–

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)

Douglas County	608,640	12,860	2,593	418	4,580	61,823	11,164	2,706	2,879	38,070	15,529	9,251
Nebraska (in 000's)	2,024	60	15	1	15	174	36	6	12	56	25	13
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
Sarpy County	208,185	5,840	545	207	1,860	16,348	1,763	799	1,097	4,797	2,128	973
Pottawattamie County	93,662	4,858	328	77	431	6,658	301	19	360	1,154	439	173
Dodge County	38,339	1,306	141	18	328	3,656	2,161	6	184	92	83	29
Saunders County	23,369	888	80	3	38	431	105	6	43	46	62	7
Washington County	21,280	799	25	1	3	538	73	0	34	34	21	6

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Douglas County	8.76	2.11	0.43	0.07	0.75	10.16	1.83	0.44	0.47	6.25	2.55	1.52
Nebraska	11.14	2.98	0.73	0.06	0.73	8.62	1.76	0.30	0.57	2.78	1.23	0.64
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
Sarpy County	10.60	2.81	0.26	0.10	0.89	7.85	0.85	0.38	0.53	2.30	1.02	0.47
Pottawattamie County	13.09	5.19	0.35	0.08	0.46	7.11	0.32	0.02	0.38	1.23	0.47	0.18
Dodge County	13.46	3.41	0.37	0.05	0.86	9.54	5.64	0.02	0.48	0.24	0.22	0.08
Saunders County	15.19	3.80	0.34	0.01	0.16	1.84	0.45	0.03	0.18	0.20	0.27	0.03
Washington County	15.32	3.75	0.12	0.00	0.01	2.53	0.34	0.00	0.16	0.16	0.10	0.03

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

Douglas County		70.79	58.70	106.25	103.03	117.90	104.16	147.94	83.21	224.85	207.73	236.68
Nebraska		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		135.57	88.84	282.31	451.82	131.47	102.26	450.21	188.94	271.18	186.24	325.46
Sarpy County		93.98	36.07	153.82	122.33	91.14	48.09	127.71	92.69	82.83	83.22	72.78
Pottawattamie County		173.76	48.25	127.18	63.00	82.51	18.25	6.75	67.61	44.29	38.16	28.76
Dodge County		114.12	50.67	72.63	117.14	110.68	320.08	5.21	84.42	8.63	17.63	11.78
Saunders County		127.30	47.17	19.86	22.26	21.41	25.52	8.54	32.37	7.08	21.60	4.66
Washington County		125.79	16.19	7.27	1.93	29.34	19.48	0.00	28.11	5.74	8.03	4.39

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

Douglas County		52.21	66.07	37.63	22.80	89.68	101.86	32.86	44.04	82.92	111.54	72.72
Nebraska		73.76	112.57	35.42	22.13	76.07	97.79	22.21	52.93	36.88	53.69	30.73
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Sarpy County		69.32	40.60	54.49	27.07	69.33	47.03	28.37	49.06	30.55	44.68	22.36
Pottawattamie County		128.17	54.31	45.05	13.94	62.76	17.85	1.50	35.79	16.33	20.49	8.84
Dodge County		84.18	57.04	25.73	25.93	84.19	313.00	1.16	44.68	3.18	9.46	3.62
Saunders County		93.90	53.09	7.03	4.93	16.28	24.95	1.90	17.13	2.61	11.60	1.43
Washington County		92.78	18.22	2.58	0.43	22.32	19.05	0.00	14.88	2.12	4.31	1.35

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

Douglas County	608,640	1,340	28,788	4,343	5,847	93,783	13,150	11,177	24,441	46,929	1,312	25,075
Nebraska (in 000's)	2,024	4	108	16	19	425	28	34	90	145	5	90
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
Sarpy County	208,185	584	13,411	1,632	2,427	37,410	4,862	5,590	8,177	16,935	1,081	9,812
Pottawattamie County	93,662	112	7,308	777	960	19,806	1,589	970	5,518	8,759	89	2,545
Dodge County	38,339	62	1,397	255	421	9,189	354	370	2,150	2,466	80	1,730
Saunders County	23,369	124	1,275	165	206	5,420	257	473	1,560	1,666	8	3,602
Washington County	21,280	6	1,562	191	343	6,118	321	483	2,591	1,896	16	967

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Douglas County	8.76	0.22	4.73	0.71	0.96	15.41	2.16	1.84	4.02	7.71	0.22	4.12
Nebraska	11.14	0.21	5.35	0.77	0.95	20.98	1.36	1.70	4.45	7.16	0.24	4.43
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
Sarpy County	10.60	0.28	6.44	0.78	1.17	17.97	2.34	2.69	3.93	8.13	0.52	4.71
Pottawattamie County	13.09	0.12	7.80	0.83	1.02	21.15	1.70	1.04	5.89	9.35	0.10	2.72
Dodge County	13.46	0.16	3.64	0.67	1.10	23.97	0.92	0.97	5.61	6.43	0.21	4.51
Saunders County	15.19	0.53	5.46	0.71	0.88	23.19	1.10	2.02	6.68	7.13	0.03	15.41
Washington County	15.32	0.03	7.34	0.90	1.61	28.75	1.51	2.27	12.18	8.91	0.08	4.54

