Ancestry: DNA Matching and DNA Circles

So you’ve taken an Ancestry DNA test … what’s next? These days, most of the focus of DNA test results seems to be about getting your Ethnicity Estimates—are you Scandinavian, Asian, Eastern European, etc. But two of the coolest and most useful features on the Ancestry DNA site are these:

DNA Matching
DNA Circles

These features help you find others who share DNA characteristics and ancestry with you, connecting you with their DNA profiles and tree information.

We’ve recently added content in The Family History Guide to give you step-by-step instructions for getting the most from these two features. DNA Matching is described in Ancestry Project 7: DNA, Goal 4 (Choices A and B) and Goal 5. Even if you haven’t taken an Ancestry DNA test, these Goals will give you a good idea of the possibilities that await you when you do get your DNA test results back.

Here’s a brief overview of what you’ll find:

Goal 4: Learn about DNA Matching for your test results.

Choice A: Learn about your DNA story on Ancestry. Review your ethnicity estimates and learn how to link your DNA test results to your Ancestry tree.
Choice B: Learn more about DNA matching. See a list of people who share DNA matches with you. You can view DNA match information for people in the list and even send them messages on the Ancestry network.
(Choices C, D, and E are from material previously in The Family History Guide.)

Goal 5: Explore DNA Circles in Ancestry.

Choice A: Learn about DNA Circles. These are groups of people who share DNA characteristics or ancestry with you. The illustration above shows a sample DNA circle with 29 family groups included, all descending from a selected ancestor.
Choice B: Explore relationships in the DNA Circle. See how members of the circle are related to each other and to you.
Choice C: See DNA profile information for Circle members. You can also see other members’ trees that are shared, and send them messages.
Choice D: View pedigree and surname information for DNA Circle members.
Choice E: View shared matches for DNA Circle members.
Choice F: View map and location information for DNA Circle members. See birth locations for members of the DNA Circle.