myFTDNA 2.0 User Guide: Y-DNA

What is the Y-DNA - Matches page? faq id: 1990
What is the Advanced Matching page? faq id: 1992
What is the Y-DNA - Haplotree page? faq id: 1994
What is the Y-DNA - Haplogroup Origins page? faq id: 1996
What is the Y-DNA - Ancestral Origins page? faq id: 1998
What is the Y-DNA - Standard Y-STR Results page? faq id: 2000
What is the Matches Maps page? faq id: 2004
What is the Y-DNA – Migration Maps page? faq id: 2005
What is the Y-DNA - Printable Certificates page? faq id: 2006
On the Y-DNA - Ancestral Origins page, are only exact matches shown? faq id: 2010
Why are there more matches on the Y-DNA - Ancestral Origins page than on the Y-DNA - Matches page? faq id: 2011
On my Y-DNA Ancestral Origins page, why do some of my matches show “United States” in the Country column? faq id: 2012
Are all of my Y-DNA matches in the database shown on the Y-DNA - Matches page? faq id: 2013
On the Y-DNA - Matches page, are only exact matches shown? faq id: 2014
On the Y-DNA - Matches page, what do the orange icons with FT indicate? faq id: 2015
On the Y-DNA - Matches page, what do the (Y25), (Y37), (Y67), and (Y111) next to matches' names indicate? faq id: 2017
On the Y-DNA – Matches page, what does (FF) next to matches' names indicate? faq id: 2018
On the Haplotree Page, what is the Choose Your Own SNP page? How do I use it to order SNPs? faq id: 2019
On the Migration Map page, the lines and arrows on the Migration Map point to specific locations. Do the locations have a special significance? faq id: 2020
Where on the Y-DNA - Haplotree & SNPs page do I find a listing of my SNP Results? faq id: 2022
Where do I find the matches from my New Y-DNA Matches e-mail notice? faq id: 2071

Questions and Answers

What is the Y-DNA - Matches page? faq id: 1990
The Y-DNA - Matches page allows you to view your match list from one of our Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) STR (short tandem repeat) tests: Y-DNA12, Y-DNA25, Y-DNA37, Y-DNA67, or Y-DNA111. It contains lists of your matches (if you have them) at each level you have tested.
- Steps - This is the genetic distance between you and your match. Exact matches are zero steps.
- Name - This is your match's name.* This field also includes:
  - A link to their personal profile. Click on their name to view their profile.
  - A link to their e-mail address.
  - A link to the TiP program (For those with Y-DNA Results).
  - GEDCOM/Family Tree (where they have one).
  - A link to add a note or a link to view/edit a note.
  - Testing levels for their Family Finder, mtDNA, and standard Y-DNA tests. Note that this indicates they have tested and not that they match you. You may check for them as a match on the respective matches page or on the Advanced Matches page.
- Most Distant Ancestor - This is your match's most distant known ancestor on their direct paternal line.
- Y-DNA Haplogroup - This is your match's Y-DNA haplogroup according to their testing. If they have not taken a Y-DNA SNP test, we show a, "-", dash.
- Terminal SNP - A terminal SNP determines the terminal (final) subbranch on the Y-DNA Tree to which someone belongs. This is your match's terminal SNP.
- Match Date - This is when we matched you and your paternal genetic cousin in the Family Tree DNA database. If you and your match received results of different dates, it is the earlier of the two result dates.
You can sort each column by clicking on the column name. The following filters allow you to choose the matching level and project.
- Markers - This is the testing level for viewing matches: Y-DNA12, 25, 37, 67, or 111.
- Distance - This is the genetic distance between you and your match.
- Show Matches For - This is the database comparison for viewing matches: the entire database or a single project in which you participate.
- Matches Per Page - This is the number of matches displayed on each page: 25, 100, 500, and 1,000.
* Note that some of your matches may have chosen not to see or be seen by matches at one or more testing levels. They will be shown as Private. You may read more about this here.

