Explore the Family Name Knudsen

Possible origins of the surname Knudsen

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 Knudsen have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

What Knudsen 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 Knudsen is I-M253, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup I-M253 is descended from haplogroup I-M170. Other common haplogroups include R-Z282 and R-P311, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Monson, Sorenson, Christiansen, Jorgensen, Nielsen, Jacobsen, Samuelson, Larsen, Andersen, Petersen.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Knudsen surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

Your paternal lineage may be linked to the people of Doggerland

One of the places that was repopulated as the Ice Age waned no longer exists. During the Ice Age and for some time afterward, lower sea levels exposed much of the area that is now covered by the North Sea. Known as "Doggerland," the region must have been occupied by men bearing haplogroup I, because today it is abundant in all of the countries surrounding the North Sea.As the meltwaters of the retreating Ice Age glaciers caused sea levels to rise, the low-lying forests and wetlands of Doggerland gradually became inundated. The inhabitants of Doggerland retreated to the higher ground that is now the North Sea coast. I-M253 is especially common today in Scandinavia — it reaches levels of 33% in Denmark and Sweden — and is somewhat common in England, Germany and the Netherlands, where it is found in about 15% of men.

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.