Tracing paternal DNA is easy for a male as he gets the Y-chromosome from his father. A female does not get a Y-chromosome due to which it can be hard for her to do a paternal DNA tracing. However, it does not mean that a female cannot trace her paternal line.
A woman can trace her paternal DNA using tests like autosomal DNA testing. She can use test results from a Y-DNA test of a father, brother, paternal uncle, or uncle’s son to learn about her paternal DNA. It gives you information about origin, migration, ancestors, and relatives.
You need to choose the right person for Y-DNA testing or choose the right place for autosomal DNA testing otherwise some information might lead to you becoming confused. So if you want to learn more about paternal DNA tracing for a female and the different ways to do it, you are in the right place!
Paternal DNA Tracing for Females
| Women DNA Composition | Inherited From |
| 50% X-Chromosome (mtDNA) | Mother |
| 50% X-Chromosome | Father |
| 50% Autosomal Chromosomes | Father |
| 50% Autosomal Chromosomes | Mother |
DNA tracing means researching and learning about your father, your grandfather, your great-grandfather, and so on. Researching your DNA is also possible for your maternal line. If you choose a Y-DNA for testing, you can trace paternal DNA.
Females can trace their paternal DNA through different DNA tests. Taking a DNA test reveals a lot about a person and their family background. People take DNA tests for various reasons or to learn more about their ancestry.
A female can take DNA tests herself to trace her paternal side. Moreover, tests taken by different relatives belonging to the paternal side such as father, brother, paternal aunt, cousins from a paternal uncle etc, can tell you about a female’s paternal DNA.
As females do not have Y chromosomes, they cannot use them for tracing their paternal line. However, she can borrow it from the closest relative to go through a Y-DNA test. Here is a list of people that can help a female in this regard:
- Your father
- Your brother
- Your dad’s brother
- Your grandfather
- Your cousin (who’s the son of your father’s brother)
In short, if someone shares the same grandparents as you on your paternal side or your grandparents are their parents, you can use their Y-chromosome for tracing your paternal side.
Reasons for Paternal DNA Tracing
People can go for paternal DNA tracing for various reasons. Here are some of the things that you can get by DNA tracing:
- Information about where your paternal ancestors belong to.
- Noble titles.
- Connections between different families
- Information about genetic variations
- Evolution patterns
- Origination of a bloodline
- Migration of a family
- Information about family history
Tests for Paternal DNA Tracing for Females
So, what tests are necessary to find out about your paternal side? If you are a female (XX), you carry X chromosomes from both of your parents. This means that a female lacks Y-chromosome and cannot take a Y-DNA test directly for paternal DNA tracing. Females can use their X-chromosome for maternal tracing. But for paternal tracing, you have some other options.
Autosomal DNA Testing
Autosomal DNA testing uses your autosomal chromosomes instead of sex chromosomes. It is for anyone who wants to learn about their family or find a distant relative. Everyone has autosomal chromosomes, therefore autosomal DNA testing does not depend upon gender.
The information is matched to different people and those that share the most amount of DNA with you are more closely related to you. You can find information about where your ancestors lived years ago through this test.
It provides a large amount of information about your distant and close relatives and can be used to find second, third, and so on cousins. However, you cannot figure out your exact relationship with the person through autosomal DNA testing.
Autosomal DNA testing is not limited to finding information about your mother or father’s line. In fact, you get information about both sides.
Y-DNA Testing
As mentioned before, a female cannot directly take a Y-DNA test to find out about her paternal side. However, a female can still use the results of a Y-DNA test taken by someone else.
The reason why females cannot take this test is that they only get an X-chromosome from their father. A lack of Y-chromosomes makes it impossible for a female to take this test.
A female gets an X-chromosome from her mother as well so she can use the mitochondrial-DNA testing to find out about her maternal line.
For the paternal line, the Y-DNA test is taken by your father, brother, father’s brother, etc. and can tell you information about your ancestry. It will get you the same answers you would have gotten if you had a Y-chromosome.
As long as a female chooses the right person for a Y-DNA test, she can find out about her family’s Y-DNA haplogroup.
What Do Paternal Haplogroups Tell You?
After you have gotten the test results from a Y-DNA test through a close relative, you will get a lot of generic information about your paternal side.
It uses the Y-chromosome to find out information about only the male family members of your father’s side. No females are included in this test.
Paternal haplogroups tell you where your male ancestors belonged to. It provides a sort of a map that shows the migrations of your ancestors and their origins. It takes you to thousands of years back when initial migration started and when people started to inhabit different continents except Antarctica.
This sort of information is only possible through Y-DNA testing using a male for the test.
Maternal vs. Paternal DNA: Main Differences
If you are wondering how maternal and paternal DNA in a female differ from each other, you need to read further. Here are some major differences that can help you understand DNA testing better!
Different DNA Tests
To find out about a maternal line, a female can get an mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) test. She does not need any other relative to get this test done to find out about her maternal haplogroup. It can also be used to confirm if a woman is a real mother of a daughter. Both males and females can use this test.
To learn about a paternal line, a female has to get another relative tested using a Y-DNA test. You cannot really use this test to confirm a female’s real father but can use it to confirm a male’s real father. Only a male can use this test.
Different Haplogroups
Both maternal and paternal haplogroups show different information about a family. A female cannot have a direct paternal haplogroup as it only includes information about the male members. However, her father’s or brother’s paternal haplogroup would be considered her paternal haplogroup. A paternal haplogroup shows information about male members of the family going back thousands of years to a common male ancestor.
A female can be part of her maternal haplogroup and can get information about it through mtDNA testing. Maternal haplogroups provide information about female lineage, migration, and origination. It goes back until there is a single common ancestor to thousands of years back.
Frequently Asked Questions
What DNA does a Woman Get from her Father?
A woman gets 50% of X-chromosomes from her father. She gets autosomal chromosomes from her father as well. In short, you get half of your DNA from your dad including half of your X-chromosome.
What DNA is used for Paternal Ancestry Tracing?
Y-DNA is mainly used for paternal ancestry tracing. However, for a female, as she lacks the Y-DNA, she can also use autosomal chromosomes for paternal and maternal tracing. It provides more information than both Y-DNA and mtDNA testing.
Does DNA Testing Show Both Parents?
The only DNA test that shows both parents is autosomal DNA testing. If you go for a Y-DNA test, it will show information about your paternal line only. mtDNA testing shows information about the maternal line only. Autosomal DNA testing includes both sides covering distant and close relatives, migrations, originations of both your maternal and paternal side. If you would like to know more about recording all the information you may uncover about your relatives, please visit my article: family history charts: easy to use, free to download.
Final Thoughts
Now that you know how a female can trace her paternal DNA, you can find out about your family history and tons of information. Anyone can use DNA testing to find out different information about their family. You have multiple options for testing including a generic test such as Y-DNA or mtDNA testing or you can have a wide range of information using autosomal DNA testing.