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Ancestry refers to the lineage or descent of a person, family, or group, tracing back through generations to identify their origins, heritage, and familial connections. It encompasses the genetic, cultural, and historical ties that link individuals to their forebears, shaping their identity and sense of belonging. Ancestry is a multifaceted concept, intertwining biology, genealogy, history, and culture, and it plays a significant role in how people understand themselves and their place in the world.

At its core, ancestry is rooted in genetics. Each individual inherits a unique combination of DNA from their parents, who in turn inherited their DNA from their own ancestors. This genetic material carries information about physical traits, predispositions to certain health conditions, and even behavioral tendencies. Advances in genetic testing, such as DNA analysis, have made it possible for individuals to trace their biological ancestry with remarkable precision. Companies like 23andMe and AncestryDNA offer services that analyze genetic markers to provide insights into a person's ethnic composition and geographic origins, often revealing surprising connections to distant relatives or previously unknown heritage.

Beyond genetics, ancestry is deeply tied to genealogy, the study of family history and lineage. Genealogical research involves constructing family trees, documenting relationships, and uncovering historical records such as birth certificates, marriage licenses, census data, and immigration documents. This process often reveals stories of migration, resilience, and adaptation, offering a window into the lives of ancestors and the challenges they faced. For many, genealogy is a way to honor their forebears and preserve their legacy for future generations.

Cultural ancestry is another critical dimension, encompassing the traditions, languages, customs, and values passed down through generations. It connects individuals to their ethnic or national heritage, shaping their cultural identity and worldview. For example, someone with Irish ancestry might celebrate St. Patrick's Day, learn traditional Irish dance, or explore the Gaelic language, while someone with Japanese ancestry might practice tea ceremonies, study calligraphy, or observe Obon festivals. Cultural ancestry fosters a sense of continuity and belonging, linking individuals to a broader community with shared experiences and values.

Historical ancestry delves into the broader context of a family's or group's past, including significant events, social conditions, and historical movements that shaped their lives. For instance, the transatlantic slave trade, the Irish Potato Famine, or the Jewish diaspora have profoundly influenced the ancestry of millions of people, leaving lasting imprints on their descendants' identities. Understanding historical ancestry often involves grappling with complex narratives of triumph and tragedy, resilience and oppression, and the interplay of individual and collective experiences.

Ancestry also has a deeply personal and emotional dimension. For many, exploring their ancestry is a journey of self-discovery, offering insights into who they are and where they come from. It can foster a sense of pride, connection, and continuity, as well as a deeper appreciation for the struggles and achievements of those who came before. At the same time, it can raise questions about identity, belonging, and the complexities of heritage, particularly for individuals with mixed or multicultural backgrounds.

In a globalized world, ancestry serves as a bridge between the past and the present, connecting individuals to their roots while also highlighting the interconnectedness of human history. It underscores the diversity and richness of human experience, reminding us that every person's story is part of a larger tapestry woven over centuries. Whether through genetic testing, genealogical research, cultural practices, or historical exploration, ancestry offers a profound way to understand ourselves and our place in the world.

A diversification score measures the diversity of ancestries in the county. As the value appoaches 100, ancestry diversity decreases and therefore increasing the risk of a lack of cultural diversity. The ancestry diversification score for this county is:

Most common ancestry not including "Unknown" is:

Ancestry Report Part I
Description	Total Population	American	Native American	Hawaiian	Caribbean (Latino)	Mexican	Central American	South American	Other Hispanic	African American	Sub- Saharan	Caribbean (Black)

