Unraveling the Mysteries of Unexpected Ancestral Origins

[ChristineNettles]

I recently encountered a fascinating discussion on the forum about unexpected DNA results revealing Italian paternal ancestry. This has sparked my curiosity about how common such surprises are within our community. Have any of you had similar experiences where your genealogical research or DNA tests have uncovered unexpected ethnic or national origins?

[KathyLPV]

Hi Christine, I just came back in to check on my older queries . . . saw yours & had to respond. . .
Don't know how "surprising" it is, since mia famiglia came from S. Italia: Napoli, Campagna; & Bagheria, Palermo, Sicily; via San Chirico Raparo, Potenza, Basilicata!
But my brother & I did DNA tests, via National Geographic, so we got only "general" ethnic groupings. We knew we had Irish, & Jewish on our mother's side. But my father was full Italian, maybe even Spanish? Mine was typical of all 3, but my brother had North Africa! Turns out when you look up the origin of my maiden name, it notes Algeria & Tunisia, as well as all over southern Italy, none of which show the last place in Iialy where at least our bis-bisnonno lived in the 1700s! Who would've thunk, North Africa?