yorkshire Northern England a long long time ago and my Grandfather was from Waterford Ireland.. Skelton is a Norse and Anglo Saxton name from the first Viking raids. I did a lot of searching. A lot
My grandmother, her name was Cain, it goes back to the Isle of Man, around the town of Peel, and I got back to the 1500’s, there is a dna research project for the Cain/Caine/Keene families, they all come down to 1 man, who they believe to be one of the descendants of Godred Crovan. One of the late Umi Ivar supposedly.
Thanks for the video. My mom did the DNA test. She was surprised to find out we have a lot of DNA from Scandinavia. She had a Scottish last name and expected that part but not the northern European part lol. Thanks again
Thanks for a informative and interesting channel, be aware do that the country borders looked different during Viking age, what you call Norwegian Vikings today you must ad some parts of Sweden because of that the land borders where different, same for Danish Vikings where you need to ad south of Sweden into it, so better to talk about West, South and East of Scandinavian Vikings. Jonny😊😊
6:46 Also, and I quote: "Endless spelling variations are a prevailing characteristic of Norman surnames. Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules, and the introduction of Norman French added an unfamiliar ingredient to the English linguistic stew. French and Latin, the languages of the court, also influenced spellings. Finally, Medieval scribes generally spelled words according to how they sounded, so one person was often referred to by different spellings in different documents".
Thank you for pointing out my same concerns with these DNA test companies. Nefarious to say the least
My great grandfather was Jorgen Anton Erichsen from Drobak, Norway. He was a sailor, who jumped ship in Australia to pursue his fortune on the goldfields. Shame he didn’t find the mother lode.
it is Drøbak! no place called "Drobag" in Norway!
@@stigc.minkstuen Yes you’re correct. Slip of the fingers typing.
My matrilineal ancestry is Scandinavian. I'm Canadian so I guess that makes me a candi-scandi. Kidding. Stay safe and be well. Love from Canada. ♥
Scandinadian. Canavian. Canascandinavadian.
Scandi-candi
😂 some of my DNA Scandinavian born Hungary live 🍁 what I'm? Hunscandi😊
Listening to your video, family name check, family history check, check and check (but Scotland, England, Norway, Eastern Europe), DNA (back in the innocent days) and mom has done out family history back to the 800's.... but I'm fm 6'1', red headed when I was young, and while this is all nice, I think it's the heart, integrity, intelligence, fortitude, and logical mind that was given from our ancestors that matters. Thanks for all you do!
DNA tests can only go back 250 years. That’s 7 generations. At 7 generations you only inherit 1% ancestry from the 300 or 1,000 or so ancestors. You only inherit 12.5% from great grandparents and after that it goes down.
Red black and brown and gray naturally hair
My YDNA signature is I1-S12289 and I was born with blonde hair. So I must be a son of Ragnar, but I went bald as I got older. So maybe I am actually a son of Balder.
🤭 Te-he.
I spent a few days on the "myheritage" site and got results on my direct paternal line thanks to the church records and other people's work on that site. Results back to the 1400's. My earliest paternal ancestor lived in the same village I do now. I still live on the farm my maternal family has had since the 1300's, in a smaller town in Hustadvika, Northwest Norway. Both my last names from parents are descriptions of the type of landscape where the family farms are located.
That is so beautiful. I envy you!
That is so very interesting!
I used Family Search and my Mom's side was easy as there were records back to Aurich and Kessel, Germany to the 1500s. Finding my Dad's Czech side was much harder. I was able to finally find a church record book from the region I thought they were from based on the marriage records after coming to the USA. I had to scroll page by page for hours until I finally hit on it. It was a pretty cool feeling and I got everything from the town to the house number etc.
Wow. I stopped the video to read this one. Fascinating stuff. ♡
One of the best ways to look for living relatives is to find the area near where your family thinks they come from and look for any similar names-spelling can vary. Find out if any are farmers. Farmers tend to keep the land in the family for many generations. Those living near are probably also related.
That's great that you descend from Ragnar, but you realize that you have 1,048,576 20th great grandfathers....right?
I have a Hans Hanson from Bergen. All his boys took the last name Bergen.
If your ancestors are from ICELAND, then you are a VIKING for sure.
@@survivorisland Yeah, lots of back and forth and stopping in the Orkneys I suppose. I am Icelandic & Swedish descended Western Canadian myself. Lots of Viking blood across Western Canada.
Thank you so much for this! I’m in the UK and expected my dna to show like 1% Scandinavian etc dna and I actually got a large chunk from Sweden, Norway, Finland and a tiny bit of Iceland as well as Europe and Britain and I spent months really deep diving both sides of my family and on my moms side we have a ridiculous amount of nobility and huge names from English and Scottish history and I come from the sister of Richard iiis which ended up back up to frickin king Rollo of all people! I expected a dead end or some peasant line that was impossible to track and I honestly was floored and I still can’t believe it months later, I keep thinking I got it wrong and recheck the sources and it amazes me, I’m quite closely related to princess Diana and the Spencer’s and all sorts, it’s absolutely mental to me, it’s so fascinating to be able to trace back so far, I’m quite grateful to have such upper class ancestors so it’s easier to track but still 😳😬 I was a child with almost white hair it was so blonde and I have blue eyes so that’s so cool it’s still coming through the dna so far down the line!
