Where are your ethnic origins?

[Alpha]

Well, the title is really all there is to it.

Where is the place from whence your ancestors (however recent, maybe even yourself) came from? This is probably of the most relevance to those non-indigenous citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia, and myself, batting for New Zealand -- but there are numerous cultural diasporas across the world.

So, the question is, in a sense, what is your ethnicty? Try and be somewhat specific.

For myself, I'm half-Irish and half-Scottish, and currenty live in New Zealand. My (Presbyterian) Scottish ancestors were among the first of the Europeans who arrived for a gold rush in the southern region of Otago, some time in the 1860s. It may have also related to a potato famine in the Scottish Highlands in the same period, but I'm not actually sure if my family were from the highlands. If anyone from Scotland knows regions asscoiated with particular family names, I'd be interested in finding out.

My maternal (Catholic) Irish heritage is, for the most part, more recent by about a decade, but also relates to potatoes. They settled in Wellington, but I'm not sure what they did initially, and I'm pretty sure their remains are buried in the cemetary next to my University. I just know that one set of great-grandparents owned a farm that the government purchased to build a train station in the early 1900s, and another set, who had settled earlier, owned some land in which a decisive battle was fought between Maori and Pakeha (whites) in the Land Wars- sort of like our 'civil war'.

Simply, the humble potato has a lot to answer for.

So, how about yourself? What's your ethnic history?

EDIT: And my title should read "What are your ethnic origins?" Blast.

[Storm]

I'm half-English, half-Greek, however I tend to just call myself English as I have been born and raised in this country and have nothing to do with the other side. On my mum's side, we have been English for a number of generations, but have Irish origin. We also have some Spanish connections too. These make sense, as people in my family tend to have dark hair, and either olive or pale white skin, and brown, hazel or sometimes grey eyes. A number of us have quite distinctive "pixie" ears too, although I'm not sure where that comes from!

Somewhere in the family we also have some distant Chinese from a family who get shipwrecked in one of the local areas.

[Taco-Calamitous]

We're from Over There. My dad's side were "Germans from Russia;" they settled in North Dakota around the turn of the 20th century. My grandpa was born on a boat.

My mother's side... I think they're like Irish, Scottish, British, and some more German. So mostly, I'm German. Anyhoo...

Wuv, Yer Mom

[Furore]

All four of my grandparents were Dutch and admittedly I know jack shit about the place.

I saw a family tree and it looks like there might be a few ancestors from countries like Germany and England, but their blood is strongly diluted by all the Dutch ancestors. It has it's perks though, I have a large build like the average Dutchman and my grandparents knew how to make the best desserts which were apparently big over there at the time they were around.

[Xithor]

My parents were both born in Cuba as well as the rest of my family beyond them and I still have family members in Cuba. I on the other hand was born here in the US but I am close to fluent in Spanish which comes in handy from time to time. I consider myself to be Cuban-American but genetically I am 100% Cuban. Ahora te sabes

[Rocky]

I'll never know my biological father's side since he was adopted and all but I get my 50% dutchness from my mom's side of the family. In fact, a lot of my grandma's cousins and other relatives still live over in the Netherlands. My grandma will be on the phone and all of a sudden she will be speaking in some kind of dingdong dutch language, and we will all know who the call is coming from lol.

[Rhaps]

England, Scotland, and right here in the appalachia's.

[Jin]

Mine's a bit complicated, depending on whether you believe Jewish to be a race or ethnicity.

My father's side is Jewish. Even if one disagrees on the racial aspects of Jewry, they've all identified as Jews culturally and are thus at least ethnically Jewish. As far as I can tell, they were mostly Belorussian and Ukrainian Jews, which could make me either of those or even Russian as both were part of the Russian empire when that side of the family left for Canada and the US. Generally, speaking, I identify as a Jew, but am distinctly culturally assimilated. So make of that what you will.

On my mom's side, there's a mix of German, English and Welsh. I don't know anymore about this side of the family as they're to a wo/man, all drunks and we no longer associate with them.

So, depending on your outlook, I'm either Jewish, Ukrainian, Belorussian, Russian or some combination thereof, mixed with German, English and Welsh.

Yup.

