Browse All Haplogroups

A (Y-DNA)

Y-DNA

Sub-Saharan Africa · Middle Paleolithic

Haplogroup A is the root of the entire human Y-chromosome phylogenetic tree. All men alive today descend from the patrilineal ancestor who defines this haplogroup. The deepest bran…

BT

Y-DNA

Africa · Middle Paleolithic

BT is the ancestral haplogroup of all non-A lineages. It splits into haplogroup B (found mainly in African hunter-gatherer groups such as the Pygmies) and haplogroup CT, which even…

CT

Y-DNA

Africa (likely East Africa) · Middle Paleolithic

CT is the immediate ancestor of virtually all haplogroups found outside Africa, and also gave rise to most common lineages within Africa. It splits into three main branches: C (fou…

DE

Y-DNA

Africa or Southwest Asia · Upper Paleolithic

DE is the ancestor of haplogroups D and E. Haplogroup D is found mainly in East Asia (Japan, Tibet) and the Andaman Islands, while haplogroup E is the predominant Y-DNA lineage in …

D

Y-DNA

South Asia / coastal route to East Asia · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup D is one of the most geographically puzzling Y-DNA haplogroups. It is found at very high frequencies in Japan (35–40% as D-M55), Tibet (50% as D-M64), and the Andaman Is…

E

Y-DNA

Sub-Saharan Africa · Upper Paleolithic

E is the dominant Y-DNA haplogroup in Africa, found in over 80% of sub-Saharan African men. It split into two major branches: E1b1a, which is the characteristic haplogroup of West,…

Horn of Africa / Northeast Africa · Epipaleolithic

E1b1b (defined by marker M215) is strongly associated with Afroasiatic-speaking populations across Northeast Africa, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the Near East, and has al…

CF

Y-DNA

South Asia or Near East · Upper Paleolithic

CF is the immediate ancestor of haplogroups C and F. C spread along coastal routes toward South Asia, East Asia, Oceania, and the Americas, while F gave rise to virtually all major…

C

Y-DNA

South Asia / coastal migration route · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup C is one of the oldest non-African haplogroups and is associated with some of the earliest out-of-Africa coastal migrations. Its branches span from South Asia (C-M356) t…

C1 (F3393)

Y-DNA

South Asia or Central Asia · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup C1 (F3393) is one of the two primary branches of the ancient macro-haplogroup C. It represents one of the earliest successful human expansions out of Africa, following t…

West Asia or Middle East · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup C1a (CTS11043) is a remarkably diverse lineage that split over 40,000 years ago into two geographically isolated branches that followed very different paths. One branch,…

C1a1 (M8)

Y-DNA

East Asia (Japan) · Upper Paleolithic / Jomon

Haplogroup C1a1 (M8) is one of the most distinctive and ancient paternal lineages of Japan. It is widely regarded as a signature lineage of the Jomon people, the indigenous hunter-…

C1a2 (V20)

Y-DNA

Europe or West Asia · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup C1a2 (V20) is a rare relict lineage that represents one of the earliest waves of modern human expansion into Europe. During the Upper Paleolithic, C1a2 was one of the do…

C1b (F1370)

Y-DNA

South Asia or Southeast Asia · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup C1b is the most populous and geographically widespread branch of C1. It represents the ancient paternal lineages of the first modern human inhabitants of South Asia, Sou…

South Asia or West Asia · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup C1b1 (AM00694) is an ancient paternal lineage that represents one of the earliest modern human settlements in South Asia and the Middle East. It is closely associated wi…

C1b2 (B477)

Y-DNA

Southeast Asia / Sundaland · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup C1b2 (B477) is the primary paternal lineage associated with the settlement of Sahul (the prehistoric continent comprising Australia and New Guinea). Arising in Southeast…

C1b2a (M38)

Y-DNA

Melanesia / Eastern Indonesia · Upper Paleolithic / Mesolithic

Haplogroup C1b2a (M38) is a major paternal lineage found predominantly in the Pacific Islands. It reaches its highest frequencies in Melanesia (especially the Solomon Islands and F…

C1b2b (M347)

Y-DNA

Australia · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup C1b2b (M347) is the dominant paternal lineage found among Indigenous Australians. It is found almost exclusively on the Australian continent and is estimated to have ori…

C2 (C-M217)

Y-DNA

Central Asia / Mongolia · Upper Paleolithic

C2 (C-M217) is the predominant Y-DNA haplogroup in Mongolia and among Turkic and Mongolic peoples of Central and Northeast Asia. It represents a massive expansion of paternal linea…

C2a (F1067)

Y-DNA

East Asia (China) · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup C2a (F1067) is the southern branch of C2, predominantly found in East Asia. It reaches its highest frequencies and diversity in China, Korea, and Japan, serving as one o…