Norse and sami here. I love my super-Nordic heritage :)
_(Thanks to a famous relative, I managed to get names "before rural" christianity)_
I'm a big fan of your videos especially because of you debunking all the myths and pop-culture cultivated beliefs about Norsemen and Scandinavians across history. The ancestry information in Poland, where I'm from, is also not as accessible and stored as you mention about Scandinavia. Most of the records would be in churches or town halls, difficult to obtain for just your personal research. Knowing my ancestry only 3 generations has always frustrated me deeply, given how turbulent polish history was. I did jump on the heritage DNA test band wagon hoping it would bring about some more details. It came back saying I was 73.3% Eastern European (surprise, surprise), 15.1% baltic - makes perfect sense as we had a commonwealth with Lithuania for few centuries, 6.8% Balkan - again makes perfect sense, a lot of Slavic people have balkan and baltic roots, but what came as a surprise was 2.9% Scandinavian and 1% Finnish. Now looking at it globally I'm a diluted Slav with quite a rich heritage probably dating way way back. It also gave me a raw data i could run through my trueancestry site to find actual burial and excavation sites data linking to specific venues. Again this might be another gimmick, but it did really feel fantastic to see specific locations, excavation pictures and being connected to particular individuals as your ancestors - mostly ancient/medieval Estonian, Ukrainian and Swedish if to believe this site.
Fortunately for our family we have a (Norwegian) heritage book that goes all the way back to 1743 thanks to a great aunt who put it all together. Our family name is Holten in the Heidal / Vaage regions. The name changed to Hollin when my great grandparents came through Ellis Island in 1907. I'm now updating / digitizing our heritage book for my nephews and nieces. It's been fun looking through all the information even though many of the documents are in Norwegian.
My family has a book, too. We've been in North America for about 400 years and it has genealogical record from my generation back to the mid 1700s.
@@gcanaday1Ours too, but we're Northern Ireland.
It was pretty funny I found out. I’m actually old Norse now I understand. My ancestry goes back to 330 A.D
I am more interested in the culture of my Swedish ancestors. I thought my mother was directly German, but on her father's direct line, our ancestor was a Swedish soldier, fighting for Germany and the Netherlands in the 30 Years war with Gustavus Adolphus. He settled to farm in Germany after his military service. The Viking thing is interesting, but I just see it as an ancient Piracy, brought on by hunger and testosterone! I love this channel for the Pagan culture and Germanic history, etc. You do great work. I was adopted and was told my real father was Irish, but when I hired an investigator and took part in DNA testing, I found out my Y-DNA was called the "Dutch DNA" and my Maternal DNA used to be about 15% of Danish women, but has declined over the centuries. My DNA is Scandinavian, NW Europe, Germanic Europe and 25 percent Bato-Slavic, from my East German ancestors who lived in Kaliningrad Russia, so this channel is awesome to me.
Everybody had a long ship way back when!
I'm an American mutt with German, Scandi, .... [Lutheran swirl] and a bit of Russ. One Catholic ancestor way back when, makes me 1/32nd Irish and 1/32nd French. If we can judge by the names.
Remember,. it's not where you were, but where you're going! Do most of us find our ancestory in the new world is divided along religious lines? I am curious abouthat. Happy Yule !
Hi, interesting background, i advice you to look into old maps because the land as it is today was not same during old time. That is what some DNA companies miss out taking in. Take care! Jonny Stockholm Sweden
There wasn’t much else to do in those days. Many Vikings were also mercenaries. These were largely landless men, probably second or third sons with no property rights. They had the option of getting a “job” or living a life of adventure. The same could be said even in post Middle Ages in the 1700s. Only first borne and second borne could inherit land. One of my Scottish ancestors came over to the Smerican colonies for land as he was a third son. He only inherited the title of Sir. He got his land after his military service. In Europe many third sons or second sons would make a career in the military to gain wealthy, maintain status and to basically earn respect and sone authority (especially in Britain). My ancestor did this (a Stewart from Scotland) and he received an officers commission and land (for his service). His descendants would later be deported to Canada for being loyalists during the war of independence 😂 (my dad’s people are Anglo Canadians). I live in the state that Scottish ancestor lived in too and even in the same county which is an odd coincidence.
@@jonnyolsson3551 Yes, I have read about the history. I match more Danish people than Swedish with genetic matches, and I'm sure it is because of the border being in flux!.
This channel has that balance of academic and magical, and I just love it so much 🌸
A very interesting video, my mother recently carried extensive research into our family history and it turned out that our ancestors on both the paternal and maternal sides of the family where at the battle of Hastings. On my maternal side I’m related to Roger Bigod, a Norman Knight who became the first Earl of Norfolk. Through him I can trace my ancestry back to 732 in Norway. On my Father’s side I’m related to a Danish mercenary who fought for a Knight and was awarded land in Lincolnshire. I took a DNA test after we discovered this information and it showed me a being a large percentage Norwegian / Icelandic and Germanic. Interestingly I showed up with 8% each of Scottish and Irish - I’ve got no idea where that came from
The Norwegian on my mother's side is pretty well documented. They came from Bergen. Norwegian was spoken in my grandparents home. My father's side was pretty sketchy. One of my sisters made progress and connected with some long lost relatives. Turns out I'm 50% Scottish. Our Scandinavian genetics are pretty apparent. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and I have a red beard.
I'm basically the same, but half Danish and half Norwegian from my mother's side. My grandfather's parents were pure Scandinavian. I believe that most people of some mixed blood or ancestry will more strongly identify with their most prominent ancestral DNA background. I honestly don't identify with my Scottish ancestry. I dig Braveheart and would like to visit there. But yeah, this kinda stuff you can feel in your bones.
