Discover Your Connection to Notable Individuals from History

In partnership with Illustrative DNA, MyHeritage has added a “Notable Individuals” feature to its Ancient Origins offering. This tool identifies the historical figures and groups most genetically similar to you based on data recovered from archaeological remains.

The report allows you to discover your genetic distance by comparing your DNA against 32 specific individuals and groups. It is a tool for exploring the broad components of your deep genetic makeup, rather than a proof of direct descent.

A closer look at the 32 reference points reveals they fit into three distinct categories:

• Individual Historical Figures: Notable named people from history, such as the composer Ludwig van Beethoven, the architect George Bähr, the French revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat, and the Maryland colonial governor Philip Calvert.

• Ancient and Archaeological Remains: Skeletal remains, mummies, or specific anonymous historical individuals known by their discovery sites or modern designations. This includes Ötzi (the Tyrolean iceman), Cheddar Man, Clovis Boy, the Birka Female Warrior, and the Hasanlu Lovers.

• Aristocratic Families and Dynastic Lineages: Groupings or specific individuals explicitly tied to historical dynasties, such as the Aba Family, the Báthory Family, and specific rulers designated by their houses, like the Árpád Dynasty (King Béla III) and the Rurik Dynasty (Prince Gleb Svyatoslavich).

  My Results

It turns out my DNA is a closer match to Ludwig van Beethoven than to the 31 other options in the dataset. There is no indication in my family history of a relationship, although my grandfather was a professional musician.

In these reports, the Genetic Fit score reflects how well a combination of ancient populations aligns with your own genetics. A lower score indicates a closer match. My specific score with Beethoven is 2.803, which is classified as a “close” match. I also shared close matches with the Aba Family (2.869) and the Báthory Family (2.955).

Across all 32 reference points, my median score is 5.8795, placing the midpoint of my overall comparisons in the lowest tier of the “distant match” category.

The “Genetic Fit” score is calculated using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to plot your DNA on a multi-dimensional grid (25 coordinates) against ancient samples, measuring the exact multi-dimensional geometric distance between your genetic coordinates and theirs.

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