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I have a friend who looks like many of my paternal relatives. How can I find out if we have common ancestors?


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: The DNA test that costs $150 only tells you if you have common ancestors in the last 600 years; if you have European roots, chances are you do. There has been a lot of interbreeding since 1400. You'd need to find a son of a son of a son . . . to do it, too, since they use the Y chromosome. There are other, much more expensive tests that will do more, but unless you are establishing paternity, all they can do is say there is an [80%, 90%, 95%] chance of you having a common relative in the last [4, 5, 6] generations.

If you are worried about inbreeding, don't be. Most of us who had ancestors in the USA (outside of the big cities) prior to 1880 have instances of first cousins marrying each other. As long as you don't have hemophilia or Huntington's Chorea in your family, you are as safe as if you married someone who wasn't related.

As others have said, the surest way is to trace back.
If you have common grandparents, you are first cousins.
If you have common g-grandparents, you are 2nd cousins.
If you have common gg-grandparents, you are 3rd cousins.

and so on.

You should be able to get to your great-great grandparents by asking your grandparents who their grandparents were. Before that you'd have to research on the Internet, the library, a FHC or elsewhere.