Ashkenazi Jewish DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Central and Eastern Europe (diaspora) · Eastern Europe
Ashkenazi Jewish communities formed in medieval Central Europe and later spread across Eastern Europe. Genetic studies consistently describe their ancestry as a combination of Middle Eastern (Levantine) and European components, with much of the European share of Southern European, Mediterranean character, followed by a strong founder event in the medieval period. In our model, the Ashkenazi average is 49.3% Anatolian Neolithic farmer, 26.1% steppe, 13.1% Natufian, 8.4% Iranian Neolithic and 3.1% Caucasus hunter-gatherer. The closest ancient group is the Late Medieval Jewish community of Erfurt in Germany (distance 0.0142), followed by early medieval individuals with an East Mediterranean profile from southern Italy. The closest modern averages are other Ashkenazi samples, from Russia and Lithuania, very close to one another, which reflects that shared founder history; beyond them come Sicilians, Maltese and other southern Italians.
- Largest ancient components in our model: Anatolian Neolithic farmers 49.3%, Steppe herders (Yamnaya) 26.1%, Natufian hunter-gatherers (Levant) 13.1%
- Closest modern population in our data: Ashkenazi (Russia), distance 0.0072
- Closest ancient group in our data: Germany Late Medieval Ashkenazi Jew Erfurt (Mixed Western-Eastern Profile), distance 0.0142
Ashkenazi Jewish is one of the 335 modern populations in our population genetics atlas. The numbers on this page describe the average Global25 (G25) genome of the Ashkenazi Jewish individuals sampled in Central and Eastern Europe (diaspora), listed in the G25 sheet as "Ashkenazi_Jew". Like every population average, it smooths over a lot of variation between individuals.
Ancient make-up of the Ashkenazi Jewish average
Modelled as a mix of deep ancestral reference populations, the Ashkenazi Jewish average comes out as 49.3% Anatolian Neolithic farmers, 26.1% Steppe herders (Yamnaya) and 13.1% Natufian hunter-gatherers (Levant). The Anatolian Neolithic farmers component reflects the Neolithic farmers of Anatolia, who carried agriculture into Europe from about 6500 BC. The Steppe herders (Yamnaya) share (26.1%) reflects the Bronze Age herders of the Pontic-Caspian steppe (Yamnaya and related groups), whose ancestry spread across Europe and into Asia from about 3000 BC.
Smaller traces of Caucasus hunter-gatherers (under 5%) also appear. At that level they can reflect real minor ancestry, but also simple model noise, so they should not be over-read. The model fits well (fit distance 0.019), so these proportions are a reasonable summary. The model draws on West Eurasian ancient genomes, with modern West African and East Asian stand-ins.
Am Yisrael – Jewish Diaspora Report
Closest modern populations to Ashkenazi Jewish
Genetically, the Ashkenazi Jewish average sits nearest to Ashkenazi (Russia) at 0.007, Ashkenazi (Lithuania) at 0.009 and Italian (Sicily Trapani, Sicilian) at 0.018. On our scale, a distance of 0.007 counts as very close. Leaving aside the other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet, the nearest other populations are Italian (Sicily Trapani, Sicilian) (0.018), Maltese (0.019) and Italian (Sicily West, Sicilian) (0.019). Even the tenth closest, Sicilian (East), is only 0.022 away: Ashkenazi Jewish belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ashkenazi (Russia) | 0.0072 | Very close |
| 2 | Ashkenazi (Lithuania) | 0.0085 | Very close |
| 3 | Italian (Sicily Trapani, Sicilian) | 0.0180 | Very close |
| 4 | Maltese | 0.0192 | Very close |
| 5 | Italian (Sicily West, Sicilian) | 0.0193 | Very close |
| 6 | Italian (Sicily Central, Sicilian) | 0.0194 | Very close |
| 7 | Campanian (Neapolitan) | 0.0212 | Very close |
| 8 | Calabrian | 0.0213 | Very close |
| 9 | Greek (Crete Muslim, Cretan Turk) | 0.0213 | Very close |
| 10 | Sicilian (East) | 0.0215 | Very close |
Distances are Euclidean distances between averaged G25 coordinates. On our scale, below 0.025 is very close, below 0.050 close, below 0.080 moderate, and beyond that distant.