DeKalb County	775,027	15,319	1,292	194	10,548	37,610	20,045	9,106	4,524	246,349	76,096	69,647
Georgia (in 000's)	11,288	641	21	6	209	627	187	116	51	2,374	539	501
National (in 000's)	343,251	13,890	2,213	626	11,327	38,879	6,181	4,644	3,687	25,893	7,852	7,174
Fulton County	1,098,524	21,983	1,647	375	17,860	38,333	9,462	16,193	4,588	321,842	73,660	68,479
Gwinnett County	1,018,533	22,035	1,562	409	36,252	105,835	46,351	33,353	10,692	190,743	47,922	38,068
Clayton County	297,006	1,955	600	118	5,308	28,479	5,004	1,963	1,528	146,067	31,865	27,645
Henry County	262,689	11,511	440	111	6,123	9,713	2,950	1,695	299	102,321	12,064	13,918
Rockdale County	98,747	2,642	196	82	1,595	7,349	136	575	318	44,799	5,122	6,923

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

DeKalb County	14.42	1.98	0.17	0.03	1.36	4.85	2.59	1.17	0.58	31.79	9.82	8.99
Georgia	10.99	5.68	0.18	0.06	1.85	5.56	1.65	1.03	0.46	21.03	4.77	4.44
National	7.83	4.05	0.64	0.18	3.30	11.33	1.80	1.35	1.07	7.54	2.29	2.09
Fulton County	12.83	2.00	0.15	0.03	1.63	3.49	0.86	1.47	0.42	29.30	6.71	6.23
Gwinnett County	8.85	2.16	0.15	0.04	3.56	10.39	4.55	3.27	1.05	18.73	4.71	3.74
Clayton County	27.85	0.66	0.20	0.04	1.79	9.59	1.68	0.66	0.51	49.18	10.73	9.31
Henry County	19.65	4.38	0.17	0.04	2.33	3.70	1.12	0.65	0.11	38.95	4.59	5.30
Rockdale County	24.45	2.68	0.20	0.08	1.62	7.44	0.14	0.58	0.32	45.37	5.19	7.01

Comparisons to State Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

DeKalb County		34.79	90.26	44.33	73.54	87.35	156.52	114.29	128.01	151.14	205.67	202.43
Georgia		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		71.23	349.10	323.17	178.32	203.89	108.98	131.61	235.55	35.87	47.92	47.08
Fulton County		35.22	81.17	60.45	87.86	62.81	52.12	143.39	91.59	139.31	140.46	140.42
Gwinnett County		38.08	83.03	71.11	192.33	187.04	275.39	318.53	230.22	89.05	98.55	84.19
Clayton County		11.59	109.37	70.36	96.57	172.60	101.96	64.29	112.83	233.85	224.73	209.67
Henry County		77.13	90.69	74.83	125.96	66.56	67.96	62.77	24.96	185.22	96.20	119.35
Rockdale County		47.09	107.46	147.06	87.28	133.97	8.33	56.64	70.62	215.73	108.65	157.93

Comparisons to National Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

DeKalb County		48.84	25.85	13.72	41.24	42.84	143.62	86.84	54.35	421.36	429.22	429.95
Georgia		140.39	28.65	30.94	56.08	49.05	91.76	75.98	42.45	278.78	208.70	212.40
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Fulton County		49.45	23.25	18.71	49.27	30.81	47.83	108.95	38.88	388.38	293.13	298.25
Gwinnett County		53.46	23.78	22.01	107.86	91.74	252.71	242.03	97.73	248.25	205.68	178.82
Clayton County		16.27	31.33	21.77	54.16	84.66	93.56	48.85	47.90	651.94	469.01	445.34
Henry County		108.29	25.98	23.16	70.63	32.64	62.36	47.69	10.60	516.35	200.76	253.50
Rockdale County		66.12	30.78	45.51	48.95	65.71	7.65	43.04	29.98	601.41	226.75	335.43

Ancestry Report Part II
Description	Total Population	Canadian	British	Dutch	French	German	Italian	Polish	Scandinavian	Scotish/ Irish	Spanish	Other European

