# What are you? (Ethnicity...) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 3, 2008, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152 "2008-07-03T03:59:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152/21 "2008-07-03T10:43:15Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] I’m mostly descended from Jews from Eastern Europe, which means that most of my DNA probably comes from rapists. If you were to somehow have the ability to trace my lineage back 1500 years or so, and determine every single source of genetic material that contributed to what I am today, you would probably find lots and lots of rapists. Huns, Magyars, Polesians, Ruthenians, Cossacks, Turks, hell, maybe even a Mongolian or two. This is the only explanation, right? I mean, I’m Jewish, but I don’t look like someone from the Middle East. There are people in my family with blond hair, blue eyes, etc - and the Jews didn’t convert other faiths, so it’s not like there were people from European ethnic groups that became Jews and added to the bloodline. From a logical standpoint, the only answer is - rape. I’m Rapish. [/QUOTE] Wow, **AT**. No need to be so harsh - I mean, don’t you think it’s possible that at least \*some \* of our great-great-multi-great grandmothers fooled around a little? Played hide-the-salami with some strapping young _sheigetz_? - Alessan (blue eyed blond haired Jewish guy) ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152/22 "2008-07-03T11:23:16Z")
[QUOTE=SomeUserName] Their father was 100% Polish as was his parents and their parents. [/QUOTE] I don’t think anyone could be 100% Polish without their parents and their grandparents being 100% Polish. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hokkaido\_Brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d26b3c/32.png) [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152/23 "2008-07-03T11:35:08Z")
I am English, with a surname that can be traced back to one Scottish island. So I guess that’s where I am from originally but goodness knows who the original Scot married! I married a Japanese man whose mother probably had an Ainu mother. It causes huge family rows when brought up so we don’t, but I think the rows prove it! (Older Japanese people sadly still think Ainu blood is a shameful secret.) I’m sad that we can’t discuss it rationally and I’d be thrilled if it did prove to be true. I really think it is true - she has very non-typical Japanese features including light gold eyes. She also has a number of very weird animistic beliefs that she told me she got from her mother, that I have NEVER heard a Japanese person say. There was an ainu village across the road from where their farm was, etc etc. If that were the case then my kids would be 50% British mutt, 12.5% Ainu and 37.5% Japanese. ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152/24 "2008-07-03T12:00:52Z")
English Irish Danish Dutch German Czechoslovokian My last name is German. My hair is mostly blonde, except my beard is bright red - for which I think I can thank my Irish ancestors. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152/25 "2008-07-03T12:02:58Z")
Eastern European Jewish. ETA: Now I’ve read the thread… yikes **AT** , that’s rough… ---
**Author:** ![Septima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152/26 "2008-07-03T12:20:46Z")
Faroese/Norwegian with a hint of german on both sides and posibly a french or spanish pirate and a Sami witch-woman somewhere in the mix. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152/27 "2008-07-03T12:25:51Z")
Gross approximation follows: 1/2 Dutch 1/4 German 1/8 English 1/8 mix of slavic, irish, scottish, welsh, polish, italian, french ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152/28 "2008-07-03T12:47:23Z")
As far as I know I’m totally English, with no interesting ancestry. My father came from Kent/SE London and my mother from Surrey/SW London. I still live within 50 miles of where both of them, and their parents, grew up. ---
**Author:** ![3acresandatruck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e79b87/32.png) [@3acresandatruck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3acresandatruck)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152/29 "2008-07-03T12:49:35Z")
I’m a mongrel. Roughly speaking, 1/4 Russian (or Ukrainian) Jew…it was Russia when they fled, it’s Ukrainia now 1/4 Welsh 1/8 English 1/8 French 1/8 German 1/16 Irish 1/16 Scottish My surname is the one assigned to the Jewish refugee part of my ancestry when they arrived at U.S. immigration in the late 1880’s. The family story is that nobody could spell their surname, so one was assigned. Allegedly, the patriarch’s reaction once he understood what was happening was, “Fine. That means we got in.” Of course, he’d have said this in Russian or Yiddish or something, as none of them spoke a word of English. It was only a couple weeks ago that my older sister, going through reams of old family papers, found out what the family name used to be - nobody from my grandfather on down had known. ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152/30 "2008-07-03T13:07:26Z")
Used to think that only my mom’s side had the big chunk of Irish and Scots blood in it, until I was finally able to track down my dad’s side, and found out that save for one Brit marrying into the family back in the 1800’s, his line is almost completely Celtic. If I got any whiter, I’d be invisible! ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152/31 "2008-07-03T13:12:30Z")
Mother’s side–French-Canadian with a touch of aboriginal somewhere down the line. Father’s side–Celtic and who knows what else, with a touch of aboriginal somewhere down the line. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152/32 "2008-07-03T13:16:33Z")
Mother’s side, apparently 100% Swiss. Father’s side, half Czech, half Austrian, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Walkabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walkabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walkabout)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152/33 "2008-07-03T13:46:53Z")
100% Australian My parent came here from Australia after they were married; I’m the only one of the family that was born in the US (my sisters were born in Canada). Now, if you do a little further analysis, you’ll find the blood of my English, Irish, and Scottish ancestors that made their way (or were forced) to the Australian frontier. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152/34 "2008-07-03T13:59:06Z")
100% Scottish. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152/35 "2008-07-03T14:04:10Z")
50% Eastern European Jewish, with all the mish-mash that implies. 50% Black Forest German. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152/36 "2008-07-03T14:04:39Z")
Typical American Mutt 1 pinch Cherokee, at least one quarter German, some French, some English, and probably a little Swiss. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152/37 "2008-07-03T14:05:06Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] Of Welsh descent on the other, with a long family line in Pembrokeshire, although my father is English in every way except during the Six Nations. [/QUOTE] Six Nations? I’m not familiar with the term. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152/38 "2008-07-03T14:07:56Z")
[QUOTE=Helena] My mom is 1/2 Swedish [/QUOTE] Skol! Mine too. We have no idea what her father was, but I’m thinking English. On my father’s side is a mix of Scot, Irish, English, German, and Dutch. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152/39 "2008-07-03T14:10:36Z")
'Nother American mutt: 1/2 German - my mother’s all German 1/4 French(ish) - that is, Grandpa’s family was French fur trappers come to the USA before it was the USA, via Canada, so we may well have picked up some Canadian DNA along the way. This side is probably, but not definitively, also got some NA blood from somewhere, but no one’s talking. There’s a suspiciously blank spot on one page of the genealogy report my aunt made up. Grandpa looked like the guy who played the chief in _Dances With Wolves_, only blond. But that’s the extent of my “evidence” to the claim. 1/4 mish mash of the British Isles - got some Welsh, some Irish, some Scottish, some English. We were not a discriminating lot, apparently ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152/40 "2008-07-03T14:42:19Z")
My ancestors on both sides have been here in America since ~1700, and as far as I know are the epitome of WASPness. My GGGGGGGG-GF and his wife were French Huguenots, and my last name is French, so that might be something somewhat other than Anglo-Saxon, but definitely militantly Protestant). Their progeny all married people with English/Scots-Irish/Welsh last names. I don’t discount the possibility of some Native American ancestry way back there somewhere, but it sure doesn’t represent itself in me (I’m a fair redhead). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-ethnicity/455152.md?page=3)