Norman (Normandy) DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · France · Western Europe
Normandy takes its name from the Norsemen who settled the lower Seine valley in the 10th century, after the Viking leader Rollo received land from the Frankish king in 911. This page uses the Seine-Maritime average from Upper Normandy. In our model, it is 45.6% steppe-related, 43.2% Anatolian Neolithic farmer and 11.1% Western hunter-gatherer, more steppe than the French average (39.7%) and almost level with the Bretons (46.2%). The closest ancient group is a Viking Age population from Jutland in Denmark (distance 0.0197), though these individuals carry a Western European rather than a Scandinavian profile, so the match points to shared North Sea ancestry more than to the Viking settlers themselves. Next come early medieval people of the Lombard period from Collegno in Piedmont. No modern average is very close: the nearest, at about 0.019 to 0.020, are Belgians, Germans from Baden-Wurttemberg and the Flemish.
- Ancient components in our model: Steppe herders (Yamnaya) 45.6%, Anatolian Neolithic farmers 43.2%, Western hunter-gatherers 11.1%
- Closest modern population in our data: Belgian (group A), distance 0.0186
- Closest ancient group in our data: Denmark Early Medieval Viking Age Jutland (Western Euro Profile), distance 0.0197
This page sums up what the DNA of the Norman (Normandy) sample tells us about deep origins. It is built from the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of individuals sampled in France, listed in the G25 sheet as "French_Seine-Maritime", and it is one of 335 populations in our atlas. An average describes the group as a whole, not any single person in it.
Ancient make-up of the Norman (Normandy) average
In a model built from deep ancestral reference populations, the largest share of the Norman (Normandy) average, 45.6%, goes to Steppe herders (Yamnaya), ahead of Anatolian Neolithic farmers (43.2%) and Western hunter-gatherers (11.1%). 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 (43.2%) reflects the Neolithic farmers of Anatolia, who carried agriculture into Europe from about 6500 BC.
The fit is acceptable (fit distance 0.037): treat the proportions as a good approximation rather than exact values. The model draws on West Eurasian ancient genomes, with modern West African and East Asian stand-ins.
France Profonde – French Regional Ancestry Report
Closest modern populations to Norman (Normandy)
Ranking every modern population by genetic distance puts Belgian (group A) first for Norman (Normandy), at 0.019, then German (Baden-Wurttemberg Ellwangen) and Belgian. Even the tenth closest, French Oïl (Normandy Seine-Maritime), is only 0.022 away: Norman (Normandy) belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belgian (group A) | 0.0186 | Very close |
| 2 | German (Baden-Wurttemberg Ellwangen) | 0.0194 | Very close |
| 3 | Belgian | 0.0199 | Very close |
| 4 | Flemish | 0.0203 | Very close |
| 5 | Transylvanian (Saxon) | 0.0208 | Very close |
| 6 | Alsatian (Bas-Rhin) | 0.0210 | Very close |
| 7 | French Oïl (Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais) | 0.0211 | Very close |
| 8 | Belgian (group B) | 0.0211 | Very close |
| 9 | German (Russia Volga) | 0.0213 | Very close |
| 10 | French Oïl (Normandy Seine-Maritime) | 0.0216 | 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 Norman (Normandy)
Looking back in time, the ancient sample that most resembles the Norman (Normandy) average is Denmark Early Medieval Viking Age Jutland (Western Euro Profile) (Viking Age, c. 800-1050 AD), at 0.020. Italy Piedmont Early Medieval Lombard Period Collegno (Western Euro Profile) and Belgium Early-Late Modern Sint-Truiden (Western Euro 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 | Denmark Early Medieval Viking Age Jutland (Western Euro Profile) | Viking Age, c. 800-1050 AD | 0.0197 |
| 2 | Italy Piedmont Early Medieval Lombard Period Collegno (Western Euro Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0198 |
| 3 | Belgium Early-Late Modern Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | Modern era, c. 1500-1950 AD | 0.0215 |
| 4 | Belgium Late Medieval-Early Modern Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | Late Medieval to Early Modern, c. 1300-1800 AD | 0.0220 |
| 5 | Belgium High Medieval Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0224 |
| 6 | Belgium Early Medieval Merovingian-Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0225 |
| 7 | Belgium Early-High Medieval Merovingian-Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | Early to High Medieval, c. 500-1300 AD | 0.0226 |
| 8 | Austria Early Medieval Avar Period (Central Euro Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0231 |
| 9 | Hungary Early Medieval Avar Period Late (Central Euro Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0232 |
| 10 | Belgium Late Medieval Holy Roman Empire Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile) | Late Medieval, c. 1300-1500 AD | 0.0232 |
Ancient DNA from France
Our ancient DNA database holds 1,113 individuals excavated in present-day France, dated from about 52,000 BC to 1821 AD. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are R1b (163), I2a (144) and G2a (142), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are K1 (131), U5 (116) and H1 (104). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Norman (Normandy) population.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups
Most frequent mtDNA haplogroups
Ancient DNA studies on France
- Ancient DNA Reveals Limited Hunter-Gatherer Ancestry in the Cerny Culture (Middle Neolithic, France) Despite Hunting-Associated Practices (2026)
- Population discontinuity in the Paris Basin linked to evidence of the Neolithic decline (2026)
- L’apport de la paléogénétique à la compréhension des populations de la fin de l’Antiquité et du début du Moyen Âge. L’exemple de la nécropole de la gare Saint-Laud à Angers (2025)
- Ancient DNA sheds light on the funerary practices of late Neolithic collective burial in southern France (2025)
- How local reference panels improve imputation in French populations (2024)
- Genomic ancestry and social dynamics of the last hunter-gatherers of Atlantic France (2024)
- Earliest evidence of human occupations and technological complexity above the 45th North parallel in Western Europe. The site of Lunery-Rosieres la-Terre-des-Sablons (France, 1.1 Ma) (2024)
- Late Neolithic collective burial reveals admixture dynamics during the third millennium BCE and the shaping of the European genome (2024)
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 1,113 from France.
Compare yourself with Norman (Normandy)
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Norman (Normandy) average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Norman (Normandy) 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 Norman (Normandy). 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 Norman (Normandy) average. Your own DNA has its own story: France Profonde – French Regional 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 French ancestry: ancient regional core (Gaulish, Frankish, Gallo-Roman, Norse Norman) versus non-regional outside admixture, across France's 20 historic regions (Alsace, Brittany, Normandy, Provence, Auvergne...
More populations from Western Europe
Frequently asked questions
What is the ancient genetic make-up of Norman (Normandy)?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Norman (Normandy) average is about 45.6% Steppe herders (Yamnaya), 43.2% Anatolian Neolithic farmers and 11.1% 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 Norman (Normandy)?
In the G25 data, the closest modern populations to the Norman (Normandy) average are Belgian (group A), German (Baden-Wurttemberg Ellwangen) and Belgian. The closest ancient matches are Denmark Early Medieval Viking Age Jutland (Western Euro Profile), Italy Piedmont Early Medieval Lombard Period Collegno (Western Euro Profile) and Belgium Early-Late Modern Sint-Truiden (Western Euro Profile).
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Norman (Normandy)?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Norman (Normandy) 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 Norman (Normandy) ancestry?
For the Norman (Normandy) average, the regional report to choose is France Profonde – French Regional Ancestry Report, which our fit test rates as a good 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.