We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.

Y-DNAMatches
What is the Advanced Matching page? faq id: 1992
The Advanced Matching page allows you to compare genetic matching from multiple types of DNA tests: Family Finder, mtDNA, and Y-DNA. You may select filtering options in the Filter section and view matching results in the Results section.

Filter
- Test types - You may select all or specific test types from Y-DNA, mtDNA, and Family Finder tests. Your options depend upon the tests you have taken.
- Show Matches from - Limit matches to those who match on all results or view those who match on any selected result.
- Last Name Starts with - Filter matches by surname matching.
- Show Matches for - View matches from the entire Family Tree DNA database, or limit them to a specific project.
- Results per Page - Choose the number of results you wish to view on a page.
Results
- Name - This is your match's name.* This field also includes:
  - A link to their personal profile. Click on their name to view their profile.
  - A link to their e-mail address.
  - A link to the TiP program (For those with Y-DNA Results).
  - GEDCOM/Family Tree (where they have one).
  - A link to add a note or a link to view/edit a note.
  - Testing levels for their Family Finder, mtDNA, and standard Y-DNA tests.**
- Match Date - This represents the date on which you were matched with this person.
- Y-DNA Haplogroup - This is your match's Y-DNA haplogroup according to their testing. If they have not taken a Y-DNA SNP test, we show a, "-", dash.
- mtDNA Haplogroup - This is your match's mtDNA haplogroup according to their testing.
- Y-DNA Columns - These (Y-DNA12, Y-DNA25, Y-DNA37, Y-DNA67, and Y-DNA111) show the genetic distance between you and your match. Exact matches are zero steps.
- mtDNA Columns - These (shorthand HVR1, HVR2, and FMS)* show the genetic distance between you and your exact matches (zero steps).
- Family Finder - This is relationship range between you and your matches.
- Match Date - This is when we matched you and your genetic cousin in the Family Tree DNA database. If you and your match received results of different dates, it is the earlier of the two result dates.
You can sort each column by clicking on the column name.

* Note that some of your matches may have chosen not to see or be seen by matches at one or more testing levels. They will be shown as Private. You may read more about this here.

** These are the mtDNA shorthand, testing levels (products), and matching levels.

Shorthand Testing Level Matching Level

HVR1 mtDNA HVR1

HVR2 mtDNAPlus HVR1 & HVR2

FMS mtFullSequence HVR1, HVR2, & Coding Region

We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.

AdvancedMatching
What is the Y-DNA - Haplotree page? faq id: 1994
The Y-DNA - Haplotree & SNPs page allows you to view your Y-DNA SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) results and your haplogroup information.
- Haplogroup Info - These are the results of SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) tests you have taken.
- My Haplotree - This is a graphic tree that shows your placement on the current Y-chromosome phylogenetic tree.
We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.

Y-DNAHaplotree
What is the Y-DNA - Haplogroup Origins page? faq id: 1996
The Y-DNA - Haplogroup Origins page allows you to view the haplogroup information for your matches from one of our Y-chromosome DNA STR (short tandem repeat) tests: Y-DNA12, Y-DNA25, Y-DNA37, Y-DNA67, or Y-DNA111.
- Haplogroup - This is the haplogroup of each match.
- Country - This is the paternal country of origin.
- Comments - This is additional information such as a social, religious, or ethnic group.
- Count - This is the total number of matches.
NOTE: Family Tree DNA uses the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 3166 for country names.

We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.