C2b (L1373)

Y-DNA

Central Asia / Siberia · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup C2b (L1373) is the primary northern branch of C2. It is the dominant lineage among Mongolic and Tungusic peoples and is widely distributed across Central Asia and Siberi…

Mongolia · Iron Age / Medieval

Haplogroup C2b1a1-F3918, famously known as the 'Star Cluster', is a specific paternal lineage that underwent an unprecedented expansion across Eurasia during the 13th century. It i…

F

Y-DNA

Southwest Asia or South Asia · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup F is the ancestor of the vast majority of men outside Africa. It gave rise to haplogroups G, H (Y-DNA), IJ (ancestral to I and J), and the enormous K macro-haplogroup wh…

G

Y-DNA

Near East / South Caucasus · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup G is strongly associated with Caucasian populations — particularly Georgians, Armenians, and Ossetes — and with Neolithic farmers who carried agriculture from Anatolia i…

H

Y-DNA

South Asia (Indian subcontinent) · Upper Paleolithic

Y-DNA haplogroup H (defined by marker M69) is found predominantly in South Asia, where it represents one of the oldest indigenous paternal lineages. It is particularly common among…

IJ

Y-DNA

Near East / West Asia · Upper Paleolithic

IJ is the ancestral haplogroup of both I and J. Haplogroup I is the predominant lineage of pre-Neolithic European hunter-gatherers and remains common across Northern and Southeaste…

I

Y-DNA

Western / Central Europe · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup I is the oldest major Y-DNA haplogroup in Europe, predating both Neolithic farmers (who arrived from Anatolia ~9,000 years ago) and Bronze Age steppe migrants (who arriv…

I1

Y-DNA

Scandinavia / Northern Europe · Neolithic / Chalcolithic

I1 is the characteristic Y-DNA haplogroup of Scandinavians and Northern Europeans, found at its highest frequencies in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Finland. Despite the ha…

I2

Y-DNA

Southeastern Europe / Balkans · Epipaleolithic

Haplogroup I2 is the dominant paternal lineage in the Balkans and is common across Eastern Europe. It is most frequent in Bosnia (71%), Croatia (38%), and Serbia (35%), and is foun…

J

Y-DNA

Near East / Fertile Crescent · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup J is the common ancestor of J1 and J2, two major lineages strongly associated with the Near East, Arabian Peninsula, and Mediterranean. J1 is particularly dominant among…

J1

Y-DNA

Near East / Arabian Peninsula · Epipaleolithic

J1 is the most common Y-DNA haplogroup in the Arabian Peninsula and among Arab populations worldwide. The dominant subclade J1-P58 likely expanded significantly with the spread of …

J2

Y-DNA

Near East (Fertile Crescent) · Epipaleolithic

J2 is a Y-DNA haplogroup strongly associated with the Neolithic spread of agriculture from the Fertile Crescent into Europe, the Caucasus, and South Asia. It is found at high frequ…

K

Y-DNA

South Asia or Southeast Asia · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup K is a massive macro-haplogroup that encompasses the majority of all Y-DNA lineages in Eurasia, the Americas, Oceania, and parts of Africa. Its descendant branches inclu…

LT

Y-DNA

West Asia · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup LT (L298/P326), also known as K1, is a major paternal lineage that serves as the immediate ancestor to haplogroups L and T. While the lineage itself is ancient and arose…

L (M20)

Y-DNA

South Asia or West Asia · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup L is a significant paternal lineage primarily found in South Asia, West Asia, and to a lesser extent, the Middle East and Europe. It is strongly associated with the earl…

T (M184)

Y-DNA

Near East · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup T is a paternal lineage that, while globally rare, exhibits a unique and patchy distribution with high-frequency hotspots in East Africa, the Middle East, and parts of S…

NO

Y-DNA

East Asia or Southeast Asia · Upper Paleolithic

NO is the ancestral haplogroup of both N and O. Haplogroup O is the dominant lineage across East Asia and Southeast Asia, carried by the majority of Han Chinese, Japanese, Korean, …

N

Y-DNA

Southeast Asia / South China · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup N originated in Southeast Asia or South China and spread northward through Siberia, eventually reaching Northern Europe. It is defined by the M231 marker. The major subc…

N1

Y-DNA

Siberia / North-Central Asia · Mesolithic

N1 is the major subclade of N that spread into Siberia and Northern Europe. It is divided into N1a (found in East Asia and among some Siberian groups) and N1c (the dominant Uralic-…

N1c (N-L392)

Y-DNA

Siberia / Northern Asia · Mesolithic

N1c (now classified as N-L392) is the dominant Y-DNA haplogroup among Uralic-speaking peoples, including Finns, Estonians, Sami, and many Siberian groups. It spread westward from S…

