Levi Surname: Y-DNA Haplogroup

Published genetics research or a documented case study links the surname Levi to a specific Y-DNA paternal-line haplogroup.

R1a-Y2619 (also designated R1a-M582); broader clade R1a1a
Clade R1a
High (Ashkenazi tradition only) confidence 📍 Ashkenazi Jewish, Near Eastern-origin founder lineage later carried into Europe
Also spelled: Levy, Levine, Levin, Levitt
52% of men with an Ashkenazi Levite tradition carried R1a1a vs only 3.2% of Sephardic-tradition Levites (Behar 2003). Rootsi et al. 2013 used whole-Y-chromosome sequencing to narrow the lineage to SNP M582/Y2619, dated the founder to roughly 1,750-3,150 years ago, and traced its origin to the Near East rather than Khazaria/Europe. Recruitment was by self-identified Levite status, not surname; this is an enrichment, not a guarantee, and applies specifically to the Ashkenazi Levite tradition.
Source: Behar et al. 2003, American Journal of Human Genetics 73:768-779; Rootsi et al. 2013, Nature Communications 4:2928
How to read this. A surname match means some people with that surname, in a specific study or family record, were found to share a haplogroup, most likely due to a shared patrilineal ancestor generations back. It is not proof that you personally carry that haplogroup: surnames change through adoption, remarriage, non-paternity events, and independent origin of the same name in different families. For your own confirmed haplogroup, test your DNA with our HaploAI Y-DNA/mtDNA predictor.
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