Jordanian DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Jordan · West Asia
Jordan lies east of the Jordan River, on lands once home to the Ammonites, Moabites and Edomites, and later to the Nabataeans, whose capital was Petra. Our model breaks the Jordanian average down into 27.2% Levantine Neolithic farmer, 19.4% Iranian Neolithic farmer, 18.7% Natufian, 15.3% Anatolian Neolithic farmer, 9.0% steppe, 7.3% Caucasus hunter-gatherer and 3.1% West African. These numbers sit very close to the Palestinian average, and the closest modern average of all is a Palestinian Arab Muslim sample (0.0075), closer even than the other Jordanian sample (0.0081). Compared with the Lebanese, Jordanians carry about half the Anatolian farmer share (15.3% against 30.4%), part of a north to south gradient across the Levant in our atlas. Next come Palestinians from Gaza and Bedouin from Syria. The closest ancient matches are at moderate distances (0.0422 to 0.0437): Hellenistic to Roman-era Beirut, early medieval Chhim in Lebanon and Roman-era individuals with a Levantine profile from Monterotondo near Rome.
- Largest ancient components in our model: Levantine Neolithic farmers 27.2%, Iranian Neolithic farmers 19.4%, Natufian hunter-gatherers (Levant) 18.7%
- Closest modern population in our data: Palestinian Arab Muslim, distance 0.0075
- Closest ancient group in our data: Lebanon Hellenistic-Roman Empire Beirut, distance 0.0422
Jordanian 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 Jordanian individuals sampled in Jordan. Like every population average, it smooths over a lot of variation between individuals.
Ancient make-up of the Jordanian average
Modelled as a mix of deep ancestral reference populations, the Jordanian average comes out as 27.2% Levantine Neolithic farmers, 19.4% Iranian Neolithic farmers and 18.7% Natufian hunter-gatherers (Levant). The Levantine Neolithic farmers component reflects the early farmers of the Levant and the Natufian foragers who came before them. The Iranian Neolithic farmers share (19.4%) reflects the early farmers and herders of the Zagros mountains in Iran. No single source dominates, so the profile is best read as a balanced blend of several ancient ancestries.
Smaller traces of West African (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 0.020), so these proportions are a reasonable summary. The model draws on West Eurasian ancient genomes, with modern West African and East Asian stand-ins.
Ararat – Levant & Caucasus Report
Closest modern populations to Jordanian
Ranking every modern population by genetic distance puts Palestinian Arab Muslim first for Jordanian, at 0.008, then Jordanian Arab Muslim and Palestinian. Leaving aside the other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet, the nearest other populations are Palestinian Arab Muslim (0.008), Palestinian (0.011) and Palestinian Arab Muslim (Gaza) (0.016). Even the tenth closest, Syrian Arab (Homs, Levantine Profile), is only 0.026 away: Jordanian belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Palestinian Arab Muslim | 0.0075 | Very close |
| 2 | Jordanian Arab Muslim | 0.0081 | Very close |
| 3 | Palestinian | 0.0107 | Very close |
| 4 | Palestinian Arab Muslim (Gaza) | 0.0162 | Very close |
| 5 | Bedouin (Syria) | 0.0226 | Very close |
| 6 | Syrian Arab (Daraa, Levantine Profile) | 0.0237 | Very close |
| 7 | Syrian Arab (Damascus, Levantine Profile) | 0.0243 | Very close |
| 8 | Lebanese Sunni Muslim (Beirut) | 0.0249 | Very close |
| 9 | Lebanese Arab Muslim Sunni (Beirut) | 0.0257 | Close |
| 10 | Syrian Arab (Homs, Levantine Profile) | 0.0262 | 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 Jordanian
Among ancient genomes, the closest match to the modern Jordanian average is Lebanon Hellenistic-Roman Empire Beirut (Roman era, c. 1-400 AD), at 0.042, followed by Lebanon Early Medieval Chhim and Italy Lazio Roman Empire Monterotondo (Levantine Profile). That is a close match: much of the modern profile was already present then, while later movements of people added further layers. 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 | Lebanon Hellenistic-Roman Empire Beirut | Roman era, c. 1-400 AD | 0.0422 |
| 2 | Lebanon Early Medieval Chhim | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0423 |
| 3 | Italy Lazio Roman Empire Monterotondo (Levantine Profile) | Roman era, c. 1-400 AD | 0.0437 |
| 4 | Turkey Anatolia Achaemenid-Hellenistic Halicarnassus (Levantine Profile) | Hellenistic era, c. 330-30 BC | 0.0438 |
| 5 | Italy Sicily Roman Empire Marsala (Levantine Profile) | Roman era, c. 1-400 AD | 0.0450 |
| 6 | Italy Campania Roman Empire Pompeii (Levantine Profile) | Roman era, c. 1-400 AD | 0.0463 |
| 7 | Italy Lazio Roman Empire Isola Sacra (Levantine Profile) | Roman era, c. 1-400 AD | 0.0463 |
| 8 | Lebanon Roman Republic-Empire Beirut | Roman Republic, c. 500-27 BC | 0.0469 |
| 9 | Turkey Mesopotamia Parthian-Roman Empire Nevali Cori (Syrio-Mesopotamian Profile) | Parthian era, c. 250 BC-224 AD | 0.0473 |
| 10 | Lebanon Late Antiquity-Early Medieval Ej-Jaouze (Byzantine-Rashidun) | Late Antiquity to Early Medieval, c. 250-1000 AD | 0.0476 |
Ancient DNA from Jordan
Our ancient DNA database holds 41 individuals excavated in present-day Jordan, dated from about 8,100 BC to 1,284 BC. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are J1a (12), E1b (4) and H2 (2), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are T1 (7), U3 (6) and N1 (5). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Jordanian population.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 41 from Jordan.
Compare yourself with Jordanian
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Jordanian average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Jordanian 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
A word of caution: these figures describe the average of the Jordanian individuals who were sampled, not every person who identifies as Jordanian. Individuals vary around that average, and identity is about history, language and family, not about a genetic score. Read this page as a map of deep ancestry, not as a definition.
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 Jordanian average. Your own DNA has its own story: Ararat – Levant & Caucasus 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 Levant or Caucasus ancestry: ancient regional core (Levant Iron Age, Caucasus Hunter-Gatherer, Kura-Araxes Bronze Age) versus non-regional outside admixture, across 13 communities (Maronite, Druze, Sunni...
More populations from West Asia
Frequently asked questions
What is the ancient genetic make-up of Jordanian?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Jordanian average is about 27.2% Levantine Neolithic farmers, 19.4% Iranian Neolithic farmers and 18.7% 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 Jordanian?
Leaving aside other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet (such as Jordanian Arab Muslim), the closest modern populations to the Jordanian average are Palestinian Arab Muslim, Palestinian and Palestinian Arab Muslim (Gaza). The closest ancient matches are Lebanon Hellenistic-Roman Empire Beirut, Lebanon Early Medieval Chhim and Italy Lazio Roman Empire Monterotondo (Levantine Profile).
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Jordanian?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Jordanian 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 Jordanian ancestry?
For the Jordanian average, the regional report to choose is Ararat – Levant & Caucasus 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.