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

Douglas County		106.71	88.37	92.27	100.83	73.44	158.79	107.84	90.20	107.73	89.24	92.97
Nebraska		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		190.64	98.34	68.86	111.35	34.31	193.29	79.84	39.06	83.95	137.52	62.88
Sarpy County		135.96	120.35	101.36	122.35	85.65	171.64	157.68	88.22	113.66	214.96	106.36
Pottawattamie County		57.96	145.77	107.27	107.57	100.79	124.69	60.82	132.33	130.66	39.34	61.32
Dodge County		78.38	68.07	86.00	115.25	114.24	67.86	56.67	125.96	89.87	86.38	101.83
Saunders County		257.17	101.93	91.30	92.52	110.55	80.83	118.86	149.94	99.61	14.17	347.84
Washington County		13.67	137.13	116.06	169.17	137.03	110.87	133.29	273.49	124.49	31.13	102.55

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

Douglas County		55.97	89.85	133.99	90.55	214.06	82.15	135.07	230.94	128.32	64.89	147.87
Nebraska		52.45	101.68	145.22	89.81	291.46	51.74	125.25	256.03	119.11	72.72	159.05
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Sarpy County		71.32	122.37	147.20	109.88	249.64	88.80	197.49	225.88	135.38	156.31	169.16
Pottawattamie County		30.40	148.22	155.77	96.61	293.77	64.51	76.17	338.81	155.64	28.61	97.53
Dodge County		41.11	69.22	124.89	103.50	332.97	35.11	70.98	322.50	107.05	62.82	161.96
Saunders County		134.90	103.65	132.58	83.09	322.20	41.82	148.87	383.90	118.65	10.31	553.22
Washington County		7.17	139.44	168.54	151.92	399.40	57.36	166.94	700.22	148.28	22.63	163.10

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

Douglas County	608,640	2,801	1,578	664	1,508	2,450	9,755	5,997	2,213	2,829	77,925	82,862
Nebraska (in 000's)	2,024	6	5	2	3	9	13	11	4	7	218	369
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
Sarpy County	208,185	574	1,634	165	292	1,174	646	457	469	468	24,766	39,262
Pottawattamie County	93,662	251	93	43	86	23	70	160	101	80	8,506	21,018
Dodge County	38,339	13	51	3	32	1	0	14	67	14	3,679	7,987
Saunders County	23,369	8	19	2	8	18	5	6	4	40	1,237	5,557
Washington County	21,280	1	0	1	2	0	0	19	52	22	1,244	3,911

Per Cent to Total Population	Diversity Index

Douglas County	8.76	0.46	0.26	0.11	0.25	0.40	1.60	0.99	0.36	0.46	12.80	13.61
Nebraska	11.14	0.30	0.23	0.08	0.14	0.45	0.63	0.53	0.22	0.36	10.79	18.25
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
Sarpy County	10.60	0.28	0.78	0.08	0.14	0.56	0.31	0.22	0.23	0.22	11.90	18.86
Pottawattamie County	13.09	0.27	0.10	0.05	0.09	0.02	0.07	0.17	0.11	0.09	9.08	22.44
Dodge County	13.46	0.03	0.13	0.01	0.08	0.00	0.00	0.04	0.17	0.04	9.60	20.83
Saunders County	15.19	0.03	0.08	0.01	0.03	0.08	0.02	0.03	0.02	0.17	5.29	23.78
Washington County	15.32	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.01	0.00	0.00	0.09	0.24	0.10	5.85	18.38

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

Douglas County		155.13	110.91	133.79	171.81	90.29	253.04	187.03	165.11	129.98	118.61	74.59
Nebraska		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
National		438.08	375.19	283.27	311.39	125.00	250.76	90.85	162.65	157.29	127.72	81.41
Sarpy County		92.94	335.77	97.20	97.26	126.49	48.99	41.67	102.30	62.86	110.21	103.33
Pottawattamie County		90.33	42.48	56.30	63.67	5.51	11.80	32.43	48.97	23.89	84.13	122.95
Dodge County		11.43	56.91	9.60	57.88	0.59	0.00	6.93	79.36	10.21	88.90	114.14
Saunders County		11.54	34.78	10.50	23.74	17.28	3.38	4.87	7.77	47.87	49.04	130.29
Washington County		1.58	0.00	5.76	6.52	0.00	0.00	16.95	110.97	28.91	54.16	100.70

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

Douglas County		35.41	29.56	47.23	55.18	72.23	100.91	205.86	101.52	82.64	92.87	91.63
Nebraska		22.83	26.65	35.30	32.11	80.00	39.88	110.07	61.48	63.58	78.30	122.84
National		100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Sarpy County		21.21	89.49	34.31	31.24	101.19	19.54	45.86	62.90	39.97	86.29	126.93
Pottawattamie County		20.62	11.32	19.88	20.45	4.41	4.71	35.69	30.11	15.19	65.87	151.03
Dodge County		2.61	15.17	3.39	18.59	0.47	0.00	7.63	48.79	6.49	69.60	140.21
Saunders County		2.63	9.27	3.71	7.62	13.82	1.35	5.36	4.78	30.43	38.40	160.04
Washington County		0.36	0.00	2.03	2.09	0.00	0.00	18.65	68.23	18.38	42.40	123.70

Sources: STI: PopStats, Circa April 2025

Advertisers