I’m German / English / Irish / Scot in almost equal proportions with a tiny fraction of Cherokee.
However, I grew up in Oklahoma and where that tiny bit of Cherokee was a big deal. I’m descended from the Ross clan, the mixed-blood family that lead the tribe during and immediately after the relocation, and my grandmother was still very active in tribal affairs, so my Cherokee identity was actually fairly important during my childhood.
I also identify as Irish/Scot just because that’s what I look like. I kind of forget about the others.
I look like a German and talk like a German. Both my first and my family name sound German. Both my mother’s and my father’s families originally come from a region which is almost the geographical center of Germany. I like sauerkraut and I prefer beer to wine. My parents made me wear lederhosen when I was a kid.
In today’s globalized world, I’m a total loser.
My father once claimed there was some French admixture, but there is no proof of that (although not totally implausible since Huguenots did indeed settle in the general area where the family once lived).
A brother of my paternal great-grandfather emigrated to the United States (Brooklyn, if I recall correctly). On my mother’s side, the family probably branched out to the Netherlands sometime in the first half of the 19th century.
Other than that, I don’t know any relative who has ever left the country (except on vacation).
I’m American. I don’t have strong ties to any culture across the pond. My mother is 100% Italian ancestry. I mostly identify with Italian-American culture* though I do not fit any of the stereotypes just due to the fact that growing up I spent more time with my mother’s large family. My father was Irish, German and Scottish. He identified mostly with Irish-American culture. But my last name is German, go figure.
*I don’t pretend to think that it has anything to do with modern Italian culture.
Same here, except anyone whose ancestors came over on the Mayflower isn’t going to be 100% anything. Just too many generations to have no mixing, unless you have flawless documentation.
1/2 British Isles. Dad’s family came over mid-19th century from Scotland (including an Irish immigrant to Scotland), England and Wales. A family of coal miners in eastern Pennsylvania.
1/4 Moravian (currently southeastern Czech). Maternal Grandfather’s Parents who moved to NYC.
1/8 German. Maternal Grandfather’s Father came from Hanau, or at least had family living there. Moved to NYC.
1/8 Swiss. Maternal Grandfather’s Mother came from Lucerne and moved to NYC.
As far as connections, Scotland is probably first since I was raised Presbyterian. My dad is the cook at home and he often cooked his grandmother’s recipes, which I assume are related to somewhere in the British Isles. My maternal grandmother could speak Czech. My maternal grandfather’s cousins in Hanau and Lucerne were still in contact with my family through the 50’s or 70’s or so, but I wasn’t born until the 80’s.
German and Scottish (mostly German). My choice of field was influenced by the whispers of hints at German culture that were passed down, and I’ve since adopted a lot more of it. I self-identify as German-American.
I’m just American. 3/4 of my background is British and Scottish, but my mother’s family has been in the States since… before there were states. Through that side I’m distantly related to Henry Hudson, a couple signers of the Constitution, etc.
I don’t really like America, but I don’t identify with any other culture/country either.
I have a Swedish last name, because my 1/2 Scotch, 1/2 mystery father is adopted.
My father was half Swedish, quarter Danish, quarter English.
Mother is half Mexican, half Italian.
Dad was adopted at birth into a small Mexican family; he was the only one of them living by the time I was born. Dad was very white on the outside, de facto Mexican on the inside, spoke perfect English and Spanish (raised bilingual), and was completely comfortable inside both cultures.
Very shortly after my Mom was born, her mother died, leaving no relatives other than her daughter and husband. So Mom’s father’s huge Mexican family is the only batch of relatives I’ve ever known.
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Since both sides of my family came to America over 300 years ago and subsequently migrated westward (VA-KY-MO-AR), I quite honestly can’t call myself anything but American. My surname is of French origin (Huguenots from Normandy) but my French ancestors’ subsequent generations married folks who’s names were Anglo. Mom’s side; same thing, all Anglo names. nothing but Protestants. No other nationalities seem to be represented, although it’s remotely possible there could be a bit of Native American back there somewhere. Not too exciting.
American. No ethnic tie to any of the ancestors’ countries. Two grandparents born in Europe (we’re talking Austro-Hungarian empire), and the other two going back to waaaay before the Revolution. I’m a mutt. American, period, although I do sort of self-identify as a New Englander. I keep a few quaint N.E. traditions alive out here in CA.
My son is an interesting case. As I’ve mentioned, I’m 100% Hungarian Jewish. My wife is 100% Chinese. (Both her parents are immigrants from China.). Our son is, of course, 50% each.
European mutt. German/Polish/Irish/Welsh/French/Norwegian/Swedish. But physically, I’m nearly completely Norwegian. Those ancestral roots and our German ones have the strongest sway on my family as far as what has been passed down. But, as a herring eating, broad shouldered actual real blonde with pale skin, I identify as Norwegian. Yes, I know that’s stereotypical, but accurate from my Norwegian farmer relatives.
And those genes do appear strong as both my kids look stereotypically Norwegian, too even though their dad has brown hair and hazel eyes and up the chain, the closest relative that looks like me is 2 generations away.
Hmm… Let’s see if I can recall what I found out before I had to let my ancestry.com subscription lapse…
French - My Mom’s grandma and her sisters came directly from France, I think in the early 1900s.
English - Can’t remember who, I’m sorry.
Native American - spec. Pawnee, perhaps Blackfoot (cannot be proven; many people at that period in time didn’t openly declare their Indian race/ancestry). In the past I identified with this ethnicity almost exclusively. I felt some kind of resonance there.
German - Back in the 1300s-1400s or so. Did not grow up knowing this. Had many bad experiences in history class where they talked about how awful Germany was. Several of my friends also have German ancestry. I am thus a little conflicted.
Welsh - WAY back, like in the 1200s-1300s. I find this unbelievably cool, probably because it was totally unexpected.
On forms I just check the box marked White/Caucasian.
I’m an American Southerner. I grew up with that identity, although those two words at once tell a lot and too little; I’m white, with the historical privileges that implies, but some of my ancestors were mixed race (African and Native) who did passe blanc. My family is also historically Methodist (with an occasional Baptist marrying in). That’s common enough in MS and from the outside you’d think I and my best friend have almost identical family histories, but upon closer inspection we don’t. Her family is Catholic, and her grandfather is a Yankee from Chicago.
My mother and my biological father’s families also came from different social stratum. My mother’s side were dirt-poor and some were share-croppers. My father’s family was originally Old Southern Aristocracy who descended into vice and insanity like something out of a William Faulkner novel.
I’m Australian, of English/Irish/Scottish stock. I did believe my ancestors were solely from the UK, but discovered a great, great, great grandfather from a small village in Prussia, which is now part of Poland. It’s an interesting little deviation in an otherwise pedigree. It’s hard to identify with, as absolutely no cultural traditions have been passed down from that branch, as evidenced by the fact it had been entirely forgotten by my family and came as a surprise to all of them. They may have something to do with the family having emigrated to Australia nearly 200 years ago.
In fact, none of my grandparents knew anything about their ancestral origins for sure, all of them guessed at their country of origin based on their surnames. Only my grandfather could remember a grandparent with an accent - his maternal grandfather was Scottish.