Y-DNAHaplogroupOrigins
What is the Y-DNA - Ancestral Origins page? faq id: 1998
The Y-DNA - Ancestral Origins page allows you to view the ancestry information for your matches from one of our Y-chromosome DNA STR (short tandem repeat) tests: Y-DNA12, Y-DNA25, Y-DNA37, Y-DNA67, or Y-DNA111.
- Country - This is the paternal country of origin.
- Match Total - This is the total number of matches for a specific country.
- Country Total - This is the total number of people with Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) results from the country of origin in the Family Tree DNA database.
- Percentage - This is the percentage from the country of origin compared to the total number from that country in the database, i.e., the Match Total column divided by the Country Total column.
- Comment - This is additional information such as a social, religious, or ethnic group. Where more than one match from a country has provided the same comment, the number of matches is shown beside the comment. For example, someone with matches in Germany might have Baden-Württemberg (2) and Schleswig-Holstein (7).
Note: Family Tree DNA uses the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 3166 for country names.

We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.

Y-DNAAncestralOrigins
What is the Y-DNA - Standard Y-STR Results page? faq id: 2000
The Y-DNA - Standard Y-STR Results page shows the results of standard Y-DNA STR (short tandem repeat) tests: Y-DNA12, Y-DNA25, Y-DNA37, Y-DNA67, and Y-DNA111.
- ¤ This result is new since your last login.
- * A value of "0" for any marker indicates that the lab reported a null value for this marker. Our labs retest all cases of null values multiple times to confirm their accuracy. Mutations causing null values are infrequent, but fathers pass on null values to their sons just like other Y-DNA mutations. Therefore, related male lineages such as a father and a son are likely to share null values.
- ** DYS19 is also known as DYS394.
- *** The Family Tree DNA and the Genographic Project report DYS389II differently.
We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.

Y-DNAStandardY-STRResults
What is the Matches Maps page? faq id: 2004

The Matches Maps page show maps of your and your matches' Most Distant Known Ancestors' (MDKA) geographic locations. Maps are available for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA). To learn more about comparing matches, click on the Understanding Your Matches button.

We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.

MatchesMaps
What is the Y-DNA – Migration Maps page? faq id: 2005

The Y-DNA – Migration Maps page shows two maps to help you visualize your direct paternal ancestors' historic and anthropological migrations.

The first is the Haplogroup Migrations Map. It shows general migration paths for the major haplogroups.

The second is the Haplogroup Frequency map. It shows the frequency of the major haplogroups for different world regions.

We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.

mtDNAMigrationMaps
What is the Y-DNA - Printable Certificates page? faq id: 2006

The Y-DNA - Printable Certificates page allows you to view and print your Y-DNA Results certificate(s) and supporting documents. Documents in PDF format require the free Adobe Reader program to view or print them.

We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.

Y-DNADownloadPrintCertificate
On the Y-DNA - Ancestral Origins page, are only exact matches shown? faq id: 2010
On The Y-DNA - Ancestral Origins page, relevant matches are shown. Depending on the testing level these are:
- Y-DNA12 Matches
  - 11 out of 12 (A genetic distance of 1)
  - 12 out of 12 (A genetic distance of 0)
- Y-DNA25 Matches
  - 23 out of 25 (A genetic distance of 2)
  - 24 out of 25 (A genetic distance of 1)
  - 25 out of 25 (A genetic distance of 0)
- Y-DNA37 Matches
  - 33 out of 37 (A genetic distance of 4)
  - 34 out of 37 (A genetic distance of 3)
  - 35 out of 37 (A genetic distance of 2)
  - 36 out of 37 (A genetic distance of 1)
  - 37 out of 37 (A genetic distance of 0)
- Y-DNA67 Matches
  - 60 out of 67 (A genetic distance of 7)
  - 61 out of 67 (A genetic distance of 6)
  - 62 out of 67 (A genetic distance of 5)
  - 63 out of 67 (A genetic distance of 4)
  - 64 out of 67 (A genetic distance of 3)
  - 65 out of 67 (A genetic distance of 2)
  - 66 out of 67 (A genetic distance of 1)
  - 67 out of 67 (A genetic distance of 0)
- Y-DNA111 Matches
  - 101 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 10)
  - 102 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 9)
  - 103 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 8)
  - 104 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 7)
  - 105 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 6)
  - 106 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 5)
  - 107 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 4)
  - 108 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 3)
  - 109 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 2)
  - 110 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 1)
  - 111 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 0)
We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.

