Phil’s Puerto Rican DNA Update 2018

My blog post from earlier in 2018 revealing my Puerto Rican DNA results, is now outdated thanks to new data from AncestryDNA. My DNA is the same, however, the interpretation has changed.

The juggernaut genealogy company updated its algorithms a few months ago, providing more data on ethnic regions by breaking down larger ones to identify specific areas. This new information differs slightly from earlier in 2018, providing me with a new ethnic perspective for 2019.

My first results showed that 26 percent of my DNA came from the Iberian Peninsula, of which I thought mostly comes from Spain. I knew that some of my DNA could be traced to Spain’s neighbor, Portugal, but I never really thought much about that fact until I was informed of my most recent results.

AncestryDNA can now decipher between Spanish and Portuguese DNA and the incredible find is that I am 29 percent Portuguese and only 16 percent Spanish! This is amazing news to me, but initially, I had a tough time digesting the new information. My entire life I knew I was partly Spanish, but now I am emb r acing the reality that I’m more Portuguese than I am Spanish. There is a great deal to learn about Portugal, but I have begun the journey of knowing as much as possible.

My new DNA results also changed in regards to my African ancestry. I was first told that my African DNA came mostly from Nigeria and I was pretty excited about that all year. With the new data, my DNA is less Nigerian and actually more from Cameroon, Congo, Benin, and Togo. So much more to learn about these regions of my ancestry as well.

Another discrepancy from last year’s results is that I am less English and no longer Italian. The difference in findings moved to the current Portuguese DNA percentage.

My new ethnic breakdown now looks as follows:

29% Portuguese

21% Native American (Taino)

18% African (Cameroon, Congo, Benin & Togo)

16% Spanish

7% English/Welsh/NW European

2% European Jewish

2% French

1% Basques

1% German

1% Irish/Scottish

1% Middle Eastern

1% Norwegian

In summary, I am 60% European, 21% Native American, 18% African, and 1% Middle Eastern. AncestryDNA did warn that as the technology and science improves, there may very well be a chance that this particular view of my DNA may change again in the future. I am OK with that but do hope any future update will not variate too much from what it is today. We shall see?