This is very interesting. I am from Northern Europe, specifically between Norway and Iceland known as the Faroe Islands. I took a DNA test on MyHeritage and the result was a bit shocking. It showed that I am 100% Scandinavian/Northern European. Without interference from anyone else. It is quite common that DNA often shows that you have DNA from many different countries. But not in this case. Having said that, I know very little about DNA. I have no idea how far back it goes. What I do know is that life on earth did not begin in the Faroe Islands 😊
🇫🇴 🇧🇻
Amazing advice about the mainstream DNA test kits… people should be very wary.
And thank you for making this video! I am lucky enough to have an extensive family tree that has been preserved of my Danish heritage and have knowledge of relations to Danish royalty hundreds of years ago. My grandparents and great parents have always claimed to know of Viking ancestry as well, but I haven’t been able to get concrete proof as their is not a ton of accessible genealogy info online in relation to Danish Vikings’ lineage. I’ve been at a standstill with this search for a while now, so the methods described in this video are greatly appreciated!
Your content is truly incredible, and I’m so grateful for all that you share with us.
Merry Christmas my friend!
The Vikings weren't some magical group of people whose DNA and culture were somehow separate from the rest of Germania. If you have English, German, Dutch, Swiss, or northern French ancestry, you're just as Germanic as someone with Danish or Norwegian ancestry. People worshiped Odin and went into berserker trances during Roman times, too, and those people went on to become part of countries like England and Germany. You don't have "Viking DNA" just because one particular group who has more or less the same DNA as Germans or Anglo-Saxons resisted Christianity for slightly longer than the others and used longboats to go raiding hundreds of years later. Frisian, Frankish, Alemannic, Angle, Saxon, Bavarian, etc. DNA is from the same genetic cluster, the languages are related, and the religion and way of life were originally the same.
When the Vikings first landed at Lindisfarne, they were raiding the great great grandchildren of the Germanic pagans from centuries earlier who had close marriage ties with Scandinavia, the same artwork on their helmets, the same myths, etc. In fact, your average Englishman along the east coasts of the British Isles, whether in London or Yorkshire, has up to fifty percent of their DNA coming from an original homeland in Denmark or southern Sweden prior to the start of the Migration Period.
As a 100% pure blood Scandinavian, I feel like you're coping hard.
The people of old Germania were only partly: Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria. / More central and eastern europe than western.
These people can to some extent claim Germanic, but NOT Scandinavian, as us Scandinavians evolved our "race" and culture seperate from the rest of Europe.
It's true that some of the Viking traditions originate in old Germania, but that does NOT mean that every person who has some Germanic blood can claim Scandinavian.
You also makes it sound like those who tests positive for a high percentage of Scandinavian ancestry who resides in the UK have so much Viking ancestry because their ancestors in (Denmark & Sweden) migrated there before the Vikings arrived, which is just laughable. If that were the case it would say Germany on the DNA test, not Sweden or Denmark.
The people of UK who have Scandinavian ancestry have so much Scandinavian blood because they got absolutely dominated over the course of centuries by the Vikings, not by peaceful migration before the Viking age.
@@Kain81023 There's so much wrong here that I don't even know where to begin.
First, as for this idea that native Scandinavians somehow have much more "Viking" DNA than the other Germanic territories: DNA tests have proven that Icelanders are up to 50% Celtic because of a massive intaking of Irish women as brides and concubines during initial colonization. Along the coasts of Norway, there is a decent amount of Portugese DNA due to naval trade in recent centuries. To the north, Sami ancestry is quite high.
Scandinavians did not evolve a "separate" culture from the rest of Europe. By the early 900's, they were already converting to Christianity, particularly in Denmark. They heavily intermarried in Russia among the native Slavic population. And in Normandy, the vast majority of DNA is Frankish, Gaulish, or Breton in nature, with only a small portion coming from Danes from the first generation of settlers. Sure, in the UK, up to 50-60% of DNA even in heavily Anglo-Saxon areas might be of Celtic origin, but in places like Frisia and Lower Saxony in northern Germany, there is actually more Scandinavian DNA than in Iceland, for example. These are areas with strong cultural ties between the Frisians and Saxons on the one hand, and the Danes and Norwegians on the other, with little input from Romano-Celts, Gauls, or other Celtic groups.
The reason for why Germanic ancestry implies original ancestry from Scandinavia is because that's the ancestral homeland of all Germanic peoples, and the DNA has changed little since the Iron Age, even if it has been "mixed" quite heavily (in all regions) over the centuries. So the actual "Germanic" component of the DNA is the same thing as what we might think of as a Scandinavian component, because that's just where these people came from. The Visigoths were a sub-branch of Goths, or Gutes, related to Beowulf's Geats. The Langobards came from southeast Sweden before winding up way down in Italy. The Vandals, Rugi, and Heruli all have their origins there, as well. Beowulf frequently makes mention of marriages and kinship connections between Geats, Swedes, Danes, and Wuffings, who later migrated as Wulfings to East Anglia in England with their Angle relatives, where the poem was preserved. The Saxon rebel leader was the nephew of a Danish petty king at the time of the building of the Dannevirke. The list goes on and on.
Odin did not exist in a vacuum. There was Wotan, Woden, Wodan, and Godan for a reason.