Y-DNAAncestralOrigins
Why are there more matches on the Y-DNA - Ancestral Origins page than on the Y-DNA - Matches page? faq id: 2011

The Y-DNA - Ancestral Origins page of your myFTDNA account compares you against our entire Y-DNA results database. This includes customers you see on your Y-DNA - Matches page, research participants from academic studies, customers who have not signed the release form, and customers who have chosen not to compare against the entire database on that number of markers. As a result, you may have more entries on the Y-DNA - Ancestral Origins page than the Y-DNA - Matches page.

We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.

Y-DNAAncestralOrigins
On my Y-DNA Ancestral Origins page, why do some of my matches show “United States” in the Country column? faq id: 2012

The Y-DNA - Ancestral Origins page of your myFTDNA account lists the country of origin reported to us by the people that you match. This country of origin is meant to be the country your paternal ancestors came from before recent migrations to the Americas. However, some individuals instead enter their country of birth or that of a recent ancestor. You should treat these entries as "Unknown Origin" unless your Y-DNA test results indicate Native American ancestry on your paternal line.

Note: Family Tree DNA uses the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 3166 for country names.

We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.

Y-DNAAncestralOrigins
Are all of my Y-DNA matches in the database shown on the Y-DNA - Matches page? faq id: 2013
The Y-DNA - Matches page shows your relevant matches in the customer database who have signed the release form. There are several cases where some matches in the customer database will not be included on your match list. They are:
1. For the Y-DNA12 testing level, 11 out of 12 matches are shown only when both you and your match belong to the same group project.¹
2. If you have chosen to match only against those in your group projects on the myFTDNA - Account Settings page of your myFTDNA account, your contact information will only be shown to those in your projects.
3. If your match has chosen to match only against the group project on the myFTDNA - Account Settings page of their myFTDNA account, their contact information will be shown only to those who belong to one of their group projects.
4. If you have chosen to turn off matching at a specific testing level (Y-DNA12, Y-DNA37, etc.), your contact information will not be shown to matches at that level.
1) To best serve our customers who are adopted, we provide at the Y-DNA12 level both 11/12 and 12/12 matching to the entire Family Tree DNA database to those in the Adoptee Project. This is because they cannot know the best Surname project to join in advance of testing.

We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.

Y-DNAMatches
On the Y-DNA - Matches page, are only exact matches shown? faq id: 2014
On The Y-DNA - Matches page, relevant matches are shown. Depending on the testing level, these are:
- Y-DNA12 Matches
  - 11 out of 12 (A genetic distance of 1)*
  - 12 out of 12 (A genetic distance of 0)
- Y-DNA25 Matches
  - 23 out of 25 (A genetic distance of 2)
  - 24 out of 25 (A genetic distance of 1)
  - 25 out of 25 (A genetic distance of 0)
- Y-DNA37 Matches
  - 33 out of 37 (A genetic distance of 4)
  - 34 out of 37 (A genetic distance of 3)
  - 35 out of 37 (A genetic distance of 2)
  - 36 out of 37 (A genetic distance of 1)
  - 37 out of 37 (A genetic distance of 0)
- Y-DNA67 Matches
  - 60 out of 67 (A genetic distance of 7)
  - 61 out of 67 (A genetic distance of 6)
  - 62 out of 67 (A genetic distance of 5)
  - 63 out of 67 (A genetic distance of 4)
  - 64 out of 67 (A genetic distance of 3)
  - 65 out of 67 (A genetic distance of 2)
  - 66 out of 67 (A genetic distance of 1)
  - 67 out of 67 (A genetic distance of 0)
- Y-DNA111 Matches
  - 101 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 10)
  - 102 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 9)
  - 103 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 8)
  - 104 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 7)
  - 105 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 6)
  - 106 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 5)
  - 107 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 4)
  - 108 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 3)
  - 109 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 2)
  - 110 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 1)
  - 111 out of 111 (A genetic distance of 0)
* For Y-DNA12 matches, 11 out of 12 matches are only shown with both customers belong to the same group project.

