I'm English, and I've been told I look foreign?

Question

Trouble is, both my mum and dad seem to be English, even though loads of people think my dad's Greek.
I've asked my grandparents, and my mum's family seems to be English back to 1700 ish.
It's my dad's side, but how would I find out if there was someone foreign?
And, how far back could someone be, and their characterictics are still there nowadays- i.e tanned skin, and dark hair etc.
serious answers only please.

Answer 1

The English are a mongrel race, so while the dominant race that contributed are the Anglo-Saxons, generally regarded as blonde, they weren't uniformly blonde. Also Celts tend to have dark hair, and must have contributed to the English gene pool, as they were the previous inhabitants and England is full of people of Scots and Welsh ancestry. And don't forget the Romans came, and brought with them not only Italians but other races too. And there have been lots of other people emigrating to Britain over the centuries such as Jews, Italians, French etc. I guess you could research your genealogy to find out if some of your ancestors were Mediterranean/middle eastern etc. You can probably find websites using Google that will tell you how to do this.

Answer 2

For genes, all it takes is once. If at some point in your ancestral past there was someone that was Greek or Italian or anything really, the traits of that nationality could rise up anytime there after. A gene does not have to be recently added for it to be dominant.

In the US there have been reports where a fair skinned, seemingly Caucasian child, has been born to African American parents. DNA tests are carried out, and parentage is confirmed again, and genetic disorders are ruled out. When the families look into their past, they discover that they had a Caucasian ancestor, and for whatever reason, that particular gene was passed onto the child.

Children aren't just a mixture of mom and dad, but of all of the past ancestors that belonged to both mom and dad.

Answer 3

Go to Greece, then you'll look just like the locals! Anyway, who says you look foreign...last time I checked there are a lot of not your typical blue blood pale skinned aristicratic types in england that don't think they look foreign...love what you have and celebrate that genetic diversity!

Answer 4

My dad is a true cockney and his parents and their parents are cockneys but my old man looks like a Greek too.My older bruv and sister have his complexion but i am light like my mum.We checked back in time and our ancestors go back to Germany so i wouldn't have a clue but at least you're not alone

Answer 5

My question is does it matter?
Just be glad you're alive and tan easily ie don't burn

Answer 6

what does it matter, you are healthy i presume. Your family love you, i dont understand why it is bothering you to this extent.