Explore the Family Name Mo

Possible origins of the surname Mo

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 Mo have recent ancestry locations all within China.

What Mo 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 Mo is O-M95, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-M95 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include DE-M145 and O-Page23, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Lau, He, Hu, Lee, Leong, Chung, Earhart, Eakins, Nicosia, Nicolosi.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Mo surname are: M, B4, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

Your paternal lineage may be linked to many Indian ethnic groups

Haplogroup O1b1a1a is thought to have arisen in India, roughly 25,000 to 40,000 years ago, and is present in many Indian ethnic groups today. The Indian subcontinent holds four major language groups, called Austro-Asiatic, Dravidian, Indo-European, and Tibeto-Burman. Haplogroup O-M95 likely originated in Indian Austro-Asiatic populations. Its early members carried both the O1-M95 haplogroup and Austro-Asiatic languages further into Southeast Asia through the Northeast Indian corridor. Current research suggests migrating members of O-M95 left eastern India traveling east, through Myanmar, southern China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand, and ended in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. One study found that 100% of a Nicobar Island population belonged to haplogroup O-M95.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to the Han

Members of haplogroups B4 and B5 are quite frequent in both northern and southern Han Chinese populations. 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, centered in Zhongyuan, China's Central Plain. The spread of Han people, language and culture from northern to southern China only occurred in the last 2,000 years, and was likely driven by warfare and famine in the north.