Your point about Viking ancestry in the UK is utter nonsense. I can link you to specific papers that break down DNA results in the UK by region. Whether East Anglia, the east midlands, or Kent, there is DNA categorized as North German, general German, Swedish, or Western Europe. In these studies, it is pointed out that it is almost impossible to tell the difference between North German and Swedish, and you have to combine the two groupings to account for both Anglo-Saxons and Danes. In other words, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Frisians, and Danes are almost genetically indistinguishable in these ancestral populations.
This idea that English people were "dominated" by Vikings is also nonsense. The Vikings did not arrive in the British Isles until 793, and even then things were slow going until larger, more organized armies gradually appeared with greater frequency going into the 9th century. These later Scandinavian migrations, particularly where the Danelaw eventually emerged, account for anywhere between 6 and 10 percent of English ancestry, depending on region. The other 30-40% of "Scandinavian" DNA in England is Anglo-Saxon in origin, and would have started appearing in the early fifth century, many hundreds of years earlier. This is the vast majority of DNA that is marked as either North German or Swedish in the studies.
Again, we can thank the Dannevirke for this separation between "Scandinavia" and continental Germania, and before Widukind's day and the campaigns of Charlemagne, there was no clear separation between Germany and Denmark on either side of the wall. Jutes and Angles were geographically much closer throughout history to Danes and Swedes than they were to Saxons. But all maintained regular contact until the official subjugation and conversion of the Saxons.
The East Anglians migrated from the Schleswig-Holstein region of northern Germany and parts of Jutland, bringing kin with them from Geatish and Danish tribes. They spoke the same proto-Germanic dialects, before the slight splitting between the North Sea and Northern branches occurred. They worshipped the same gods. The Sutton Hoo helm from the 6th century with twin dragon Odinic warriors dancing in ecstasy is further proof of this, as it was constructed at roughly the same time as similar armor was being made during the Vendel period in Sweden, with identical iconography.
You are a troll who doesn't have a clue. End of story.
Wait why are either of you replying to my comment with this…? I’m not saying Vikings were some magical group of people whose DNA is this or that as both of you have said. I am purely sharing my understanding of my own personal family tree and lineage. Our ties to the royal family in the 1600’s and 1700’s is an absolutely confirmed fact. My family has also as far back as I can tell in our genealogical records had the understanding that we were descended from a Viking community. I am lucky enough to have extensive and detailed records of my family’s ancestry, and yet I’ve not been able to find much on our direct tie to Viking peoples in Denmark. That’s all I was saying! 🙃
My oldest is Olaf Arfvidsson Thegner. He was born on Christmas day 1615 in Thegneby, Vist, Västra Götaland, Sverige. I have/had bright blonde hair and Grey eyes. Very rare eye color. My skull is a bettering ram. I am 235lbs and 6'4"tall. Also a berserker
I'm pretty sure "Viking" was more of an action. Like "on a Viking" as if it was an activity or "job".
I know that the original people who went to America (New Sweden) in 1641. Hans Mansson and Ella Stille. Other than that, I have 50% German and Frisian (mother’s side) plus about 30% from the British Isles. I swear to God, I have been haunted in my dreams as long as I can remember about “Going North”. I’ve lived in Singapore and Florida until I was 16 years old. I remember such a powerful feeling of not being where I belong. I think that my ancestors want me to go back to the old country. I feel so comfortable when I visit Seattle. The climate there is comparable to Northern Europe. I live in Texas now and cannot stand the heat. Before I even gotten my DNA tested, I had this fascination about moving to Stockholm (which is where Ella Stille was originally from!!!).
These are the exact reasons why i have never taken such dna tests. But i know a lot about my mothers side of the family, our history goes back to the 1400s, French nobility from Normandy. We still have our titles and our coat of arms. My Fathers side come from the north in Scandinivia, unfortunately i don't know much about those ancestors.
Love your video's.
I’ve been working on my family tree for over 30 years. I have both my mother and my father’s side traced back to the 1600’s. Took a DNA test and had to erase my fathers fathers entire side of my family tree, since DNA shows we’re not related.
History and paper records don’t mean anything unless your DNA shows those records and history actually belong to you.
I don’t know for sure if I have any Scandinavian blood. I know I’m Welsh, Native American and with a splash of Czech and Sicilian.
My Grandfather from the Welsh line had found a guy in the past that allegedly traced us back to Duke Richard the Fearless of Normandy, who was the great grandfather of King William and the grandson of Rollo. The legitimacy of that though is a bit iffy.
From there he tracked that line eventually ending up with minor holdings in Wales, which was actually true. For a while we were minor nobility in Wales and some heirlooms passed down confirm that.
Regardless of if there’s actually any Norman link there or if it’s just purely Welsh, it’s still a very cool line.
Celts are badasses in their own rights and the welsh deserve credit for keeping one of the last remaining Celtic languages alive despite attempts from the English to suppress it.
All my life, people kept saying I looked Scandinavian. It's even been the theme of various nicknames I've had since the 90's. I never understood it until I traced my family heritage. Both my paternal and maternal families stem from Norman royals who teamed up with William the Conqueror in 1066.
I thought it was just because I was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed metalhead with a strong interest in paganism. Hah! My version of Me started making more sense after that.
I've since migrated to Europe where I belong. My son will be born this winter.
