As at home DNA tests become more common, people must grapple with surprises about their parents

Christina Farr:

Until recently, Andrea Ramirez, 43, thought she was part Mexican.

But the results from an at-home genetic test from 23andMe revealed that she is a mix of Northern European, North African and a little Native American.

And not at all hispanic.

Ramirez, who hails from the Bay Area and works in marketing, bought the $199 genetic test in 2013 for a lark after her brother Danny’s own test came back with some curious results. She and Danny are both fair-skinned and freckled, and don’t closely resemble their half-siblings from their father’s first marriage, but they never questioned their heritage.

As expected, Danny showed up on a list of Andrea’s DNA relatives on 23andMe. But his DNA was only about a 25 percent match with hers, meaning that he wasn’t a full sibling as she had expected.