Closest ancient populations to Ashkenazi Jewish
Looking back in time, the ancient sample that most resembles the Ashkenazi Jewish average is Germany Late Medieval Ashkenazi Jew Erfurt (Mixed Western-Eastern Profile) (Late Medieval, c. 1300-1500 AD), at 0.014. Italy Basilicata Early Medieval Venosa (East Med Profile) and Italy Apulia High Medieval Foggia (East Med Profile) come next. That is a very close match, which suggests strong genetic continuity between those ancient people (or close relatives of theirs) and the modern population. A close ancient match is not proof of direct descent: it means those individuals carried a similar overall mix of ancestry.
| # | Ancient sample or group | Period | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany Late Medieval Ashkenazi Jew Erfurt (Mixed Western-Eastern Profile) | Late Medieval, c. 1300-1500 AD | 0.0142 |
| 2 | Italy Basilicata Early Medieval Venosa (East Med Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0192 |
| 3 | Italy Apulia High Medieval Foggia (East Med Profile) | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0198 |
| 4 | Greece Late Modern Rethymno Adele | Late Modern, c. 1800-1950 AD | 0.0203 |
| 5 | Belgium Late Medieval-Early Modern Holy Roman Empire St. Rombout's (East Med Profile) | Late Medieval to Early Modern, c. 1300-1800 AD | 0.0231 |
| 6 | England High Medieval Tzarfati Jew Norwich | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0245 |
| 7 | Croatia Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Trogir (East Med Profile) | Late Antiquity to Early Medieval, c. 250-1000 AD | 0.0246 |
| 8 | Croatia Late Antiquity Hvar Radosevic (East Med Profile) | Late Antiquity, c. 250-600 AD | 0.0248 |
| 9 | Germany Late Medieval Ashkenazi Jew Erfurt (Western Profile) | Late Medieval, c. 1300-1500 AD | 0.0249 |
| 10 | Italy Piedmont Early Medieval Lombard Period Collegno (East Med Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0252 |
Compare yourself with Ashkenazi Jewish
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Ashkenazi Jewish average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Ashkenazi Jewish and its neighbours. To find out which of our reports actually fits your DNA, run the free Report Finder: it runs the same fit test that every report uses before an order.
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About these numbers
Keep in mind that a population average is a statistical summary of a limited number of sampled individuals. Real people inside any group vary, some carry more of one ancestry and some less, and no genetic profile decides who is or is not Ashkenazi Jewish. Use these numbers as a map of deep ancestry, not as a label.
Method: averaged G25 coordinates, Euclidean distances to other modern and ancient averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations (data generated 2026-10-01). Read the full method.
Go deeper than the average
This page describes the Ashkenazi Jewish average. Your own DNA has its own story: Am Yisrael – Jewish Diaspora Report (15€) models your genome against the ancient sources and modern communities of the region, era by era, in a personal PDF report.
A report built for people of Jewish ancestry: ancient Israelite & Levantine core (Canaanite, Iron Age, Phoenician) plus the host admixture of your diaspora community, on a Jerusalem-centred animated map.
More populations from Eastern Europe
Frequently asked questions
What is the ancient genetic make-up of Ashkenazi Jewish?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Ashkenazi Jewish average is about 49.3% Anatolian Neolithic farmers, 26.1% Steppe herders (Yamnaya) and 13.1% Natufian hunter-gatherers (Levant). These proportions are model estimates for a group average, not exact values for any one person.
Which populations are genetically closest to Ashkenazi Jewish?
Leaving aside other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet (such as Ashkenazi (Russia)), the closest modern populations to the Ashkenazi Jewish average are Italian (Sicily Trapani, Sicilian), Maltese and Italian (Sicily West, Sicilian). The closest ancient matches are Germany Late Medieval Ashkenazi Jew Erfurt (Mixed Western-Eastern Profile), Italy Basilicata Early Medieval Venosa (East Med Profile) and Italy Apulia High Medieval Foggia (East Med Profile).
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Ashkenazi Jewish?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Ashkenazi Jewish average and to its neighbours. If you have G25 coordinates, paste them in the comparison box on this page to check that for free.
Which ExploreYourDNA report suits Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry?
Am Yisrael – Jewish Diaspora Report is the report built for this heritage, and its reference panel fits the Ashkenazi Jewish average closely. Your own DNA may differ from the average, so the free Report Finder checks every report against your file before you buy.
Where does the data on this page come from?
From the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of the sampled individuals: genetic distances to other modern and ancient population averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations. The full method is described at https://www.exploreyourdna.com/populations#method.