Danish/Norwegian DNA in Normandy was quickly reduced because the original Viking settlers didn't bring brides with them, and married local women. Their children then went on to marry other men and women who had 0% Danish/Norwegian DNA, and so on. So most of Norman DNA is more likely to be Frankish, Burgundian, or something non-Germanic like native French/Breton (from Brittany), Roman, Gaul, etc. That's not to say that you don't have Viking ancestors. But this idea that Vikings are somehow genetically distinct from anyone with Germanic ancestry is based in pop culture. You're just as likely to get all those traits you listed from English ancestors, who would have originally been Woden-worshiping bear warriors from Angle, Saxon, and Jutish tribes. Or German ancestors, who were the same from the Suebi, Alemanni, Bavari, Franks, Saxons, and a myriad other groups. Or from Dutch, Belgian, or Swiss ancestors, who descend from the Alemanni, Franks, and Frisians.
Most of northwestern Europe is heavily dominated by DNA that originates in Scandinavia, and at least half of these people were converted to Christianity surprisingly late, in some cases just a few years before the start of the Viking Age (Frisians and Saxons). So that's not nearly enough time for there to be some hard barrier in the DNA between, say, Denmark and the Netherlands or Germany. There is no such thing as "Viking DNA." The Frisii, Goths, and many others used to harry and shout old Germanic battle cries in the name of Odin just like the rest.
I have traced my ancestral past back to the winnili, better revered as the langobard, as well as the visigoths, and the Angles..which I presume were in the Schleiswig Holstein region, I beg correction is this isn't correct. I love your channel, and Megi odin blessi thig!
Welcome home
Love it.
Historical records indicate most of my father’s ancestors lived in England. (eg, the last person there burned at the stake for heresy). He was surprised when his DNA was estimated at 1/3 Norse. After looking into it, I realized they all lived in areas colonized by Danes.
My mother’s maiden name was Wiggins. I had no inkling it was derived from “wigand” until her DNA was estimated as 1/3 Norse. Papaw Wiggins was 5-feet tall, bald, and bow-legged. He didn’t look Viking at all.
Finally, we all assumed the surname of my friend, McGuigan, was Irish or Scottish. Not according to the Google. “Son of the Viking”
Love your videos. My family is from Norway, Sweden, England and Switzerland. We live in USA now.
Kirkebok records are not that difficult to find. A lot of the Norwegian ones are online and are free to look at. You do need to know which parish your family is from though. Finding Scottish records is not necessarily all that easy in Caithness as there is a 1+ Generation gap in them.
I’m 4th generation 100% Norwegian family farm still there, talk to cousins occasionally 😀 helix test shows western Scotland and Ireland
I don't refer to Nordic people as Vikings,a Viking is a upperclass pirate and raider. That's why they had high quality weapons made of steel.
Greetings from viking dublin.
Olafson?
I grew up in a small tiny fishing village in Southern Sweden. My childhood friend ( 5 years older than me) said he didn't like Norwegians UNTIL he found out that his ancestor were quite famous Norwegian viking Chieftain/ Jarl! There we go! He is an amateur genealogist.
Isn't that the way of it? Well, if you go far enough back, we are all related to royalty, but it's so diluted that it means absolutely nothing.
I took one several years ago and got quite a surprise. I knew I was nearly entirely Russian on my dad's side, but on my mom's I learned I was mostly Germanic, Swedish, a bit of Scottish, and a tiny bit Slavic (that actually comes from my dad's side, I double checked the info)
Today (12/21) I uploaded my genetics into my true ancestry and they pinpointed my closest ancient ancestors as the Svear. Don't quite know how accurate that site is regarding DNA info, however. Definitely pretty cool.
The earliest ancestor I know of was born in 1410 in the northern port city of Lubeck, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Who knows if those previous to Peter Merklin engaged in viking, but I've got the height, stature, fair hair, and blue eyes to play one on Halloween!
Have traced mine to sigurd ragnessen form Denmark
Thank you for this video Thor. I have been researching for years and everything you say is true, based on what I know!!! For those in the US -- please remember that there was a Swedish colony near Wilmington Delaware, established about 1638. It was called Ft. Christina. Look it up to find out more about it, and it does have some info on names of people that arrived in America at that time. The colony was abandoned, but some stayed. I was eventually able to trace my ancestor back to Kopparberg Sweden. Luckily the resources in Kopparberg are online and the people (friends) there have done a good job of preserving records and making info available. It takes some work, but it can be possible! My little known Kruze ancestor from Kopparberg is more precious to me in many ways, even more than my noble line (which yes, does go back to Rollo). I imagine him being very smart and strong -- staying here after the colony was abandoned. He would have traveled south and west based on my records. Eventually settling in the "wilds" of Western NC -- marrying into English, German, and American Indian families. (BTW Thor, part of my noble line also traces to Charlemagne --- so part pagan, part Christian -- appropriate, since my Mormon mother left the church and married my atheist father!! it is true!! 🤣)
I fortunately, have a unique surname, it is Norman, carried into Brythonic and Celt 🏴 in the United Kingdom. It was and has been changed in spelling but is still spelled the same way. It means "writer of the testimonials ". We have a coat of arms, and a physical trait of early age silver hair, beards and sapphire eyes, and a strange liking for colder weather. And my mother's maiden was a very prominent Germanic name
This was so exciting to watch. I have family names ending in "sen" "berg" also names like Lund and Hansen, and many more. Some of my family went from Scandinavia into the UK, many came from Schleswig-Holstein and other places. I would love to really start doing some deeper research.
Thanks for the tips. Right now Im only back to the early 1800s when looking into my great great grandfather. So investigating records might be on the agenda when visiting Norway.
