Haplogroup L1

What is Maternal Haplogroup L1?

Haplogroup L1 is a genealogical group of lineages defined by unique genetic markers present in your mitochondrial DNA, which is transmitted from your mother. Your maternal haplogroup paints a picture of your ancient origins and the migrations of your ancestors. Although your maternal haplogroup reflects just one of your many ancestral lineages, it carries information about that lineage over tens of thousands of years.

Among 23andMe research participants, haplogroup L1 is commonly found among populations in the United Kingdom.

It's important to note that your haplogroup doesn't define your current ethnic identity; rather, it provides an insight into your deep ancestry on the maternal side.

Maternal Haplogroup Origins L1

Top Surnames with Haplogroup L1

For surnames with sufficient representation in the data, these percentages represent the frequency with which each surname is found in individuals exhibiting this genetic marker.

Last Name	Frequency
johnson	2.00%
williams	1.90%
brown	1.60%
smith	1.50%
jones	1.40%
davis	0.90%
taylor	0.90%
rodriguez	0.80%
thomas	0.60%
robinson	0.60%
jackson	0.60%
lewis	0.60%
moore	0.60%
wilson	0.50%
scott	0.50%
harris	0.50%
young	0.50%
green	0.50%
walker	0.50%
martin	0.50%

Haplogroup L1 is linked to speakers of the Bantu language family

About 5,000 years ago, many people in sub-Saharan Africa still relied on hunting, gathering, and foraging as their main means of collecting food. But that was soon going to change. People in West-Central Africa began experimenting with agriculture, cultivating the yams, legumes, peppers, and gourds that would became staples of sub-Saharan African diet. These people spoke languages belonging to the Bantu language family, and about 4,000 years ago they began to move.First, they headed east across the central rainforest. Eventually, the descendants of these migrants arrived at the farthest reaches of southern Africa. Later, other Bantu speakers who had remained in West Africa also began to travel down the western coast. As they traveled over a period of centuries, they both displaced and absorbed many other hunter-gatherer groups that were already living throughout Africa.Their agricultural and technological knowledge also diffused to other local groups. They often intermarried, sometimes adopting local cultural practices of those people they encountered. The languages that they brought with them from their ancestral homeland spread throughout sub-Saharan Africa, and today the majority of sub-Saharan African languages are Bantu.

Paths of the Bantu Migrations