A viking DNA test is a fun and fascinating way to learn more about your heritage. Many people share DNA with Vikings, but without a Vikings ancestry test, you'd have no way of knowing it. Viking genetic traits can look like traits from all over the world, so you wouldn't necessarily know you had them without a test.
Not only can DNA testing confirm whether you have Scandinavian roots, but it can also provide detailed information about the wider geographic origins of your family. With a simple cheek swab or saliva sample, you can unlock a wealth of genetic information that can help you better understand your own identity.
British and Irish ancestry was present across Scandinavia at the time, while eastern Baltic ancestry was contained in central Sweden and Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea. Southern European ancestry appeared in remains from southern Scandinavia.
The most well-known Viking physical traits include fair or red hair, light eyes, and tall stature. Though these features were found among many of the Vikings, it is important to note that not everyone who had these traits was descended from them.
Elsewhere, during the period, Viking voyages didn't just spread conquest and trade, but also genetic seeds that can still be seen in people today, with 6 percent of people in the UK estimated to have Viking DNA, and in Sweden, as much as 10 percent.
The genetic legacy of the Viking Age lives on today with 6% of people of the UK population predicted to have Viking DNA in their genes compared to 10% in Sweden.
What did the Vikings look like? Overall, Scandinavians had softer brows and jawlines during the Viking Age. Fair hair and complexions were common, but not ubiquitous. Dark hair was common, and red hair had a higher prevalence in Norwegian Vikings compared to the general population of Europe.
New research shows that the Irish definitely have their fair share of Viking heritage–in fact, the Irish are more genetically diverse than most people may assume. The Irish have Viking and Norman ancestry in similar proportions to the English.
The DNA test shows that there is a strong Viking heritage on few countries in Europe from England, Ireland, and Iceland to Greenland. Samples of the DNA suggest links to Viking heritage. In Finland and Estonia, there are links for Swedish Viking heritage.
Not only did many of the studied Vikings turn out to not be blond or blue-eyed, their genetic admixture shows they weren't a distinct ethnic group but rather a mix of various other groups, "with ancestry from hunter-gatherers, farmers, and populations from the Eurasian steppe."
Who are the descendants of the Vikings? Viking settlements exist in different parts of the world, including Denmark, Greenland, Iceland, Great Britain, Ireland, Scotland, Normandy and Swedish parts of Finland, Estonia and Latvia.
Vikings are still running rampant through Scotland as, according to the researchers, 29.2 per cent of descendants in Shetland have the DNA, 25.2 per cent in Orkney and 17.5 per cent in Caithness. This compares with just with 5.6 per cent of men in Yorkshire carrying Norse DNA.
Your ethnicity estimates may have changed. A small percentage of Scandinavian DNA can easily be explained by distant ancestors who settled in foreign lands. If your Scandinavian ethnicity is more than 20%, though, you probably have strong and fairly recent ties to the region.
In fact, across Great Britain there is a clear pattern: the highest Scandinavian genetic ethnicity is found in northeast England, decreasing as you get further from that region. And in Ireland, the average Scandinavian ethnicity varies rather widely, with a high of 5.3% in Ulster and a low of 2.0% in Munster.
The best-known Viking explorer is, of course, Lief Erikson, the first European to set foot in the Americas, beating Columbus to the continent by over 400 years.
WOMEN AS VALKYRIES AND SHIELD-MAIDENS
Women that fought were in the Norse literature called vakyries or shield-maidens (skjoldsmøyer). There were several kinds of female warriors. – Some were divine beings, like the valkyries sent by Odin to pick up the warriors that were slain on the battlefield.
Names such as: Cotter, Dromgoole, Doyle, Jennings, Lappin, Higgins, McLaughlin, McManus, Halpin, Swan, Grimes, Sweetman, Storey, Hendrick, O'Rourke, Cosgrave, Kitt, Broderick, Kirby, Hewson, Dolphin and Coppinger would all be modern-day Irish surnames of Viking descent.
Historically, Viking children were named after a deceased relative with the belief that the luck of that person would attach to the child and bring them success. In addition, names of gods were also a common choice when naming a child.
Several Scottish clans have Norse–Gaelic roots, such as Clan MacDonald, Clan MacDougall and Clan MacLeod. The elite mercenary warriors known as the gallowglass (gallóglaigh) emerged from these Norse–Gaelic clans and became an important part of Irish warfare.
The Vikings had various eye colors, although the predominant eye color was blue or gray. However, Irish Vikings had predominantly brown or hazel eyes, and some Viking settlements were much more diverse than others.
We thought we knew everything about the Vikings. But some new research suggests we've been getting it wrong. In the biggest study of its kind, published in the journal Nature Wednesday, researchers found that many Vikings actually had brown hair. And they weren't just from Scandinavia.
The faces of men and women in the Viking Age were more alike than they are today. The women's faces were more masculine than women's today, with prominent brow ridges. On the other hand, the Viking man's appearance was more feminine than that of men today, with a less prominent jaw and brow ridges.