How much DNA do we share with aunts and uncles?
Table of Contents
Aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews You share about 25 percent of your DNA with a biological aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew. Your aunt or uncle shares 50 percent of their DNA with your parent (their sibling), who shares 50 percent of their DNA with you.
How much DNA do nieces and nephews share with aunts and uncles?
Since the DNA that gets passed down to their offspring is randomly selected, this explains the range of about 19-33\% of shared DNA between aunts/uncles and nieces/nephews.
Can a uncle and nephew have the same DNA?
Different relationships can share the same percentage of DNA. Half-siblings share the same percentage of DNA as: An uncle and a niece or nephew. An aunt and a niece or nephew.
Average Percent DNA Shared Between Relatives
Relationship | Average \% DNA Shared | Range |
---|---|---|
Identical Twin | 100\% | N/A |
Parent / Child | 50\% (but 47.5\% for father-son relationships) | N/A |
Full Sibling | 50\% | 38\% – 61\% |
Grandparent / Grandchild Aunt / Uncle Niece / Nephew Half Sibling | 25\% | 17\% – 34\% |
Why do half siblings share 25 DNA?
Because of how DNA is passed down from parents to children, some half-siblings will share more than 25\% of their DNA and some will share less. Half-sisters with a common dad share more DNA on average that a half-brother and half-sister do because of how the X and the Y chromosome are passed down.
Do I have the same DNA as my uncle?
ALL of the DNA that your aunt or uncle carries is your ancestors’ DNA too – even though you only match your aunt/uncle on 25\% of their DNA. ALL OF THEIR DNA IS AS RELEVANT TO YOU AS YOUR OWN! The other 75\% of the DNA that they have, and you don’t, was inherited from your grandparents.
In fact, most nephews share a bit more or less than 25\% of their DNA with their aunts or uncles. Having said this, 16\% is starting to get pretty far from 25\%. This doesn’t make it impossible, just less likely than say 24\% or even 20\%.
How much of your DNA do you share with your cousin?
We were both tested and it shows us sharing 16\% of our DNA which the test says makes us first cousins. You could definitely share less than 25\% of your DNA. In fact, most nephews share a bit more or less than 25\% of their DNA with their aunts or uncles. Having said this, 16\% is starting to get pretty far from 25\%.
How do I Find my aunts and uncles on my heritage?
On My Heritage, we will see “Uncle” or “Aunt” as one of the possibilities in the “Estimated Relationship” section on our DNA match list. Each DNA testing company displays DNA matches in a slightly different way. Regardless of the company we use to do our test, we should always expect to see aunts and uncles towards the top of our match lists.
Yes. You will always share DNA with your siblings, even half-siblings, and your aunts and uncles – even half-aunts and half-uncles. In fact, it’s statistically impossible not to share DNA with these relatives. With that said, there is a range of DNA that you can share with people who are related to you in these ways: