Explore the Family Name Ni

Possible origins of the surname Ni

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 Ni have recent ancestry locations in China and Taiwan.

What Ni 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 Ni is O-CTS2498, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-CTS2498 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include O-F11 and O-F8, which are predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Fang, Qian, Hsu, Gu, Ye, Hung, Hua, Bao, Yeh, Tong.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Ni surname are: R, D4, 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 many people of Europe and Asia

Most of Europe's most common haplogroups, including H, J, T, V and U, are offshoots of R. Some, like U, were involved in some of the earliest migrations to Europe, while others spread from the Middle East with the dawn of agriculture. These groups spread east as well, reaching Central Asia and India first with early farmers and then with Iron Age migrants. In East Asia, R gave rise to the dominant haplogroups F and B. Members of just one branch of B, B2, migrated from Siberia to the Americas after the peak of the Ice Age 18,000 years ago, where their descendants are found today. However, no other branches of R have been found in the indigenous people of North and South America.