I compared atDNA tests from both AncestryDNA and FamilyTreeDNA MyOrigins. The results were very close.

Reminder, atDNA reveals ancestral history within the past 200 years or so. For non-native Americans, this type of analysis provides insights into the immigrant paths of ancestors who came to North America during the late 18th and 19th centuries.

I submitted the AncestryDNA sample a couple of years ago. Since Ancestry updates their algorithms periodically, my ethnic breakdown has changed since my test results were first published. As of February 2021, my results look like this:

The FamilyTreeDNA test is more recent. Here is the analysis from MyOrigins and the mapping of my ancestral family groups

A side by side comparison shows few differences between the two tests:

Ancestral Group	AncestryDNA	myFamilyTreeDNA
UK, Wales, and Scotland	76%	75%
Germanic Europe/ Scandinavia	13%	22%
Ireland	6%	4%
Southern Europe/Greece	0%	3%
Eastern Europe/Russian	1%	0%
Cameroon	1%	0%

Both AncestryDNA and myFamilyTreeDNA agree that my ancestors mostly came from the British Isles with 82% and 79% respectively. European countries follow with 13% and 22%. Interestly, AncestryDNA indicates that I have one African ancestor within the past 20 generations (1%).

I uploaded my DNA file to GEDMatch (an open source provider of DNA analytics). The MDLP Admixture calculation (World 22) is very close AncestryDNA and FTDNA.

All ethnicity calculations are roughly similar except for ancestral groups under 5%. These represent most distant ancestors. As DNA test providers refine their analytics, I would expect that these discrepancies will begin to merge.

The biggest surprise in my ancestral analysis? No matches to American Indian populations. None. My mother loved to talk about her “full blooded Cherokee great-grandmother”. DNA does not support that family lore.