However, to best serve our customers who are adopted, we provide at the Y-DNA12 level both 11/12 and 12/12 matching to the entire Family Tree DNA database to those in the Adoptee Project. This is because they cannot know the best Surname project to join in advance of testing.

We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.

Y-DNAMatches
On the Y-DNA - Matches page, what do the orange icons with FT indicate? faq id: 2015

On the Y-DNA - Matches page, the orange icons with FT indicate that a match has uploaded their genealogy information as a GEDCOM file. You may view their information by clicking on the icon.

We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.

Y-DNAMatches
On the Y-DNA - Matches page, what do the (Y25), (Y37), (Y67), and (Y111) next to matches' names indicate? faq id: 2017
On the Y-DNA - Matches page, the (Y25), (Y37), (Y67), and (Y111) next to your matches' names indicates that they have tested at a higher level.
- The (Y25) indicates that they have results for Y-DNA25 test.
- The (Y37) indicates that they have results for the Y-DNA37 test.
- The (Y67) indicates that they have results for the Y-DNA67 test.
- The (Y111) indicates that they have results for the Y-DNA111 test.
We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.

Y-DNAMatches
On the Y-DNA – Matches page, what does (FF) next to matches' names indicate? faq id: 2018

On the Y-DNA – Matches page, the (FF) next to a match's name indicates that they have taken the Family Finder Autosomal DNA test.

We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.

Y-DNAMatches
On the Haplotree Page, what is the Choose Your Own SNP page? How do I use it to order SNPs? faq id: 2019
The Choose Your Own SNP section of the Y-DNA - Haplotree & SNPs page is where you may order individual SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) that are part of the official Y-Chromosome Consortium tree. This page is available if you have ordered on of our SNP tests in the past. You may also order if your haplogroup is confidently predicted. To do so:
1. Login to your myFTDNA account. (https://www.familytreedna.com/login.aspx)
2. Select Haplotreee from the Y-DNA menu on the menu bar.
3. On the Y-DNA - Haplotree & SNPs page, look for the Choose Your Own SNPs button and click it.
4. Choose the SNPs that you wish to order.
  1. Click on SNPs in orange to add them to your order.
  2. To remove a SNP, highlight it in the Selected SNPs list, and click the Remove Selected button.
  3. To remove all SNPs from the list, click the Clear List button.
  4. When you are done, click the Continue Order button to go to checkout.
We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.
On the Migration Map page, the lines and arrows on the Migration Map point to specific locations. Do the locations have a special significance? faq id: 2020

The lines and arrows on the Migration map are not specific to exact locations. Rather, they are meant to provide a general migration direction.

We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.
Where on the Y-DNA - Haplotree & SNPs page do I find a listing of my SNP Results? faq id: 2022

Your Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) results are listed under the phylogenetic tree on the Y-DNA - Haplotree page in the Haplogroup Info section.

We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.

Y-DNAHaplotree
Where do I find the matches from my New Y-DNA Matches e-mail notice? faq id: 2071
Your Y-DNA (Y-chromosome DNA) matches are shown on the Y-DNA - Matches page. To access it:
1. Login to your myFTDNA account. (https://www.familytreedna.com/login.aspx)
2. Select Matches from the Y-DNA menu on the menu bar.
We would like this User Guide to be as complete and helpful to our customers and project administrators as possible. Please send us your requests and suggestions for improvement. Send Feedback.

Y-DNAMatches

Shorthand	Testing Level	Matching Level
HVR1	mtDNA	HVR1
HVR2	mtDNAPlus	HVR1 & HVR2
FMS	mtFullSequence	HVR1, HVR2, & Coding Region

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myFTDNA 2.0 User Guide: Y-DNA

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