Greek Ancestry results - question

[Jana]

Hi, I need help from people who saw updated Greek results and if please they could post some examples here.

My grandma was 1/8 Greek and her sister Greek-related score on ancestry was the following:

10% Greece/Albania
1% Cyprus
1% Balkans

She didn't get any communities which could help clear things up.

Now, this show my Greek ancestry was definitely not from Crete (I was told my Greek ancestor came from Crete), because full Cretans score totally different results. For example user Voskos:

88% Aegean
3% Anatolia and Caucasus
3% Greece and Albania
2% Northern Italy
2% Levant
1% Baltics
1% The Balkans

My aunt ethnic Greek matches are geographically dispersed in these locations :


So, it looks my Greek ancestry is for sure not Cretan, but either mainland Greek or Ionian Islander (who are genetically similar to nearby mainland), but I am wondering if any of you could tell me to which Greek region would my aunt's breakdown be most similar to? I didn't see many Greek AncestryDNA results. That's why I wonder to which exact region could her score point towards to (ofc maybe it's a mix of more regions, but in general)

Thank you

[Voskos]

Most of my matches on Ancestry are either Cretan or Greek/Cretan Americans or Balkan Slavs/Russians/Poles(distant matches). I can confirm most Cretans score "Aegean" in the 80%-100% range and the ones from the South/villages score almost 0 Greek/Albanian and almost no Balkan either .Before the updates however most would score between 20% and 50% Greece/Albania roughly, the rest Aegean or, prior to the creation of the Aegean cluster on ancestry (old versions), aorund 30% Italian.

I wouldn't take those scores too literally, but the matches surely do say something. If your grandma has no matches from Crete (does she have any?) then it's less likely that she has Cretan ancestry imo. Still not impossible however.

In Crete there were Cretans, Eastern Greeks from Aegean islands and Asia Minor, mainlanders, Venetians (mixed with Greeks) and later Balkan and Anatolian Turks. Around the middle Ages there was settlement by Slavs from Asia Minor, Armenians and Balkanites as well when the island was freed from the Arabs. So your ancestor could have been from Crete and not necessarily been a Cretan, but rather a mainland Greek or a Balkanite.

[Jana]

Most of my matches on Ancestry are either Cretan or Greek/Cretan Americans or Balkan Slavs/Russians/Poles(distant matches). I can confirm most Cretans score "Aegean" in the 80%-100% range and the ones from the South/villages score almost 0 Greek/Albanian and almost no Balkan either .Before the updates however most would score between 20% and 50% Greece/Albania roughly, the rest Aegean or, prior to the creation of the Aegean cluster on ancestry (old versions), aorund 30% Italian.

I wouldn't take those scores too literally, but the matches surely do say something. If your grandma has no matches from Crete (does she have any?) then it's less likely that she has Cretan ancestry imo. Still not impossible however.

In Crete there were Cretans, Eastern Greeks from Aegean islands and Asia Minor, mainlanders, Venetians (mixed with Greeks) and later Balkan and Anatolian Turks. Around the middle Ages there was settlement by Slavs from Asia Minor, Armenians and Balkanites as well when the island was freed from the Arabs. So your ancestor could have been from Crete and not necessarily been a Cretan, but rather a mainland Greek or a Balkanite.

Very much agree. I guess it's possible my ancestor came from Crete but was rather a mainland Greek. Surname was Demetros/Demetrios (sth close to that, not sure about correct form) if that means anything.
As for my grandma/aunt, they don't have a single Cretan match. Only select locations shown on the map.

Thank you for your reply

[Voskos]

I had forgotten to say that before the two last updates Cretans would score around 20% Caucasus. In addition, went through my matches again these days after the latest update and noticed some Cretan Greeks scoring amounts of "Cyprus" and amounts of "Southern Italy" (with the latest update).

[Jana]

Bump

Any help from other Greek members? Would be appreciated.

[kingmob]

If you post last names of relative matches we might be able to gauge the origins of the last names, otherwise it seems like a needle in a haystack kind of thing.

[Jana]

If you post last names of relative matches we might be able to gauge the origins of the last names, otherwise it seems like a needle in a haystack kind of thing.

Will try to compile a list today. Thank you

[Jana]

If you post last names of relative matches we might be able to gauge the origins of the last names, otherwise it seems like a needle in a haystack kind of thing.

Here, sorry if some are wrongly written, many matches are in US so who knows if they have correct form.

Spoiler!

