For example, by looking at my DNA could it be found that I come from Irish or Native American decent?\n\nIs there anyway to find out what nationality a person is other than " taking thier word for it?"
137725
Yes, there are genetic services popping up that will do any level of analysis, for the right price.  They are becoming increasingly sophisticated and able to determine population origins, but it is still quite expensive.
507071
Yea...Irish..ScotIrish..Scot and let's see Greek, Italian and those are the ones i know about! I'm an average American Hienz57.
311937
Well, this is cool. Best of luck to you.\nI have ancestry from all those places, but I'm clueless.\nBut, rock on, dude!
461710
Each of us is formed from the great and varied pool of genes floating around in all of our ancestors. Hundreds, thousands of them. I can't remember the exact numbers but the odds of having DNA from your great gramma are slim. But, not impossible.\n\nActing or thinking Arab is something that would have to be learned, that is not genetic my dear lady.My father and mother looked nothing like their great grandparents. I know because they kept photos for us to look at. But they might still have some of their genes or DNA floating around in them.\n\nI once read a story about a white women who gave birth to twins. One was white like her and her husband and the other was dark with very tight curly hair like an African American. Her husband was a bit put off wondering if she had dallied around and even her parents were judgmental. BUT, after doing some genetic testing of family they learned that one of her parents had a distant African American ancestor that had been accepted as white. So here were the genes coming into play after about six generations. It was her own mother who criticized her and unknowingly passed the genes to her.\nSo,  anything can happen.....
185312
Many mixed race people have Irish descent!  There just may be other nationalities tossed in such as French or English.
195528
That's the thing with race - it's a self-selecting category.  There is no way to police any of it.  But the most important thing about race in any case is what people feel they are and how they believe they're being treated.  So race may be a bad way to understand IQs (because self-identification has nothing to do with DNA or biology) but it may be a good way to understand income (because how much money you make may be based on how you are perceived).\n\nIn any case, the census has a box for "other" and people can just write in whatever they want.
41214
Yeah, I would check other and out to side write (of the human race).  Now on the other hand if they want to know about your cultural or ethnic background, that is another story in itself, and even then they should just have a long blank line so that I can fill out my ancestral roots.
664743
If you are African, the best site is: http://www.africanancestry.com.  www.genetree.com also has a kit for determining your racial and ancestral dna links.  Good luck.
590791
You could try to find your birth certificate.  Check the hall of records in the city where you were born - you could probably find the hall of records online and request a copy online.  If you can't find it, ask your parents about it or about where you were born.  \nYou could confirm that your parents are your parents by a blood test.  If you can't find your birth record and you continue to be suspicious - you can get a dna test.
79217
This is one of the great flaws in labeling people, especially using politically correct terms.\n\nLogically, if someone with Irish ancestors is an "Irish-American", and someone with Italian ancestors is "Italian-American", then someone with white ancestors from South Africa is "African-American".\n\nMy friend Janus is very dark skinned, but was born in England to family from the carribean. Nothing sets her off like calling her an African-American. She'll tell you quite properly that she's English!!\n\nI have no idea what to call my friend who was born in India, raised in Tanzania, Toronto and New Jersey, and now lives in San Francisco. Perhaps "Well travelled" is the best description!
54744
your good luck or perhaps doule check your Dna
471214
hi there is a site on the net that may help you out its www.genesreunited i put my name on it and my uncle found me its worht a try and i do hope you find him its always nice to know where you came from . Good luck .
277646
A hasty but simple way would be typing in your name into a search engine. uk.yahoo.com will give you the option of searching pages only from Ireland. However, there are websites; such as surnameweb.org, genealogyforum.rootsweb.com, and ancestry.com; that specialize in geneology. Try asking relatives; they may know a thing or two about your ancestry.
61360
Take it a step further: why are there some white people that can be proud of their heritage (Irish, Scots, Italians), but other white people who can't (English, American)
642709
It may take a little work and a little money,but the best thing to do is to first sit down with your parents or grandparents and collect important dates,like births, deaths, departures, and arrivals. Then the office of public records usually has death certificates and other information for about $5-$15 per document. Including birth records, and immigration list and charts. Don't fall for those crappy genealogy sites, they kinda just give you a general idea, about your last name etc. Now, if you want even further the National Geographic Society will send you a kit, and test your DNA and send you a map which will show your ancestral history back 100s of years. i hoped this helped .G'luck
216304
classifying human beings in races is stupid and not scientific. the three main groups of negro, caucasian and mongoloids were used by anthropologists anciently but have no longer any scientific value. some countries adopt them as a form of description of their citizens but its not correct to talk about "races". in fact a central european, looking "caucasian", might have a greater genetic affinity (similar DNA) with a black african that, say, with another central european of celtic origin. this even if the looks would suggest the opposite. \nanyways, following the classification u suggest, australian aborigenes, together with melanesians, would be classified as "negro", maoris as "mongoloid", and polynesians as "caucasian"...this shows how bad  and wrong the classification is.
157110
I feel sorry to say this, but no one who isn't biologically related to you can even guess at your heritage.\n\nDo your adoptive parents have knowledge of who your biological parents (or any blood relative) are/were? \n\nI don't know if you are old enough to do this or not, but when/if you are, their are agencies, etc. who will try to find out the who, what, where, when, about your biological parents.  \n\nMany people of European descent have your qualities (not only Germans and Scandanavians).  I've known a couple of Jewish and Italian people with very light features.\n\nYour breast and butt size don't mean squat - as far as what country you're descended from.  That would be heredity.\n\nI do hope that you are able to find your heritage (at least some names of relatives).  It's possible that adult relatives are looking for you.  Good luck, and have faith.