Overview
Haplogroup N-Z1935 is one of the key downstream branches within the Finno-Ugric core of N-M178. It sits below the broad N-Z1936 radiation and, together with lineages such as N-Z1925, structures a major portion of the paternal ancestry in northeastern Europe. Genetic projects and commercial databases consistently show that N-Z1935 is heavily represented among Finns, Karelians and related Baltic-Finnic groups, as well as in northern Swedes and some northern Russian populations. Its coalescent age falls into the late Bronze Age to early Iron Age, a period when Uralic-speaking communities were consolidating along the forest and forest-steppe ecotones around the eastern Baltic and White Sea basins.
Rather than reflecting a single short-term founder effect, N-Z1935 encompasses several closely related regional clusters that trace back to early Uralic populations in northeastern Europe. These lineages became especially prominent in communities that combined mixed agriculture, fishing and hunting with winter-village settlement systems and patrilineal clan structures. In that context, male-line continuity and local demographic growth allowed N-Z1935 to reach high frequencies while preserving phylogenetic structure that still can be resolved in modern Y-chromosome trees.
Geographic distribution
Today N-Z1935 is centered in Finland, Karelia and adjacent parts of northwestern Russia, with notable frequencies among ethnic Finns, Karelians, Veps and northern Russians in regions such as Arkhangelsk and Vologda. Project data and commercial testing additionally show N-Z1935 in Sweden, especially in the historical provinces of Savonia-derived and Karelian-derived Finnish diaspora, as well as at lower frequencies in the United Kingdom and other parts of western Europe where it reflects recent migration from the Baltic-Finnic sphere rather than deep local roots.
Within Finland, N-Z1935 is typical for eastern and central regions but is also present in western and coastal populations, mirroring historical internal migration and language shift. In Karelia and Veps communities of northwest Russia, N-Z1935 contributes substantially to the N3a4 component of the Y-chromosomal gene pool, where it coexists with other N-Z1936 derived branches such as N-Z1927 and N-Z1937, together forming a dense Finno-Ugric paternal cluster.
Ancient DNA
- Genome-wide and Y-chromosome analyses of Finnic populations show that the dominant N3a4-Z1936 lineages, including branches like N-Z1935, have time depths of a few thousand years and likely expanded during the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age in northeastern Europe, in parallel with the formation of Finno-Ugric linguistic and cultural communities.
- Ancient DNA from early Iron Age and medieval sites in the eastern Baltic and northwestern Russia reveals N3a4 lineages upstream of modern N-Z1935, demonstrating that the paternal background of this branch was already present in the region by the first millennium CE.
- Comparisons of modern Finnic Y-chromosome data with regional ancient genomes point to continuity between N3a4-rich Iron Age populations and present-day carriers of N-Z1935, especially in Finland, Karelia and the White Sea coastal zone.
Phylogeny & subclades
N-Z1935 is a downstream derivative of the major Finno-Ugric trunk N-Z1936 within N-M178. In ISOGG and project nomenclature it appears as one of the defining SNPs inside the former N1c1a1a2a cluster, often mentioned together with N-Z1925 as representing internal splits of that radiation. In modern Y-trees, N-Z1935 further subdivides into several regional subbranches that mirror the settlement history of eastern and northern Finns, Karelians and northern Russians. Some microbranches are strongly associated with specific historical parishes or river basins, highlighting the impact of local founder effects and patrilocality.
- N-Z1935* (basal northeastern European form)
- Regional Finnish and Karelian subbranches identified in Big Y and YFull data
- Minor diaspora lineages in Sweden, the United Kingdom and other parts of western Europe
Notes & context
Because N-Z1935 is a widely used label in commercial databases and projects, using this FTDNA-style designation on the site helps users directly match their test results to historical and population-genetic context. It also serves as a bridge between older N1c1-based nomenclature and modern N3a4-style naming conventions used in recent academic work.
References & external links