12:45 yep William the Conqueror who descended from Rollo, I have videos about this on my channel
I was adopted so had no choice but to do DNA checks (three different ones). My folks are small but I’m 6’3” 250 pounds with facial features you described and bright blue eyes. Results…Northwest Europe, England, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden and Northern France so I’m assuming I have “Viking” genes.
Great video keep up the good work. 👍😄
You are Nordic, brother.
@@c.antoniojohnson7114 I’m not the brightest but I’m thinkin so lol. 👍
Those Vikings really got around Europe. When you really dig into Europe's history back to 55 B.C. or so there was a number of huge migrations that crossed Europe. Groups like the Goths, Cimbri and Teutons made incredibly long journeys. The Cimbri and Teutons meet Roman forces in far northern Italy and defeated the legions in several battles. Then they wandered to west but decided to go back to north Italy. But Rome had gotten its act together and handed a decisive defeat to the wanders.
Cimbri were likely from southern Sweden with Teutons from northern Germany. The remnants of the two tribes assimilated into other areas and "vanished". Among historians/researchers the Norse were very good at mixing in to populations they "moved" to Normandy is a good example.
Most Dutch people will have some Scandinavian in their blood, although some are crushed and some get angry when they find out they're not 100% Dutch. Actually there's no such thing as Dutch DNA. Blame it on the Romans and Vikings.
I am fortunate as my family lineage links to the Ornevinge family in Sweden. Ornevinge is descended from the Brahe family with ties to Stenbock, Leijonhufvud, and Vasa. Once a lineage of nobility is found, the records are much easier to find because not only the church, but also the state retained records as titles were tied to land ownership and asset accounts.
Doesn't matter where youre from it's not easy to get records from 200 years ago. Its very hard to get records that are older than that
Extremely awesome video for demystifying my Germanic heritage. My family lost most of their tradition and history during the Lutheran expansion, but my cousin who is a professional genealogist was able to trace back to at least the 1500s in very northern Germany. We were a family of some sort of nobility, as we had a castle and a major battle in military history books occurred there. (My dad learned of it in his military history classes.) So, I was curious as I wanted to claim that Nordic heritage but didn't want to claim something that wasn't actually mine to claim. I was missing the history that made all of it make sense, thank you!
Ask your grandparents! Your greats also, if you still have them.
We know from this that Denmark and Normandy on my mother's side, and 400 years of North America on my father's with Lowland Scotland before that. Old people know things, that's why we have them.
Prussian (German/Polish - I am East German) nobility, not as easy as you think. 15 different ways to spell my surname without the title.
Hi ..i'm from Argentina and i have a little % of Scandinavia and other little bit of finnish ...one of my grandparents was adopted in spanish so i dont know my really last name ..i cant have any information about that( he had blonde hair and blue eyes anyways by my others spanish and italians ascentors had Green and blues eyes..not all but the half of my ancestors yes ) so i dont know maybe never will know..anyways my fenotipe is mediterranean
My grandma came over from Norway in 1934, her family were farmers. Their last name, Kvernplassen (I think I spelled that correctly) came from the farm they are from and still bears the same name today. I'm not sure what or if they had a last name before that. I never felt the need to try and connect my ancestors to vikings but maybe that's because I have so much family there still. I do love you're channel though and learning more about the history.
Your last name means “Mill or grindstone place” in Norwegian.
Yes, it was a mill for a long time before they began farming there. I'm a little surprised they didn't change their name to Miller when they came here. Instead, they went with the tried and true Olson. @@ketle369
My surname is Latimer , it means interpreter. It came to Britain with the Normans and translates to he who speaks Latin. My dna test was overwhelmingly northern British /Irish with a small amount of Norwegian. Also a smattering of Welsh . Coming from Liverpool , it makes me a typical scouser . Great video by the way mate . New sub
Have you looked into Queen Catherine Parr? She was Lady Latimer at one point! Could be interesting to see if you’re related to her or her in laws 🥰
Proper scouser?
@@letsdothis9063 born and bred in north Liverpool
My last name is Bain. It’s Irish/Scottish and it was a lot of fun to learn my family history.
Luckily my great great grandmother was a Gädda and that family line has been well documented back to the 1309s
I found relatives in Holland, contacted them, Found out more info (reunited my father with his cousin), was told we are Danish but lived in Avaldsnes for generations until they left for the Netherlands in late 1800s They still carry the "son" at the end of the name but "sen" instead. Was pretty easy, but unbelievably lucky to find family in Europe that were active on MyHeritage.
I’ve been enjoying exploring your channel for a bit now. This one really inspired me to dig into my family tree some. Found out my mom’s side is Irish / English and my dad’s side is Italian / German / Swedish. I’m still researching before doing a dna test, but am excited to find out more.
Fascinating stuff, thank you.
Happy Christmas from New Zealand 🙂
I have my family tree, was done by an aunt of mine..I have family still living in Karmoy west norway, hoping to visit one day. Thanks for the info , have learned so much from you! Blessed be
US census were done every 10 years and are a good way to get started and with any luck you might trace it back to the old world. Having nobility back there will make it easier, but they had lots of kids and used the same first names over and over for and by every sibling and every generation
Yeah, I hate that. There are too many mix ups, too much confusion, and too many family lines. It's a pain.
