Danish DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Denmark · Northern Europe
Denmark occupies the Jutland peninsula and the islands between the North Sea and the Baltic. The Jutes and Angles lived on this peninsula before many of them settled in England in the 5th century, and it later became the heartland of the Viking Age Danes. In our model, the Danish average is 50.0% steppe-related, 35.1% Anatolian Neolithic farmer and 14.9% Western hunter-gatherer, between the Norwegian (50.6% steppe) and Dutch (48.4%) averages. The closest ancient group, at a very close distance of 0.0057, is made up of early medieval people with a Northwest European profile from Lombard-period cemeteries in Hungary; the Lombards' own traditions placed their origins in Scandinavia. Continuity within Denmark is also clear, with medieval and early modern people from Odense and Aalborg and Viking Age Danes all below 0.010. The nearest modern averages are Norwegians (0.0083), Faroese (0.0093) and Icelanders, ahead of the Dutch and Frisians.
- Ancient components in our model: Steppe herders (Yamnaya) 50.0%, Anatolian Neolithic farmers 35.1%, Western hunter-gatherers 14.9%
- Closest modern population in our data: Norwegian, distance 0.0083
- Closest ancient group in our data: Hungary Early Medieval Lombard Period (Northwest Euro Profile), distance 0.0057
Where does Danish DNA sit on the genetic map of the world? To answer, we take the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of the Danish individuals sampled in Denmark and compare them with deep ancestral reference populations, with other modern groups and with ancient genomes. It is one of 335 populations in our atlas.
Ancient make-up of the Danish average
The ancient make-up of the Danish average is led by Steppe herders (Yamnaya) (50.0%), followed by Anatolian Neolithic farmers (35.1%) and Western hunter-gatherers (14.9%). The Steppe herders (Yamnaya) component 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. The Anatolian Neolithic farmers share (35.1%) reflects the Neolithic farmers of Anatolia, who carried agriculture into Europe from about 6500 BC.
The fit is loose (fit distance 0.044), which usually means that none of the available reference populations is a close stand-in for part of this ancestry, so read the percentages as rough. The model draws on West Eurasian ancient genomes, with modern West African and East Asian stand-ins.
Nordsee – North Sea Germanic Ancestry Report
Closest modern populations to Danish
Among the modern populations in the G25 data, the closest to the Danish average is Norwegian, at a distance of 0.008 (very close). Next come Faroese at 0.009 and Icelandic at 0.011. Even the tenth closest, English, is only 0.016 away: Danish belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
Most of the closest populations that have their own atlas page (5 of 7) are also from Northern Europe, as geography would predict.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norwegian | 0.0083 | Very close |
| 2 | Faroese | 0.0093 | Very close |
| 3 | Icelandic | 0.0112 | Very close |
| 4 | Orcadian | 0.0119 | Very close |
| 5 | Norwegian (Bergen) | 0.0124 | Very close |
| 6 | Dutch | 0.0129 | Very close |
| 7 | Frisian | 0.0131 | Very close |
| 8 | Orcadian (other sample set) | 0.0146 | Very close |
| 9 | Ulster (Scot) | 0.0150 | Very close |
| 10 | English | 0.0162 | 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 Danish
Among ancient genomes, the closest match to the modern Danish average is Hungary Early Medieval Lombard Period (Northwest Euro Profile) (Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD), at 0.006, followed by Germany Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Thuringian Obermollern (Northwest Euro Profile) and Denmark High Medieval-Early Modern Odense. 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 | Hungary Early Medieval Lombard Period (Northwest Euro Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0057 |
| 2 | Germany Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Thuringian Obermollern (Northwest Euro Profile) | Late Antiquity to Early Medieval, c. 250-1000 AD | 0.0069 |
| 3 | Denmark High Medieval-Early Modern Odense | Medieval to Early Modern, c. 500-1800 AD | 0.0076 |
| 4 | Denmark Early Modern Aalborg | Early Modern, c. 1500-1800 AD | 0.0092 |
| 5 | Denmark Viking | Viking Age, c. 800-1050 AD | 0.0093 |
| 6 | Austria Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Lombard Moedling Leinerinnen (Northwest Euro Profile) | Late Antiquity to Early Medieval, c. 250-1000 AD | 0.0097 |
| 7 | Denmark Late Medieval Holbaek | Late Medieval, c. 1300-1500 AD | 0.0101 |
| 8 | Germany Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Thuringian Brucken (Northwest Euro Profile) | Late Antiquity to Early Medieval, c. 250-1000 AD | 0.0102 |
| 9 | Hungary Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Avar Period (Northwest Euro Profile) | Late Antiquity to Early Medieval, c. 250-1000 AD | 0.0106 |
| 10 | England Saxon | Anglo-Saxon period, c. 450-1066 AD | 0.0106 |
Ancient DNA from Denmark
Our ancient DNA database holds 1,197 individuals excavated in present-day Denmark, dated from about 8,500 BC to 1804 AD. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are R1b (139), I1a (114) and I2a (78), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are U5 (134), H1 (116) and H2 (106). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Danish population.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups
Most frequent mtDNA haplogroups
Ancient DNA studies on Denmark
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 1,197 from Denmark.
Compare yourself with Danish
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Danish average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Danish 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.
No G25 coordinates yet? Get a free simulated G25 from your raw DNA file, or order G25 coordinates.
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 Danish. 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 Danish average. Your own DNA has its own story: Nordsee – North Sea Germanic Ancestry 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 North Sea Germanic ancestry: ancient regional core (native British/Dutch/Danish Iron Age, Roman Britain, Anglo-Saxon migration, Viking Age, Frisian Saxon, Anglo-Norman) versus non-regional outside admixture...
More populations from Northern Europe
Frequently asked questions
What is the ancient genetic make-up of Danish?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Danish average is about 50.0% Steppe herders (Yamnaya), 35.1% Anatolian Neolithic farmers and 14.9% Western hunter-gatherers. These proportions are model estimates for a group average, not exact values for any one person.
Which populations are genetically closest to Danish?
In the G25 data, the closest modern populations to the Danish average are Norwegian, Faroese and Icelandic. The closest ancient matches are Hungary Early Medieval Lombard Period (Northwest Euro Profile), Germany Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Thuringian Obermollern (Northwest Euro Profile) and Denmark High Medieval-Early Modern Odense.
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Danish?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Danish 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 Danish ancestry?
For the Danish average, the regional report to choose is Nordsee – North Sea Germanic Ancestry Report, which our fit test rates as an excellent match. 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.