Ancestry dna says I have 10% norwegian ancestry. How far back would this be ?

[Katharinblum]

Posted for traffic in chat. Received my dna results. Although it suggests I am largely of english descent with a smattering of scots and irish, I have 10% of norwegian dna (appreciate I'm probably not using the right technical
language !) As yet I've not come across any scandy sounding surnames in my family tree even though I've managed to trace back as far as the mid 1700s
in many of the family lines. Does anyone know if viking heritage could account for this ? Most of my family came from york/east yorks/west yorks and obviously the vikings settled and presumably intermarried in that area of the country for many years...I appreciate that there may not be many dna experts on here but it's worth a shot

yes it's possible to be as far back as viking

The heritage and ancestry dna tests can only trace back 6 generations

As yet I've not come across any scandy sounding surnames in my family tree even though I've managed to trace back as far as the mid 1700s

Firstly the VIkings didn't have surnames like we do, they had the patronymic system mostly. Rarely some use the metronymic system.
In any case look at the name Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire for example, it comes from the Norse word Saurby (hence the local pronunciation), as it is now you wouldn't think it was a Scandanavian word.

A lot of English sounding surnames, such as Goodman, are thought to have Scandanavian origins as some VIkings used descriptions of them which are mostly positive, you'd not see Olaf the pillager but you might see Olaf the brave.

The heritage and ancestry dna tests can only trace back 6 generations

Why is that then?

I bet they did talk about Olaf the pillager. Reckon he was a bit of a legend.

I thought Irish dna had Norwegian and french strands. Perhaps you've picked it up through the Irish side.

These tests are miss sold.
There was a documentary about a year ago explaining what they mean, and it’s not what you think.
First of all only a small percentage of the worlds population have d n a on record.
So you match with 10% of Scandinavias that have been tested, does not mean you are 10% Scandinavian.

My german 7% goes back to 1776 if that helps. On a serious note each child inherits 50% from each parent but not necessarily the same 50% so if you had a sibling they might not have the same percentages. As someone else has said you are unlikely to find an ancestor called Eric the Viking you need to think more laterally.

It may or may not be directly Norwegian. I have this and my ancestors are from Normandy, which was populated by the Viking’s. It’s very hard to prove Viking dna specifically because of the breadth of their invasions.

My Normandy also goes back to around 1780.

@chomalungma
This is the explanation on the DNA testing websites. Mine was accurate up to about 6 generations but didn't pick up on further back than that (from what I know from tracing family tree)

Autosomal DNA is passed on from both of your parents, half from each. Each of them got half of their autosomal DNA from their parents, and so on. Because autosomal DNA gets mixed with each generation, it can only take you so far back - at least five or six generations, occasionally up to ten generations.

You can only reliably detect DNA from particular ethnicities about 3 generations back. Anything further and it's just too mixed up.