My grandma had an extensive genealogy done. My 1st traceable ancestor was Rolf The Viking. Also got some ❤druids in there. And I'm very in touch with it
Thanks to a very thorough research on my mother’s name Ruigrok, a family tree has been formed back to royalty back to Trojan ancestors in Creek history. Some go back to the Scottish bloodline to Engelbart. One goes to Martel 1, even biblical branches are being covered. I think the name Ruigrok can be traced back to Ragnar because its last name Lothbrock is similar to the clothing in the name Ruyghrock which means rough battle dress. The first mention of the last name is coupled to a person from Zeeland which can place it in the Netherlands and also Danish area!
Ty for continuing your amazing videos my friend …. I hope life is treating you very well 😎 ✌️ ❤️
Oldest people I know of from my family were born in the 1580's, but Im 100% certain my family lived in Sweden, Norway, Denmark during the Viking age as well. It's beyond clear that Im North Germanic seeing how all my relatives have looked. The genes are obvious.
Hello, I'm a Jensen here - one of the most common names that has proven impossible to trace. I only know my ancestry is mainly Norwegian and Danish; my great grandparents immigrated from the southernmost region of those countries in the late 1800's, but they sadly did not pass their family histories to their children. I look forward to using your information to potentially puzzle together my lineage! Thank you as always for your content, Skal!
Hello fellow Jensen
US here. My Y-haplo is R-CTS4179 (R1a1). Lots of MacDonalds, MacDougalls, and Norwegians on my Y match list.
In my opinion anyone with Norwegian ancestry has Viking ancestors ,the tiny population would surely share same history especially as the Viking @ge covered 300 years
Very informative. My paternal Grandmother was a Hetland of the former Hetland municipality of Norway, which included Stavanger, where my father was born. My paternal Grandfather was a Simonsen, “son of Simon”, both names representing the two examples you explained of how last names were formed. My father had the Viking look…blond, blue-eyed, Superman physique….very Viking like. Great video, Sir.
Well said about the DNA. But there are certain programs and online resources you can use, which are very helpful. In Norway there was no act relating to names until 1923, so anyone could use whatever name they wanted. But there was and is a very strong tradition of keeping track of our ancestors. Most people came from a farm, and would use that name along with the patronymic.
Thank you, this was very helpful. I'm lucky in that a lot of my ancestors were nobility and royalty so it has been easy to trace back to actual vikings as far as there are records. However, my closer Scandinavian and Northern German ancestroy has been much harder to trace, so I really appreciate this information.
My Grandmother's name was Rigmor Mortensen. She was born in America, her parents were directly from Denmark 🇩🇰 My Great Grandfather went by George in America, but his name was Ragnar.
The Mormon church has records galore, on just about every family in this country. "U.S.A." A very good place to start. There, and the counties in which your grandparents were born and or married. Family bibles...
The Mormons run all the genealogical sites. It all started from their internal record keeping for their "Baptism of the Dead" practice. Then they realized they can make money off all the data they gathered.
My son and grandson showed a small amount of Scadanavian/Viking ancestry from my husbands side, not mine. I didn’t realize people found this to be so favorable!
Love you videos man, regards for a Norwegian
I was getting so frustrated that so many lines of mine stopped in the 1600s. I got as far as the late 1400s with one line. Thanks for explaining why that is so!
Clan Gunn here in America.. Yes you are very right about genetics... We only need look in the mirror to know.. Great video. Thanks.
This is such an interesting video! Agreed...do not trust the DNA BS tests! I am fortunate enough to have royalty in my family tree and as you say, am able to trace my lineage way back beyond even the vikings. And I am honored by the Vikings, Saxons, and royal houses that I am connected to. I can even find pictures of some of the castles they lived in, the banners they carried, and the family crests as well. But what I have discovered in tracing it back is just how interconnected it all is. The farther back you go, the more you can see how the blood lines intermingled. Because the vikings traveled so much, their bloodlines are scattered all across many regions (as you said). And many of them married into royalty. Their blood is mixed with many cultures. And it amazes me just how diverse it all is! But I am Proud to call my self Viking! It also seems fitting to my personality! Thanks you so much for sharing this information!! P.S. I Love your store! I am Penny.... the one who buys so many things from you! You have the best Authentic items!
The closest thing to royalty I have is Danish aristocracy banging his mistress full of babies in the 1700s.
But given the rest of my family are Danish farmers, living in Denmark, we all have danish names and look Danish, I find it pretty likely that I may in fact be a little Danish.
Generally I just look in a mirror and know who I am and where I come from. But on my mother’s side my uncle traced the family tree back to the 1400’s in Yorvik/ York, Northern England. On my father’s side is a bit sketchy with English/ Scottish and part Norwegian.
I'm fortunate enough to belong to a Scottish clan with records dating back to the mid 1100s. Oddly enough, the first recorded member of the family was named Bertolf, which is a very Germanic name. Currently I'm in the process of determining his origin. I was also lucky to have done my DNA by family tree DNA which has a dedicated geneologist that works through very specific DNA subclades. They traced my DNA to Scandinavia before 1100. I would recommend only family tree DNA over all other groups for anyone interested.
@@mk-ur4cq theres likely medieval origin for that family name in Scotland. I used the People of Medieval Scotland database for help on mine
3:30 - basically Church Books in translation. Fridtjof Nansen is part of the collage of this video (as the featured picture of it) as well as Erik the Red discovering Vinland (i.e. Newfoundland in Canada).
great video my man love the format and unbiases peace and calm
Jensen family traced to a small farm in Rousthøje , Denmark in mid 1800s. Exactly like you mentioned! Records come from the Rousthøje kirke with help from family.
Always wonder how long they lived there and had their farm.
Jensen is also like the most common last name ever for a Dane.
