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If you have tested at MyHeritage DNA and haven’t logged in recently, your ethnicity results may look very different from what you remember. On February 2, 2025, MyHeritage released[1] a significant overhaul of its ethnicity analysis system — Ethnicity Estimate version 2.5 (v2.5) — that nearly doubled the number of reported ethnicities and substantially improved the resolution of results, particularly for European ancestry. For Dillman Family Association (DFA) members with German, Swiss, or broader Central and Western European roots, this update is especially relevant.
What Changed and Why
MyHeritage’s previous ethnicity model, v0.95, was built on a relatively simple algorithm that identified 42 broad ethnic categories. Researchers with Central European ancestry frequently found their results frustratingly vague — a result of “North and West European” covering a wide swath of the continent without distinguishing between German, Dutch, French, or Flemish origins. After more than two years of research and development by the MyHeritage Science Team, and following a limited rollout of an intermediate version (v2) in June 2024 that was pulled back[2] for further refinement after user feedback, the new v2.5 model was released to all users in early 2025.
The result is a system that identifies 79 ethnicities[3] — nearly double the previous 42 — using improved algorithms built from the ground up and a substantially expanded reference population. The new model was later presented in detail in a webinar on the Legacy Family Tree Webinars platform in March 2025 by members of the MyHeritage Science Team.
What’s New in the Results
Finer European resolution is the headline improvement. Where v0.95 might have returned a single broad “North and West European” percentage, v2.5 can now distinguish between Germanic, Dutch, French, Breton, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, English, Scottish and Welsh, Irish, and a range of other specifically identified European populations. The new model includes 24 percentage-based European ethnicities — a meaningful improvement for researchers whose ancestry lies in that part of the world.
For researchers with German or Swiss ancestry — a common profile among Dillman researchers — the new Germanic category is a significant refinement. Where previous results might have lumped German ancestry into a generic European catch-all, v2.5 can now report it specifically as Germanic, and in some cases distinguish it from neighboring populations such as Dutch or French.
Jewish heritage is now identified with remarkable specificity. V2.5 distinguishes between 15 different Jewish ethnicities[4] — more than any other major consumer DNA testing company. This is particularly relevant for researchers working with Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry, where the new model provides considerably more detail than was previously possible at MyHeritage or most competing platforms.
New ethnicities unique to MyHeritage include populations not identified by any other major testing company, such as Armenian, Persian, and Punjabi. For researchers with ancestry in those regions, MyHeritage now offers information that simply isn’t available elsewhere in the consumer testing market.
Scandinavian ancestry is now broken down by country. Previous results that showed a single Scandinavian percentage will now specify Swedish, Norwegian, or Danish — a meaningful distinction for researchers tracking specific Scandinavian lines.
How to Access Your Updated Results
The update does not apply automatically to all accounts in the same way. To ensure you are viewing v2.5 results, log into your MyHeritage account, navigate to your DNA results, and click on your Ethnicity Estimate. If a prompt appears asking you to opt into the updated results, accept it. Some users found that their results updated automatically; others needed to accept a prompt. If you have multiple kits associated with your account — including any uploaded from other companies — each kit may display results separately, and each should be updated individually.
Note that if you previously uploaded a raw DNA file from AncestryDNA, 23andMe, or FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA) to MyHeritage, those kits will also have updated ethnicity estimates under v2.5, though MyHeritage has since discontinued accepting new DNA uploads as of August 2025.[5] Any kits already in the system continue to receive updated analyses.
How to Interpret the Changes
If your results look significantly different from what you remember, that is expected and not a cause for concern. A few things are worth understanding as you review the new numbers:
Lower individual percentages are normal. When a broad category like “North and West European” (previously perhaps 85% of your result) is split into Germanic, Dutch, French, and Breton components, each of those components will naturally show a lower individual percentage. The total European ancestry hasn’t changed — it has simply been divided among more specific categories. Many users initially interpret the smaller numbers as a reduction in their ancestry, when in fact the opposite is true: they are getting more detail, not less.
Some previous categories have been removed. A small number of ethnicities present in v0.95 do not appear in v2.5, including Maasai and Sierra Leonean. If you previously had a small percentage in one of these categories and it has disappeared, it may have been reassigned to a nearby population or determined to be a statistical artifact of the less precise earlier model.
Apparent false results may have been corrected. A number of users found that unexpected ethnic percentages in their v0.95 results — particularly Greek or South Italian results for people with entirely Northern European ancestry — disappeared in v2.5. MyHeritage’s blog gave a specific example of a user whose 8% Greek and South Italian result, which seemed inconsistent with her documented German and Dutch ancestry, was absent from her v2.5 results, replaced by a more precise Germanic and Dutch breakdown that aligned with her genealogical research.
Ethnicity estimates are still estimates. This bears repeating with every update from any company: ethnicity percentages are population-level statistical probabilities, not precise measurements of your ancestry. V2.5 is a genuine improvement in resolution and accuracy, but it is not a genealogical proof system. Use the updated results as a research pointer, not a conclusion, and always corroborate with documentary evidence.
What This Means for Dillman Researchers
For researchers tracing Dillman lines back to Germany and Switzerland — the ancestral heartland of most Dillman families — the v2.5 update brings the most directly relevant improvement. The new Germanic category, combined with the ability to distinguish neighboring populations, means that MyHeritage results can now more accurately reflect what documentary research already suggests about Dillman origins in Central Europe.
If you have tested at MyHeritage and your previous results showed a vague “North and West European” block without clear Germanic identification, it is worth reviewing your v2.5 results. The new model may confirm what your paper trail already shows — or may add nuance that prompts new research directions.
If you haven’t yet tested at MyHeritage and have Central or Western European ancestry, the v2.5 model is a good reason to consider it. MyHeritage’s European resolution is now among the strongest available from any consumer testing company. For information on the DFA’s broader DNA research efforts, visit the Dillman DNA Project page.
MyHeritage Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 was released on February 2, 2025, expanding ethnicity reporting from 42 to 79 categories. The update applies to all existing MyHeritage kits, including previously uploaded raw DNA files from other companies. To view updated results, log into your MyHeritage account and navigate to your DNA Ethnicity Estimate.
Sources
- MyHeritage Blog, “Introducing MyHeritage Ethnicity Estimate v2.5,” February 2025, blog.myheritage.com (accessed May 2026).
- MyHeritage Blog, “Ethnicity Estimate v2 rollback,” June 2024, blog.myheritage.com (accessed May 2026).
- MyHeritage, “Ethnicity Estimate,” myheritage.com/ethnicity (accessed May 2026).
- MyHeritage Blog, “Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 — Jewish Heritage,” February 2025, blog.myheritage.com (accessed May 2026).
- MyHeritage, DNA upload discontinuation, August 2025, myheritage.com/dna (accessed May 2026).
AI Disclosure: This article was researched and written with the assistance of Claude, an AI assistant developed by Anthropic. All facts have been reviewed for accuracy, but readers are encouraged to verify information independently, particularly for time-sensitive details such as pricing and software versions.
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