Eliopoulos, Michailidis, Thomopoulos, Vlahos, Papademas, Soulferis, Diamandopolos, Gelezelis, Spilios, Tonis, Konstantuda, Surunis, Berakis, Keffalis, Glekas, Lavrakas, Almalis, Konstantinou, Mandros, Oikonomou, Maniatis, Falkis, Bougalis, Ballas, Chryssikos, Vasilas, Kastikogannis, Zarras, Anagnos, Pappas, Stamos, Kassotis/Kasotis, Calmeris, Chiolis, Markopoulos, Siatras, Costinas, Voutsas, Rentzoulis, Diamantis, Rentzis, Demetriou, Canellopoulus, Lagodimos, Souroulis, Amiradaki, Konstadakou, Illopoulos, Ikonomakou, Nikokalakos, Vergiris, Titkogevistch, Pasialis, Stappas, Vlamakis, Zikos, Gatsis, Takis, Marmaras, Tsiolkas, Papandreou

could find more but it would be too much I guess

[kingmob]

Here, sorry if some are wrongly written, many matches are in US so who knows if they have correct form.

Spoiler!

Eliopoulos, Michailidis, Thomopoulos, Vlahos, Papademas, Soulferis, Diamandopolos, Gelezelis, Spilios, Tonis, Konstantuda, Surunis, Berakis, Keffalis, Glekas, Lavrakas, Almalis, Konstantinou, Mandros, Oikonomou, Maniatis, Falkis, Bougalis, Ballas, Chryssikos, Vasilas, Kastikogannis, Zarras, Anagnos, Pappas, Stamos, Kassotis/Kasotis, Calmeris, Chiolis, Markopoulos, Siatras, Costinas, Voutsas, Rentzoulis, Diamantis, Rentzis, Demetriou, Canellopoulus, Lagodimos, Souroulis, Amiradaki, Konstadakou, Illopoulos, Ikonomakou, Nikokalakos, Vergiris, Titkogevistch, Pasialis, Stappas, Vlamakis, Zikos, Gatsis, Takis, Marmaras, Tsiolkas, Papandreou

could find more but it would be too much I guess

Some general guidelines about last names:

1) Suffix -poulos: meaning the "child of ...", πουλίν meaning child (also bird) in Greek. This one doesn't have any specific regionality attached per se, it can be found in both Anatolians and peninsulars, very generic.

2) Suffix -akis: meaning "little ...", this one comes from Crete, it is said that it was assigned by Ottomans as a way to diminish Cretans (for example, the last name Peteinarakis, meaning "little rooster", a way to diminish the size), not sure if this folklore has any truth to it or not.

3) Suffix -akos: regionality from Mani and the Peloponnese, you also have a Maniatis in your list which literally means "from Mani".

4) Specifics that I can recognise:


Soufleris : the froth of the milk, Crete.

Michailidis : very common Pontic Greek last name (could also be Asia Minor).

Arvanitic last names: Sourounis, Glekas, Mandros, Souroulis, ...

Vlach last names : Stamos, Costinas, Zarras, Vlahos (literally meaning Vlach), ...


Discounting the -poulos and the odd -idis, the rest look like Peloponnese+Arvanitovlach and Crete.

Dunno if that helps at all.

[Voskos]

Here, sorry if some are wrongly written, many matches are in US so who knows if they have correct form.

Spoiler!

Eliopoulos, Michailidis, Thomopoulos, Vlahos, Papademas, Soulferis, Diamandopolos, Gelezelis, Spilios, Tonis, Konstantuda, Surunis, Berakis, Keffalis, Glekas, Lavrakas, Almalis, Konstantinou, Mandros, Oikonomou, Maniatis, Falkis, Bougalis, Ballas, Chryssikos, Vasilas, Kastikogannis, Zarras, Anagnos, Pappas, Stamos, Kassotis/Kasotis, Calmeris, Chiolis, Markopoulos, Siatras, Costinas, Voutsas, Rentzoulis, Diamantis, Rentzis, Demetriou, Canellopoulus, Lagodimos, Souroulis, Amiradaki, Konstadakou, Illopoulos, Ikonomakou, Nikokalakos, Vergiris, Titkogevistch, Pasialis, Stappas, Vlamakis, Zikos, Gatsis, Takis, Marmaras, Tsiolkas, Papandreou

could find more but it would be too much I guess

There's two Cretans in there surely, could be more but there's at least two. For the rest of them if I had to take a guess, lots of Central Greeks, Vlachs and Peloponnesians .