DeKalb County	775,027	764	24,134	1,293	3,113	15,288	5,148	3,266	3,958	20,684	1,034	13,680
Georgia (in 000's)	11,288	18	618	27	58	339	116	50	62	531	18	179
National (in 000's)	343,251	1,350	18,069	1,828	3,642	24,708	9,027	4,667	5,969	20,625	1,140	9,563
Fulton County	1,098,524	2,080	51,368	2,203	6,924	33,609	14,793	6,565	7,514	43,065	2,673	25,216
Gwinnett County	1,018,533	1,435	27,959	1,804	3,448	19,490	7,154	3,984	4,481	25,179	899	16,099
Clayton County	297,006	15	910	20	87	526	177	67	70	989	138	206
Henry County	262,689	253	7,983	489	623	4,295	1,284	492	606	6,910	141	1,615
Rockdale County	98,747	5	1,609	102	195	1,100	262	90	179	1,764	72	439

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

DeKalb County	14.42	0.10	3.11	0.17	0.40	1.97	0.66	0.42	0.51	2.67	0.13	1.77
Georgia	10.99	0.16	5.47	0.24	0.52	3.01	1.02	0.44	0.55	4.70	0.16	1.59
National	7.83	0.39	5.26	0.53	1.06	7.20	2.63	1.36	1.74	6.01	0.33	2.79
Fulton County	12.83	0.19	4.68	0.20	0.63	3.06	1.35	0.60	0.68	3.92	0.24	2.30
Gwinnett County	8.85	0.14	2.75	0.18	0.34	1.91	0.70	0.39	0.44	2.47	0.09	1.58
Clayton County	27.85	0.01	0.31	0.01	0.03	0.18	0.06	0.02	0.02	0.33	0.05	0.07
Henry County	19.65	0.10	3.04	0.19	0.24	1.64	0.49	0.19	0.23	2.63	0.05	0.61
Rockdale County	24.45	0.01	1.63	0.10	0.20	1.11	0.27	0.09	0.18	1.79	0.07	0.44

Comparisons to State Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

DeKalb County		63.42	56.89	70.46	77.79	65.60	64.85	96.05	93.08	56.78	85.07	111.15
Georgia		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		253.05	96.17	224.93	205.47	239.40	256.78	309.89	316.91	127.83	211.82	175.45
Fulton County		121.81	85.43	84.70	122.06	101.75	131.48	136.21	124.66	83.40	155.16	144.55
Gwinnett County		90.64	50.15	74.81	65.56	63.64	68.58	89.15	80.18	52.59	56.28	99.53
Clayton County		3.25	5.60	2.84	5.67	5.89	5.82	5.14	4.30	7.08	29.63	4.37
Henry County		61.96	55.52	78.62	45.93	54.38	47.72	42.69	42.04	55.96	34.23	38.72
Rockdale County		3.26	29.77	43.63	38.24	37.05	25.91	20.77	33.04	38.01	46.49	28.00

Comparisons to National Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

DeKalb County		25.06	59.16	31.33	37.86	27.40	25.26	30.99	29.37	44.42	40.16	63.35
Georgia		39.52	103.98	44.46	48.67	41.77	38.94	32.27	31.55	78.23	47.21	57.00
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Fulton County		48.14	88.83	37.66	59.41	42.50	51.20	43.96	39.34	65.24	73.25	82.39
Gwinnett County		35.82	52.15	33.26	31.91	26.58	26.71	28.77	25.30	41.14	26.57	56.73
Clayton County		1.28	5.82	1.26	2.76	2.46	2.27	1.66	1.36	5.54	13.99	2.49
Henry County		24.49	57.73	34.95	22.35	22.71	18.59	13.78	13.27	43.78	16.16	22.07
Rockdale County		1.29	30.95	19.40	18.61	15.48	10.09	6.70	10.42	29.73	21.95	15.96

Ancestry Report Part III
Description	Total Population	Chinese	Filipino	Japanese	Korean	Vietnamese	South Central Asian	South East Asian	Other Asian	Middle Eastern	Other Ancestry	Unknown

