DNA Matches

Confused about cousins? Learn about shared DNA between half-cousin relationships, focusing on half-first, half-second and half-third cousins.

In this easy to understand article, learn what centimorgans are, the definition of a DNA segment,how to estimate your relationship with your DNA match

One of the most exciting aspects of DNA testing is the extensive list of DNA matches that show up on your match list.  If you scroll through your DNA matches, however, you will quickly realize that many times it is not immediately obvious how your DNA match is related to you.  In this post, you …

Do you want to get in touch with your DNA matches? Here, find a template for contacting DNA matches that can be used for several different situations.

In this post, you will learn how to find shared matches on Ancestry DNA, what a shared match is, what it means when you share a match with someone, and how to use the information to get the most from your DNA results. The "Shared Matches" feature is one of the most helpful features available …

Are you curious about the number of DNA matches that you have, and why it doesn't exactly match the number that your parents have? If both of your parents have also tested their DNA, you might wonder why you don't match all of the people that they do.  You might even have DNA matches that …

In this post, you will learn whether MyHeritage DNA matches are legitimate, and the basic ways that you can determine how your match might be related to you.

Learn why siblings don't have the same DNA, how much DNA siblings share, and what you can learn from your siblings results. Easy-to-understand explanations!

Have you ever heard someone say that doing their DNA test changed them?  I used to think that that was a bit silly, since I felt like much the same person that I was when I first got started with genetic genealogy several years ago.  But then I realized that I check my DNA matches …

Does your child have DNA matches that you don't?  There are four main reasons why this happens, and in this post, you'll learn about them. The first thing that you should know is that it is normal for your children to have DNA some matches that are not on your list, and it doesn't mean …

In this post, you will learn what is a 3/4 sibling, how much DNA 3/4 siblings typically share, and how to know if you have a three quarter sibling.

Are you looking at your DNA match list and trying to figure out if one of your matches could be a first cousin to you?  Did your first cousin do a DNA test, and now you want to know if you share the right amount of DNA based on your relationship?  In this post you …

Have a Close Family match on Ancestry DNA? How are they related to you? Could it be a mistake? Read here for answers to these questions and more!

One of my favorite aspects of Family Tree DNA is how easy it is to sort and search through DNA matches.  When dealing with a list of hundreds upon hundreds of names, it definitely helps to be able to look for just one particular aspect of a user's profile and test kit. In this post, …

If you have a DNA match who should be a third cousin to you, but you want to make sure, you might be wondering how much DNA you should share with a third cousin.  You have come to the right place, and in fact, learning about DNA shared between third cousins is key to using …

Just when you think you understand all that you need to know about the way DNA matches work, you run into a match that shares more DNA with you than they do with your parent.  What does it mean if I share more DNA with a match than my mom?  Or my dad? There are …

There are many people who do the Ancestry DNA test that never realize that their test results come with a long list of DNA matches.  This article will help you understand your Ancestry DNA matches. Some who see the match list feel like it is overwhelming, and they don't know where to get started on …

Do you want to know if a DNA match is paternal or maternal? Using the information and techniques described in this post, you'll be able to figure out which side of your family your match is on. It's very common to have trouble determining whether a match is paternal or maternal, especially if you haven't …

How accurate are Ancestry DNA matches? Find out when they are 100% accurate and when you need to take a second look. Read more...

If your DNA match hasn't responded, and you haven't given up hope that they someday might write you back, there are a few things that you can consider to improve the probability that they will write you back.  In this post, I've listed six secret tips that you can try to improve your chances that …

One frustrating aspects of using DNA to learn about your family tree is when you contact DNA matches and there is no response.  Sometimes, you can even send multiple messages different ways and still get no answer.  In this post, I will discuss a few reasons why your DNA matches won't respond, and a couple …

Are you worried that your first cousin does not match on your DNA results? In this post, learn reasons why this might have happened and what to do next. More often than you might expect, people are surprised by their DNA results.  It can be disappointing or shocking to expect someone to be genetically related …

Shared Ancestor Hints on Ancestry DNA are a great way to find out how you are related to your DNA matches, and can even help you continue to build your family tree.  In this article, I will help you understand what these hints mean and how you can use them to help you in your …

Have you wondered if you should ignore your distant cousin DNA matches? Is there anything that can be gained through trying to identify how you are related to these relatives? Some of us have many thousands of DNA matches. Since it can be difficult to tell which matches are most important, many of us focus …

Have you found a close match on your DNA test results?  Maybe you are curious to know whether it could be a full or half sibling who is unknown to you?  Find out how much DNA you share with a sibling. On Ancestry DNA, and most other testing sites, they won't be able to tell …

I'm so glad that you have decided to get in touch with one (or more!) of your DNA matches!  I hope that with this post you learn how to craft your message, what information to include, and how to increase your chances of getting a positive response.  At the end of the post, there is …

It turns out that many people are curious about how many matches it is "normal" to have, or what they should expect.  In this post, we will talk about what to expect as far as the average number of DNA matches for Ancestry DNA customers. How many matches do you have?  Are you disappointed in …

If you are like most people, you probably have a list of DNA matches that contains thousands of people.  The relationships of these "cousins" to you can range from a close relationship, like a first cousin, to an 8th cousin once-removed - or even more distant!  Sometimes, the relationship can even be more distant.  I, …

Do you want to know where to look on your Ancestry match list to find out how many centimorgans you share with your DNA matches? In this post, find the two different ways to access this information and what you can learn. Have you seen people mentioning "shared centimorgans" or seen someone say "shared cMs" …

In this post, you will learn how much DNA you share with your child and how this affects your child's ethnicity estimate. If you have done an autosomal DNA test, you might be wondering what the average number of centimorgans (cMs) a parent will share with their child.  This is a very common question! How …

Do you want to know why you don't have more DNA matches? In this post, learn the reasons why you might have fewer genetic relatives on the DNA platforms than you were expecting. Some people are overwhelmed by the number of DNA matches that they see when they first log into their DNA results. After …