The study shows the genetic history of Scandinavia was influenced by foreign genes from Asia and Southern Europe before the Viking Age. Early Viking Age raiding parties were an activity for locals and included close family members. The genetic legacy in the UK has left the population with up to six per cent Viking DNA.
A million Vikings still live among us: One in 33 men can claim to be direct descendants from the Norse warriors.
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.
Outside of Scandinavia, Britain is the place where you're most likely to find people with Viking heritage as the Vikings settled here and colonised. People who live in Britain and have I1 in their DNA can be quite confident, especially if their paternal name is Norse, that their ancestry is somewhat Viking.
“A lot of the Vikings are mixed individuals” with ancestry from both Southern Europe and Scandinavia, for example, or even a mix of Sami (Indigenous Scandinavian) and European ancestry.
The genetic legacy of the Viking Age lives on today with six per cent of people of the UK population predicted to have Viking DNA in their genes compared to 10 per cent in Sweden.
And experts say surnames can give you an indication of a possible Viking heritage in your family, with anything ending in 'son' or 'sen' likely to be a sign. Other surnames which could signal a Viking family history include 'Roger/s' and 'Rogerson' and 'Rendall'.
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.
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.
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.
1. Norway. As one of the countries where Vikings originated, there's tons of Viking heritage in Norway.
“The Vikings had a lot more genes from southern and eastern Europe than we anticipated,” said Willerslev. “They frequently had children with people from other parts of the world. In fact, they also tended to be dark-haired rather than blond, which is otherwise considered an established Viking trait.”
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.
Everyone of European descent possesses Viking ancestors. In fact, I can assure you with complete confidence that every individual on Earth is descended from kings and queens multiple times over.
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.
The average height of Vikings as found by researchers and scholars, varied depending on a number of factors, including their age and gender. Typically, the average male Viking would usually be between 5 foot 7 and 5 foot 9, while the average female would be between 5 foot 1 and 5 foot 3.
Viking Disease, more commonly known as Dupuytren's contracture, is a debilitating affliction in which knots of tissue form in the palm of the hand and gradually contract overtime, permanently bending the fingers.
At seven generations back, less than 1% of your DNA is likely to have come from any given ancestor.
Today almost 11 million Americans trace their ancestry to Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland or Iceland, making Scandinavians collectively the fifth-largest European heritage group.
Although it is impossible to know the origins of everyone in the Netherlands, it can be speculated that some of them have Viking blood so this is a Dutch Viking. One thing is for certain, people with Viking ancestry do live in different parts of Europe.
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.