About us
Welcome to the Q Nordic project!
Please join if you have tested positive for either Q-L527, Q-L804 or Q-F749, or you suspect you may belong here owing to your matches. Others who belong to Q-F1161 are also welcome to join.
The Nordic Q group project started in July 2014, in order to explore the Nordic branches of Q-M242 and present test results from the members. In order to discover more subclades and detailed branches we need more members to do the Big Y700 test, especially those who belong to subbranch Q-F749. Upgrades using the Q-L804 SNP pack or Q-L527 SNP pack are also very welcome. Q-L804 and Q-L527 was in the early days of DNA-testing found in Scandinavia (Iceland, Norway and Sweden) and British Isles, then later inn all Nordic countries including Denmark and Finland. By 2019, Q-L804 and Q-L527 had also been detected in several other parts of Europe and in the Americas. Those outside of Europe likely have roots in Northern Europe. Q-F749 is found in different parts of Europe and across Eurasia.
Sometimes FTDNA will only predict people as Q-M242, so we would advise you to look at your matches, and if you have a number of persons that appear to be of a Nordic or British origin , then contact us and we can advise you, or join the project and we can then have a closer look at your results.
For other branches of haplogroup Q, you may find more relevant projects at FTDNA, though you are more than welcome to contact us for advice if you unsure of where you belong.
Q-L527, Q-L804 & Q-F749 facebook group
Overview
Q Y-DNA Nordic: In general, to join this project you should belong to the Y-DNA Q haplogroup and one of its subclades Q-L527, Q-L804 or Q-F749, but you may not always know this at the time of your test results, we can advise on any further tests you may need to define your branch of Q-M242 if your matches implicate this is where you may belong. You are also welcome if you are Q-M242 with origin from the Nordic or otherwise now related countries, or if you belong to the Q-F1161 subclade upstream of Q-L527 and Q-F749 as the history of Q-F1161 in general is important for the Q Nordic group project.
You will receive continuous updates of the project status in our Facebook group. Please join it if you are on Facebook.
We will also inform you by email in our regular newsletter.
There are two main branches of Q in the Nordic countries. The two main branches of Q-M242 found in the Nordic countries are distinct, and have probably arrived in Scandinavia at different times. The Q-L527, Q-L804 and Q-F749 branches have SNP L56 in common, and are split by L53. The three branches are called Q-L527, Q-L804 and Q-F749, after their defining SNPs.
Branch Q-F1161+
(L527+ probable for all these, we need more tests to know)
This group might have existed in the Nordic countries for a while. It is mainly found in Sweden and Eastern Norway.
Typical STR:
- (Y12) DYS392=14-15,
- (Y25) DYS454=12
- (Y37) DYS607=15, DYS442=12-13, DYS438=12
Branch Q-L804+
This is most probably a younger group. It was initially found on the Norwegian west coast. The Q-L804 probably appeared in South-West Sweden (Götaland, area north of Gothenburg) about 3000 years ago. About 2000 years ago a sub-branch was established in Møre og Romsdal (MRO) at the Norwegian west coast and making the Western Branch of Q-L804. During viking age (800-1000 AD) men of the Western Branch migrated to Iceland, British Isles and Northern France.
Typical STR values for Q-L804:
- (Y12) DYS392=12-13,
- (Y25) DYS454=11
- (Y37) DYS607=13, DYS442=11, DYS438=11
Research
Als et al., 2006. Highly discrepant proportions of female and male Scandinavian and British Isles ancestry within the isolated population of the Faroe Islands. European Journal of Human Genetics 14: 497–504. https://www.nature.com/articles/5201578
Dupuy et al., 2001. Y-chromosome variation in a Norwegian population sample. Forensic Science International 117(3): 163–173. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0379073800003972
Högström, K.O., 2024. The Huns in Scandinavia: A new approach centered around modern DNA. Reconstructing the Past: Journal of Historical Studies 2(3): 32–49. https://www.academia.edu/87950565/The_Huns_in_Scandinavia_A_new_approach_centered_around_modern_DNA
Lappalainen et al., 2006. Regional differences among the Finns: a Y-chromosomal perspective. Gene 376(2): 207-215. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378111906002137
Mann, A., 2012. Vikings, merchants, and pirates at the top of the world: Y-chromosomal signatures of recent and ancient migrations in the Faroe Islands. University of Louisville, Master's Thesis, Paper 901. https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd/901/
Margaryan et al., 2020. Population genomics of the Viking world. Nature 585: 390–396. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2688-8
Pinotti et al., 2018. Y Chromosome Sequences Reveal a Short Beringian Standstill, Rapid Expansion, and early Population structure of Native American Founders. Current Biology 29(1): 149–157.E3. https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)31495-7
Rodríguez-Varela et al., 2023. The genetic history of Scandinavia from the Roman Iron Age to the present. Cell 186(1): 32-46.e19. https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(22)01468-4
Speidel et al., 2025. High-resolution genomic history of early medieval Europe. Nature 637: 118–126. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08275-2#Sec29
Links