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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)

DeSoto County	198,017	11,852	304	132	1,178	8,010	688	581	465	53,289	4,297	3,177
Mississippi (in 000's)	2,976	220	14	1	16	60	16	5	8	736	171	161
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
Shelby County	910,035	28,583	1,366	220	5,827	42,671	16,681	6,000	4,073	328,221	72,958	66,011
Crittenden County	46,386	2,761	156	20	76	940	220	104	80	16,685	3,564	3,455
Marshall County	34,998	1,571	78	37	227	1,320	18	0	127	9,705	2,781	2,744
Tate County	28,973	1,960	46	2	0	804	28	0	20	5,968	1,366	1,372
Tunica County	9,107	74	7	0	1	140	6	0	61	4,770	1,249	1,015

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

DeSoto County	15.78	5.99	0.15	0.07	0.59	4.05	0.35	0.29	0.23	26.91	2.17	1.60
Mississippi	13.85	7.39	0.47	0.04	0.55	2.03	0.54	0.18	0.28	24.71	5.76	5.40
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
Shelby County	17.06	3.14	0.15	0.02	0.64	4.69	1.83	0.66	0.45	36.07	8.02	7.25
Crittenden County	18.91	5.95	0.34	0.04	0.16	2.03	0.47	0.22	0.17	35.97	7.68	7.45
Marshall County	16.27	4.49	0.22	0.11	0.65	3.77	0.05	0.00	0.36	27.73	7.95	7.84
Tate County	16.44	6.76	0.16	0.01	0.00	2.77	0.10	0.00	0.07	20.60	4.71	4.74
Tunica County	32.55	0.81	0.08	0.00	0.01	1.54	0.07	0.00	0.67	52.38	13.71	11.15

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

DeSoto County		81.02	32.86	186.82	108.35	199.65	64.40	167.52	82.66	108.89	37.71	29.69
Mississippi		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		54.78	138.02	511.41	601.03	559.03	333.79	772.44	378.09	30.52	39.75	38.68
Shelby County		42.52	32.13	67.75	116.62	231.43	339.76	376.42	157.55	145.93	139.30	134.25
Crittenden County		80.57	71.99	120.83	29.84	100.02	87.91	128.00	60.71	145.54	133.50	137.85
Marshall County		60.76	47.71	296.28	118.13	186.15	9.53	0.00	127.74	112.20	138.07	145.11
Tate County		91.57	33.99	19.35	0.00	136.96	17.91	0.00	24.30	83.34	81.92	87.64
Tunica County		11.00	16.45	0.00	2.00	75.87	12.21	0.00	235.78	211.93	238.30	206.28

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

DeSoto County		147.91	23.81	36.53	18.03	35.71	19.29	21.69	21.86	356.75	94.86	76.76
Mississippi		182.55	72.45	19.55	16.64	17.89	29.96	12.95	26.45	327.63	251.59	258.51
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Shelby County		77.62	23.28	13.25	19.40	41.40	101.79	48.73	41.67	478.11	350.47	347.05
Crittenden County		147.09	52.16	23.63	4.96	17.89	26.34	16.57	16.06	476.83	335.88	356.37
Marshall County		110.93	34.56	57.93	19.66	33.30	2.86	0.00	33.79	367.60	347.37	375.13
Tate County		167.17	24.62	3.78	0.00	24.50	5.37	0.00	6.43	273.06	206.11	226.57
Tunica County		20.08	11.92	0.00	0.33	13.57	3.66	0.00	62.36	694.33	599.54	533.24

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

DeSoto County	198,017	138	10,547	595	1,113	5,967	2,153	673	1,089	10,581	245	2,092
Mississippi (in 000's)	2,976	5	165	6	30	73	26	6	11	156	5	31
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
Shelby County	910,035	871	34,166	1,658	4,052	19,945	8,698	3,001	3,834	32,052	964	13,072
Crittenden County	46,386	8	1,306	92	101	904	255	74	83	1,469	11	247
Marshall County	34,998	6	1,560	25	126	447	213	17	52	982	0	151
Tate County	28,973	27	1,272	84	102	718	132	26	30	1,429	27	148
Tunica County	9,107	8	89	6	5	27	24	1	6	80	0	3

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

DeSoto County	15.78	0.07	5.33	0.30	0.56	3.01	1.09	0.34	0.55	5.34	0.12	1.06
Mississippi	13.85	0.17	5.56	0.20	1.02	2.45	0.88	0.19	0.36	5.24	0.17	1.03
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
Shelby County	17.06	0.10	3.75	0.18	0.45	2.19	0.96	0.33	0.42	3.52	0.11	1.44
Crittenden County	18.91	0.02	2.82	0.20	0.22	1.95	0.55	0.16	0.18	3.17	0.02	0.53
Marshall County	16.27	0.02	4.46	0.07	0.36	1.28	0.61	0.05	0.15	2.81	0.00	0.43
Tate County	16.44	0.09	4.39	0.29	0.35	2.48	0.46	0.09	0.10	4.93	0.09	0.51
Tunica County	32.55	0.09	0.98	0.07	0.05	0.30	0.26	0.01	0.07	0.88	0.00	0.03