O

Y-DNA

Southeast Asia / South China · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup O is the overwhelmingly dominant Y-DNA haplogroup in East and Southeast Asia, accounting for 60–80% of men in China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and the P…

P

Y-DNA

Central Asia or South Asia · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup P is the immediate ancestor of Q and R, two of the most widespread and consequential Y-DNA haplogroups in human history. Q is associated with the peopling of the America…

Q

Y-DNA

Central Asia / Siberia · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup Q is the patrilineal haplogroup of almost all indigenous peoples of the Americas. It originated in Central or North Asia and migrated across the Bering land bridge appro…

R

Y-DNA

Central Asia · Upper Paleolithic

Haplogroup R is the parent of R1 (which contains R1a and R1b, dominant across Europe and South Asia) and R2 (found mainly in South Asia and Central Asia). R likely originated in Ce…

R1

Y-DNA

Central Asia (likely near modern Kazakhstan / Uzbekistan) · Upper Paleolithic

R1 is the parent clade of R1a and R1b — the two most widespread Y-DNA haplogroups in Europe and South Asia. R1 likely originated in Central Asia during the last glacial maximum and…

R1a

Y-DNA

Eastern Europe / Central Asia · Upper Paleolithic

R1a is one of the most widespread Y-DNA haplogroups in Eurasia, found at high frequencies across South Asia, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe. It is strongly associated with the ex…

R1b

Y-DNA

Western Eurasia (likely Pontic Steppe or Near East) · Upper Paleolithic

R1b is the most common Y-chromosome haplogroup in Western Europe, reaching frequencies above 80% in Ireland, Wales, and parts of Spain. It arrived in Western Europe with the Bronze…

L (mtDNA)

mtDNA

Sub-Saharan Africa · Middle Paleolithic

Haplogroup L is the root macrohaplogroup of all human mitochondrial DNA. Every living person traces their maternal line back to the L ancestor — mitochondrial Eve — who lived in su…

L3 (mtDNA)

mtDNA

East Africa · Middle Paleolithic

Mitochondrial haplogroup L3 is one of the most important in human prehistory: it is the direct ancestor of haplogroups M and N, which together gave rise to virtually all non-Africa…

M (mtDNA)

mtDNA

South Asia / coastal migration route · Upper Paleolithic

Mitochondrial haplogroup M (not to be confused with Y-DNA haplogroup M) is one of the two daughters of L3 — alongside N — that gave rise to all non-African maternal lineages. M is …

N (mtDNA)

mtDNA

Near East / South Asia · Upper Paleolithic

Mitochondrial haplogroup N (not to be confused with Y-DNA haplogroup N) is one of the two major out-of-Africa maternal lineages, alongside M. From N descended haplogroup R (which g…

R (mtDNA)

mtDNA

Near East / South Asia · Upper Paleolithic

Mitochondrial haplogroup R (distinct from Y-DNA R) is a major branch of N that gave rise to the most common European maternal lineages. Its descendants include H and V (via HV), J …

HV (mtDNA)

mtDNA

Near East / Caucasus · Upper Paleolithic

Mitochondrial haplogroup HV is the common ancestor of H and V, the two most frequent maternal haplogroups in Europe. H alone accounts for ~40–50% of European women. HV itself (in i…

H (mtDNA)

mtDNA

Near East / Southwest Asia · Upper Paleolithic

Mitochondrial haplogroup H is by far the most common mtDNA haplogroup in Europe, accounting for roughly 40–50% of European maternal lineages. It likely originated in the Near East …

JT (mtDNA)

mtDNA

Near East · Upper Paleolithic

JT is the ancestral haplogroup of mitochondrial haplogroups J and T, two of the most common maternal lineages in Europe and the Near East. Both J and T were carried into Europe pri…

J (mtDNA)

mtDNA

Near East / Caucasus · Upper Paleolithic

Mitochondrial haplogroup J, often referred to as 'Jasmine' in popular literature, is one of the most significant maternal lineages in Western Eurasia. It is historically famous for…

T (mtDNA)

mtDNA

Near East · Upper Paleolithic

Mitochondrial haplogroup T, commonly known as 'Tara' in popular genetic genealogy, is a major maternal lineage found throughout Europe, the Near East, and parts of Central Asia. Al…

U (mtDNA)

mtDNA

Near East / South Asia · Upper Paleolithic

Mitochondrial haplogroup U is one of the oldest mtDNA haplogroups in Europe and the Near East, and contains several historically important subclades. U5 is considered the most anci…

K (mtDNA)

mtDNA

Near East / Anatolia · Upper Paleolithic

Mitochondrial haplogroup K is a subclade of U8 found commonly across Europe, the Near East, and notably among Ashkenazi Jews (~32%). Three specific K subclades — K1a1b1a, K1a9, and…