[Alpha]

Mine's a bit complicated, depending on whether you believe Jewish to be a race or ethnicity.

My father's side is Jewish. Even if one disagrees on the racial aspects of Jewry, they've all identified as Jews culturally and are thus at least ethnically Jewish. As far as I can tell, they were mostly Belorussian and Ukrainian Jews, which could make me either of those or even Russian as both were part of the Russian empire when that side of the family left for Canada and the US. Generally, speaking, I identify as a Jew, but am distinctly culturally assimilated. So make of that what you will.

On my mom's side, there's a mix of German, English and Welsh. I don't know anymore about this side of the family as they're to a wo/man, all drunks and we no longer associate with them.

So, depending on your outlook, I'm either Jewish, Ukrainian, Belorussian, Russian or some combination thereof, mixed with German, English and Welsh.

Yup.

Isn't Jewish ancestry meant to be maternal?

[Block]

Isn't Jewish ancestry meant to be maternal?

It only passes through the female bloodline. So if your dad is Jewish, but your mother is not; you are not a Jew.

[Jin]

Isn't Jewish ancestry meant to be maternal?

If one ties the Jewish ethnicity strictly to religion, yes. But if that were the case, I wouldn't need to list this at all.

It only passes through the female bloodline. So if your dad is Jewish, but your mother is not; you are not a Jew.

In the eyes of Orthodox Jewry, certainly not. But their opinions on that topic change as soon as they decide to ask me for money. Then I'm suddenly as Jewish as can be and should contribute to my supposed community.

Either way, it doesn't really change that I identify as a Jew for whatever reason. It's at least as legitimate as a sober Irishman.

[Bubble Boy]

My mother is from Germany...Frankfurt area. And my father came from Vietnam.
So I'm half white/ half asian. My father was one of the "boat people" who lost all their money on their way to get to a new country. His family was supposedly pretty wealthy, but they lost their fortune when the communists took over.

All of my family, minus a few aunts, live in Germany. I don't have any connection to my Vietnamese relatives, unfortunately.

[Che]

I have some Welsh, Polish, Swedish, and Native American in me. If you know what I mean.

[OceanEyes28]

I have some Welsh, Polish, Swedish, and Native American in me. If you know what I mean.

Is this sexual? I'm uncomfortable.



I'm also really European. My father's side is Scottish and his mother had German in her background. She had really dark hair and so does he. I ended up with red hair and my brother's is light brown/blonde. My mother's side is... well, her biological father was supposedly this big Scottish guy with red hair and fair skin. That's what she ended up with. Her brother and sister had a different father and they're tall and lanky with darker skin and hair. I look nothing like my cousins. So... Scottish on that grandfather's side, but no one likes to talk about it... and there's some Welsh, but... It's pretty much pasty white people all the way back. As far as I know, anyway. But I think both sides of my family have been settled in America (specifically the southern United States) for a few generations.

[Copperfire]

My family is all over the place.

On my father's side. Irish, Scottish, Polish, and an unknown (possibly German, Romanian, or Ukranian)

On my mother's side. English and Dutch.

[Block]

Scottish, German, English, and a tiny bit of bad ass.

[Josh_R]

I am half German and half Irish so I love to drink..

[Che]

I am half German and half Irish so I love to drink..

Is that the real reason?

[Josh_R]

Is that the real reason?

No but I use it as an excuse

[winterborn86]

Wow I feel sooo boring after reading everyones posts lol, as far as I know im 100% British, I don't know my dad and his side of the family at all and I can't ask my mum because it's a bit of a touchy issue and get snapped at for asking questions, so it's just a wild guess. I might actually ask my mum if her side of the family has anyting besides british in when I call her tomorrow, it's got me wondering now.

[Clint]

I am 75% Canadian, and 25% American. Where my ancestry originated from doesn't really matter, because I neither care, nor plan to visit any distant family in those locations. But to feed curiosity, I'm from a few poor European countries stricken by poverty, and sometimes by the mob. Slovakia, Sicily, Ireland, Poland, and Wales.

