Why so much Scottish DNA?

[nelwild]

My dads DNA has come back as 29% Scottish,but the only line i can find that goes North of the Border is a single 7xgreat grandfather born in Kelso in 1659.Would that be enough to provide that level of Scottish DNA,or is it likely ive got something wrong,or things are not as they seem from the records.
Any thoughts appreciated.

TIA.

[fiddlerslass]

According to Ancestry, I am 30 % Scottish, and this can only be through my English mother, who's ancestry was mostly NE England and North Yorkshire based. If you look at where Ancestry defines their "Scottish " ethnicity region, it encompasses parts of northern England as well as part of  Northern Ireland and Brittany in France.

It is only once I get back to my maternal 4th gt grandparents, so born 1760 to 1780,where the possibility of there being true Scots may enter my family, as I am stuck on the origins of 2 Thompson lines. So I don't think my "Scottishness" will really be that high.

[Vance Mead]

I can see how Northern Ireland and Scotland would be connected. I have ancestors who moved from Ireland to Glasgow in the 19th century. But Brittany seems like any family connection would go back at least a thousand years.

[KGarrad]

I can see how Northern Ireland and Scotland would be connected. I have ancestors who moved from Ireland to Glasgow in the 19th century. But Brittany seems like any family connection would go back at least a thousand years.

Brittany is one of the 6 Celtic Nations.
Scotland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany.

[fiddlerslass]

And if you go back even further you have the Scotti  from Ireland settling in Scotland which was already inhabited by the Picts, another Celtic group.

[Vance Mead]

Well yes, if you go back a few thousand years, they may be related. Gildas reported that when the Saxons invaded, British people were pushed back into Wales and Cornwall and then escaped to Brittany. But more recently?

[KGarrad]

No need to go back so far.
Just 500or 600 years!

Classical Gaelic, otherwise known as Early Modern Irish, covers the period from the 13th to the 18th century, during which time it was used as a literary standard in Ireland and Scotland. This is often called Classical Irish, while Ethnologue gives the name "Hiberno-Scottish Gaelic" to this standardised written language. As long as this written language was the norm, Ireland was considered the Gaelic homeland to the Scottish literati.

Later orthographic divergence has resulted in standardised pluricentristic orthographies. Manx orthography, which was introduced in the 16th and 17th centuries, was based loosely on English and Welsh orthography, and so never formed part of this literary standard.

From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goidelic_languages

[Vance Mead]

Language and DNA are not one and the same.

[SouthseaSteel]

If your dad wants to change his apparent Scottish ethnicity I suggest he

a) waits a while.  My brother's Scottish ethnicity decreased from 25% to < 2% in 3 years with Ancestry or

b) tests with another provider.  I'm < 2% Scottish on Ancestry and >15% on MH!!!

I strongly suggest you focus on his DNA matches instead. If he really does have Scottish ancestry it will soon become apparent.