Explore the Family Name Chew

Possible origins of the surname Chew

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Chew have recent ancestry locations in China and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

What Chew haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Chew is O-M307.1, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-M307.1 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include O-F81 and R-S5668, which are predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Lee, Chu, Chang, Low, Chan, Chong, Lu, He, More, Donelson.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Chew surname are: H1, H, M7b. These most commonly trace back to individuals of East Asian & Indigenous American and European ancestry.

Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Han Chinese

Haplogroup O1a is a branch of O-M119, also called O1a. O-M119 and its branches are present in both northern and southern Han Chinese men at low to moderate frequencies, but are most common among the Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Zhejiang southern Han groups. The Han people, who all share the same language and similar cultural practices, are the largest ethnic group in the world, with about 1.2 billion people. Historical evidence shows that Han people are descendants of the ancient Huaxia tribes that come from northern China, and Han language and culture only expanded into southern China in the last 2,000 years. The spread of Han people and culture from northern to southern China was likely driven by warfare and famine in the north. Members of O-M119 belong to a group that has helped to shape the culture of the world's largest ethnic group.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.