Skip to Main Content

Genealogy Guide: DNA & Jewish Genealogy

Introduction

Deciphering DNA test results can be a daunting task. It requires learning scientific terms and toggling between multiple tools and resources online. However, this effort often leads to rewarding discoveries. This section of this research guide lays out the major tools available for understanding your DNA results.

Uploading Test Results into Multiple Databases

As noted in the section of this guide about testing companies, your DNA test results will only show you matches who tested with your same company. Even people who test where the majority of their family has tested will likely miss some matches who tested with other companies. To catch extra matches, you can upload your test results into other databases.

Uploading by database

  • Ancestry does not allow users who did not originally test with Ancestry to upload DNA into their database. The same is true for 23andMe.
  • MyHeritage allows users to upload test results into their database and view DNA matches for free. Access to additional features like the chromosome browser and ethnicity estimate is available for a fee. See instructions for uploading your test results here.
  • FamilyTreeDNA allows users to upload results and view DNA matches for free. Access to additional features requires a small fee. See instructions for uploading your test results here. 
  • GEDMatch, a genetic genealogy website, allows users to upload DNA results for free. Users can access many interpretation tools like the one-to-many DNA comparison or the one-to-one DNA comparison. More advanced matching and analysis features are available for a fee. See instructions for uploading your DNA here.

Resources for DNA uploads