[kupo]

on my dads side, im 1/4 mexican (from my grandma) and 1/4 danish (grandpa's parents came here from denmark around 1900). odd i know; people dont believe im part mexican until they meet my dad heh.
moms side - im a mutt...french, scott-irish, english, cajun (is that an ethnicity?) and a tad bit of german.
i wish i could be more descriptive but thats about all i know

[Tiffany]

All four of my grandparents were Dutch and admittedly I know jack shit about the place.

I saw a family tree and it looks like there might be a few ancestors from countries like Germany and England, but their blood is strongly diluted by all the Dutch ancestors. It has it's perks though, I have a large build like the average Dutchman and my grandparents knew how to make the best desserts which were apparently big over there at the time they were around.

What is it with Dutch grandparents making seriously good desserts?

My guy is Dutch, and his Opa was a Grand Master Pastry Chef or something fru-fru like that. They'd get like crazy elaborate cakes for their birthdays. I never met him as he passed away before Phil and I met, but his family to this day still talks about their Opa's cakes and pastries.


As for me, I am Native, Irish and French. So if you go by stereotypes, I'm a lazy alcoholic who is also quite snotty.

[Furore]

My guy is Dutch, and his Opa was a Grand Master Pastry Chef or something fru-fru like that.

What a coincidence, my grandfather on my mother's side was also a pastry chef, a skill he used to open his own bakery when he came to Australia. Not sure if he's still doing it, but my uncle at the very least was a pastry chef too.

Some of the things my grandfather could make were amazingly elaborate...

[Tiffany]

What a coincidence, my grandfather on my mother's side was also a pastry chef, a skill he used to open his own bakery when he came to Australia. Not sure if he's still doing it, but my uncle at the very least was a pastry chef too.

Some of the things my grandfather could make were amazingly elaborate...

That is a crazy coincidence! His Opa actually taught pasty cooking at a university over here.

About the Jewish stuff. You're only considered Jewish if your Mom is? Sorry, not meaning to be ignorant! I don't really know much about it to be honest.

[Alpha]

Cue Jin's identity crisis.

[Unknown Entity]

I spoke to my mother about this yesterday for a little while, but there's not really much to say. We don't exactly know all the details, but on my mother's side we have English from my grandmother, and Irish from her late husband. I once joked about that being where our temper comes from...

... and it didn't go down so well. ^^;

On my father's side... I've heard mixed things. He was missing from my life for about twelve or so years, so I didn't get to meet certain people to confirm anything. As far as I know, there's English and Japanese in there, but I don't know when that came about - got to have been a few generations. My aunt has visited Japan many times when I was younger with family and friends, and I'd like to visit one day.

Other than that, I have current family spread out everywhere. We're watching... hehehahahahaha. J/k. xD;

[Padraic]

From what I know, I am about 3/4 Irish, with a bit of French Canadian, English, and German.

I only really know the history of my father's side, because my mother was adopted. Anyway, somewhere along the line, my ancestors were some of the first to sail from Ireland to Canada. I am extremely proud of my heritage, hence my name; Padraic.

[Maridia]

I'm mostly of Irish roots. And in a potato famine ain't many of them....

Overall I know we I have Irish, French, German, and I believe Scottish ancestry in me. The only thing I've heard interesting about my families past is the German person I'm related to was a Hessian in the Revolutionary war. My grandfather claimed we were related to Napoleon. But he was ****ing crazy.

Take all that history add it up. The equation equals 100% American in the end.

Booya!

[Alpha]

I've just thought of another question.

In the United States (or elsewhere), on official records, can one put 'American' as an ethnicity?

In New Zealand, in the most recent Census (2006), the option 'New Zealander' was included in the list of ethnicities one could choose from. I personally selected it over 'New Zealand European', not on the basis that I'm not proud of my European ancestry, but on the basis that I've never been to Europe, and neither had my parents, nor their parents, aside from the Wars (my gran drived medic trucks in the First; my grandad navigated for the RAF in bombing Nazi Germany). Racially, I'm of European stock. Ethnically, I supppose I'm a New Zealander.

The question therefore, is how much is ethnicty culturally constructed? Is it really racial? If I had been adopted into a Chinese family, and couldn't even speak English, would I still be a NZ European?

Maridia's post got me thinking. Can one be an (non-indigenous) ethnic American/Canadian/Australian/New Zealander?