DeKalb County	775,027	8,103	2,254	893	3,944	3,971	20,763	5,849	2,743	2,964	93,721	46,730
Georgia (in 000's)	11,288	71	30	11	66	65	197	33	25	30	1,753	1,721
National (in 000's)	343,251	4,461	3,010	793	1,541	1,913	5,452	1,643	1,229	1,931	47,322	51,000
Fulton County	1,098,524	17,925	3,849	2,500	9,646	2,766	43,621	2,068	2,089	6,021	143,563	94,044
Gwinnett County	1,018,533	18,122	3,756	1,695	30,449	26,826	38,157	8,537	5,786	3,751	147,100	89,200
Clayton County	297,006	707	536	152	294	7,300	1,192	2,810	597	84	20,700	8,897
Henry County	262,689	469	768	72	531	3,036	2,828	662	201	316	35,980	31,990
Rockdale County	98,747	89	123	129	264	410	356	159	181	300	12,399	8,783

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

DeKalb County	14.42	1.05	0.29	0.12	0.51	0.51	2.68	0.75	0.35	0.38	12.09	6.03
Georgia	10.99	0.63	0.26	0.10	0.59	0.57	1.74	0.29	0.22	0.27	15.53	15.25
National	7.83	1.30	0.88	0.23	0.45	0.56	1.59	0.48	0.36	0.56	13.79	14.86
Fulton County	12.83	1.63	0.35	0.23	0.88	0.25	3.97	0.19	0.19	0.55	13.07	8.56
Gwinnett County	8.85	1.78	0.37	0.17	2.99	2.63	3.75	0.84	0.57	0.37	14.44	8.76
Clayton County	27.85	0.24	0.18	0.05	0.10	2.46	0.40	0.95	0.20	0.03	6.97	3.00
Henry County	19.65	0.18	0.29	0.03	0.20	1.16	1.08	0.25	0.08	0.12	13.70	12.18
Rockdale County	24.45	0.09	0.12	0.13	0.27	0.42	0.36	0.16	0.18	0.30	12.56	8.89

Comparisons to State Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

DeKalb County		165.33	110.92	119.84	86.44	89.52	153.67	257.46	160.48	144.23	77.89	39.55
Georgia		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		205.52	334.50	240.24	76.28	97.36	91.11	163.28	162.41	212.12	88.80	97.45
Fulton County		258.03	133.64	236.70	149.15	43.99	227.77	64.22	86.23	206.71	84.17	56.15
Gwinnett County		281.36	140.65	173.09	507.80	460.15	214.89	285.94	257.59	138.89	93.02	57.44
Clayton County		37.64	68.83	53.23	16.81	429.41	23.02	322.76	91.14	10.67	44.89	19.65
Henry County		28.23	111.51	28.51	34.34	201.92	61.75	85.97	34.70	45.37	88.22	79.87
Rockdale County		14.25	47.51	135.87	45.41	72.54	20.68	54.93	83.11	114.58	80.87	58.34

Comparisons to National Norms	% to Total >= 150%		% to Total < 50%

DeKalb County		80.45	33.16	49.88	113.33	91.94	168.67	157.68	98.82	67.99	87.71	40.58
Georgia		48.66	29.90	41.62	131.10	102.71	109.76	61.24	61.57	47.14	112.62	102.61
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Fulton County		125.55	39.95	98.53	195.55	45.18	250.01	39.33	53.09	97.45	94.79	57.62
Gwinnett County		136.90	42.05	72.05	665.74	472.61	235.87	175.12	158.61	65.48	104.76	58.94
Clayton County		18.32	20.58	22.16	22.04	441.04	25.27	197.67	56.12	5.03	50.55	20.16
Henry County		13.74	33.34	11.87	45.02	207.39	67.78	52.65	21.36	21.39	99.35	81.96
Rockdale County		6.93	14.20	56.56	59.54	74.50	22.70	33.64	51.18	54.01	91.08	59.86

Sources: STI: PopStats, Circa April 2025

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