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

DeSoto County		41.71	95.85	150.99	55.14	123.20	123.97	181.51	153.09	101.88	71.95	102.28
Mississippi		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		235.41	94.73	267.60	104.09	294.30	299.85	726.09	484.03	114.57	193.18	269.73
Shelby County		57.28	67.57	91.55	43.68	89.61	108.97	176.11	117.27	67.16	61.60	139.06
Crittenden County		10.32	50.67	99.66	21.36	79.68	62.68	85.20	49.81	60.38	13.79	51.55
Marshall County		10.26	80.22	35.89	35.32	52.22	69.39	25.94	41.36	53.50	0.00	41.77
Tate County		55.77	79.01	145.68	34.54	101.32	51.94	47.92	28.82	94.04	54.19	49.45
Tunica County		52.57	17.59	33.11	5.39	12.12	30.05	5.86	18.34	16.75	0.00	3.19

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

DeSoto County		17.72	101.18	56.42	52.98	41.86	41.34	25.00	31.63	88.93	37.25	37.92
Mississippi		42.48	105.56	37.37	96.07	33.98	33.35	13.77	20.66	87.28	51.77	37.07
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Shelby County		24.33	71.32	34.21	41.97	30.45	36.34	24.25	24.23	58.62	31.89	51.56
Crittenden County		4.38	53.49	37.24	20.52	27.07	20.90	11.73	10.29	52.71	7.14	19.11
Marshall County		4.36	84.68	13.41	33.93	17.74	23.14	3.57	8.54	46.70	0.00	15.49
Tate County		23.69	83.40	54.44	33.18	34.43	17.32	6.60	5.95	82.08	28.05	18.33
Tunica County		22.33	18.57	12.37	5.17	4.12	10.02	0.81	3.79	14.62	0.00	1.18

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

DeSoto County	198,017	704	367	140	53	666	554	411	145	532	36,104	39,175
Mississippi (in 000's)	2,976	5	4	1	1	7	7	3	3	5	501	517
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
Shelby County	910,035	4,549	2,356	366	1,056	3,871	12,017	1,973	1,330	2,789	111,228	73,576
Crittenden County	46,386	74	113	20	41	0	40	5	25	21	6,576	6,860
Marshall County	34,998	0	0	1	1	0	34	0	32	33	7,112	5,598
Tate County	28,973	19	6	0	5	0	3	1	7	5	6,155	7,211
Tunica County	9,107	4	0	0	0	0	1	8	0	0	1,236	286

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

DeSoto County	15.78	0.36	0.19	0.07	0.03	0.34	0.28	0.21	0.07	0.27	18.23	19.78
Mississippi	13.85	0.17	0.14	0.04	0.04	0.24	0.25	0.09	0.09	0.15	16.84	17.36
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
Shelby County	17.06	0.50	0.26	0.04	0.12	0.43	1.32	0.22	0.15	0.31	12.22	8.08
Crittenden County	18.91	0.16	0.24	0.04	0.09	0.00	0.09	0.01	0.05	0.05	14.18	14.79
Marshall County	16.27	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.10	0.00	0.09	0.09	20.32	16.00
Tate County	16.44	0.07	0.02	0.00	0.02	0.00	0.01	0.00	0.02	0.02	21.24	24.89
Tunica County	32.55	0.04	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.01	0.09	0.00	0.00	13.57	3.14

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

DeSoto County		208.66	136.74	200.59	60.17	139.44	114.19	229.39	79.05	176.51	108.29	113.98
Mississippi		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		762.78	647.05	655.35	1,009.42	231.04	648.27	528.97	386.65	369.54	81.88	85.60
Shelby County		293.38	191.01	114.11	260.85	176.35	538.96	239.61	157.77	201.35	72.59	46.58
Crittenden County		93.63	179.73	122.33	198.69	0.00	35.20	11.91	58.18	29.74	84.20	85.21
Marshall County		0.00	0.00	8.11	6.42	0.00	39.65	0.00	98.70	61.95	120.69	92.16
Tate County		38.49	15.28	0.00	38.79	0.00	4.23	3.81	26.08	11.34	126.17	143.39
Tunica County		25.78	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	4.48	97.08	0.00	0.00	80.61	18.09

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

DeSoto County		27.36	21.13	30.61	5.96	60.35	17.61	43.37	20.44	47.77	132.25	133.15
Mississippi		13.11	15.45	15.26	9.91	43.28	15.43	18.90	25.86	27.06	122.13	116.82
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Shelby County		38.46	29.52	17.41	25.84	76.33	83.14	45.30	40.80	54.49	88.66	54.42
Crittenden County		12.28	27.78	18.67	19.68	0.00	5.43	2.25	15.05	8.05	102.83	99.54
Marshall County		0.00	0.00	1.24	0.64	0.00	6.12	0.00	25.53	16.76	147.40	107.65
Tate County		5.05	2.36	0.00	3.84	0.00	0.65	0.72	6.75	3.07	154.09	167.51
Tunica County		3.38	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.69	18.35	0.00	0.00	98.44	21.14

Sources: STI: PopStats, Circa April 2025

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