Thank you for putting together a basis on researching Scandinavian ancestry. As an amateur genealogist, I have traced my Grandfather's birth to the Eide farm on Holsnoy Island, Southeast of Bergen. My Grandfather and his sister settled in Minnesota, USA. Through my cousin's research, I have found a genetic link to King Charlemagne. Also, a link to King Harald Fairhair. It is on my bucket list to visit the island where relatives still live.
Minnesota Is full of Viking DNA!
My maternal grandfather's grandfather's family came to the USA in 1896. I found the actual ship list. They came to live in Alabama & Mississippi. My grandfather is Howard Swendson, but the name spelling I found in Odd, Norway is Svensen. I'm hoping to travel to Norway by next year!!!
I have traced my family tree to the deCarteret family of Normandy, my Ancestor Renauld deCarteret was a Knight in the first Crusade of 1096. After around 1100 he settled in Jersey Channel Islands, this is on my Grandad's Mother's side. I do have the tree to prove this, so his line would have came down with Rolo.
one of my neighbors is finnish and they have a book of records of family birth and death dates that go back to the 750 or so. the book itself of course is a lot newer but was updated every few years
personally, my great grandparents came from norway (grandma's family) and sweden (grandpa's family) my grandmother's last name is vik which is cool. we found a bunch of stuff about our family which was fascinating, including my great grandparents' marriage certificate
Excellent video as always! Tusen tack! :)
I've done a lot of genealogy work on my family. As was noted in the video, people didn't move around much, so when you find ancestors prior to the mid 1800s they've typically always been in that place. In fact the vast majority of my ancestors lived the past 800+ years in Sunne, Värmland, Havrebjerg Sogn, Denmark, and a couple of villages in Friesland. I was able to trace thousands of ancestors in those places almost entirely through church records. And my genealogy history kind of ends where those church records begin. There are a few exceptions. For instance my German ancestor who moved with his father (a Lutheran Minister) to Sunne 500 years ago. And the one branch of the family from the Rhineland. There is something about that which is comforting, especially in these modern times where people move all over the place constantly... it can feel as though we are rootless or unmoored. Knowing my people were there in those places for so long feels good.
Finding each of my ancestors who established our family/sur names was super interesting. Even stranger by today's standards was finding countless instances of ancestors who named their first sons after them selves, and seeing the names Nils Nilsson or Jan Jansson repeated over and over again...like a glitch in the records. LOL.
So much of the local records from Sweden and Denmark are available online now. It makes the research so much easier than it was even 10 years ago.
You are so informative. Appreciate it
My surname is a Gaelic term for Vikings , and after exploring my YDNA thoroughly , it is obvious my paternal lineage came from Norway during the Viking Age and settled in the Hebrides . But YDNA shows that most with my surname don't have a Norse paternal lineage but a Celtic one instead. I got lucky , but in short , don't assume anything about your lineage based on your surname because it's probably not what you think it is.
in my family, somewhere down the line we went from Anderson to Berge after we took over a farm.
Thank you for a great video with lots of info.
00:10 My favorite thing about you.
00:33 My 2nd favorite thing about you.
Mom's maiden name was Engebritson, out of Norway (I was told Oslo area when I was a child) and Grandpa's name was Gisle. I'm 3rd gen American and have never met a family member actually IN Norway.
10:38 this was the exact moment all the facebook descendants of Ragnar changed their mind and are now pursuing their highlander ancestors. 😛 God jul Thor 🎄
Exploring my family has always been very important to me. I've always known I had German roots due to my last name and my bestemor telling me the stories she heard from her oldeforeldre about our lineage, but also the Norwegian in our family. And then on my mothers side we're either Finnish, Russian or both, but those records have been lost to time other than knowing they were most likely railroad workers in the areas near Trondheim in the late 1800s. I always wanted to know more but have had a hard time finding any sorts of records. All I know for sure is I'm part German, part Eastern European and mostly Norwegian
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 🎉 My surname started in Yorkshire Northern England a long long time ago and my Grandfather was from Waterford Ireland.. Skelton is a Norse and Anglo Saxton name from the first Viking raids. I did a lot of searching. A lot
My grandmother, her name was Cain, it goes back to the Isle of Man, around the town of Peel, and I got back to the 1500’s, there is a dna research project for the Cain/Caine/Keene families, they all come down to 1 man, who they believe to be one of the descendants of Godred Crovan. One of the late Umi Ivar supposedly.
Thanks for the video. My mom did the DNA test. She was surprised to find out we have a lot of DNA from Scandinavia. She had a Scottish last name and expected that part but not the northern European part lol. Thanks again
Thanks for a informative and interesting channel, be aware do that the country borders looked different during Viking age, what you call Norwegian Vikings today you must ad some parts of Sweden because of that the land borders where different, same for Danish Vikings where you need to ad south of Sweden into it, so better to talk about West, South and East of Scandinavian Vikings. Jonny😊😊
6:46 Also, and I quote: "Endless spelling variations are a prevailing characteristic of Norman surnames. Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules, and the introduction of Norman French added an unfamiliar ingredient to the English linguistic stew. French and Latin, the languages of the court, also influenced spellings. Finally, Medieval scribes generally spelled words according to how they sounded, so one person was often referred to by different spellings in different documents".
Not a Viking but this is an important topic.
Facebook and Reddit Pagans are a fascinating group,i like your style. Happy Yule to all my Nordic brothers and sisters.
Do you do sponsor ads? Where can I contact you if so.