Based upon the methodology posted here and using the sample set described here, as of January 2019 it appears that there are six ancestral Y-DNA lines in haplogroup J2 in the Ashkenazi Jewish population: (1) J2-L556; (2) J2-Z30390; (3)-(4) the J2-L254 and J2-FGC30508 subclusters of J2-FGC4992 (2022 analysis: J2-FT69390 and J2-Z38408); (5) J2-BY268; and (6) J2-Z43500 (2022 analysis: J2-Z43501). Trees for each of those clusters are posted below.

J2-L556

January 2019 Analysis - J2-L556

Upstream SNPs:

M304>M172>M410>CTS7683>L26>PF5088>PF5125>Z2227>Z1846>M67> Z1847>PF5132>M92>Z504>CTS4132>CTS2906>L556

ISOGG Haplogroup J Tree (2019-2020): J2a1a1a2b2a1a1a3b

TMRCA (YFull Tree) (as of January 9, 2021)

J-L556: 1,100 ybp (800-1,500 ybp @95%)

J-Y11782: 950 ybp (650-1,300 ybp @95%)

J-Y9005: 750 ybp (500-1,000 ybp @95%)

TMRCA (JewishDNA.net) (as of January 9, 2021)

J2a-M92-L556 (AB-040): 874-1014 CE (@95%)

The J2-L556 cluster follows the same pattern as many of the larger Ashkenazi Y-DNA clusters, with (1) a shared direct male ancestor dating back to about the second half of the first millenium CE, as evidenced by initial branching during that time frame; and (2) substantial branching within those subbranches dating back to the time when the Ashkenazi population began its massive expansion out of a small bottlenecked population, about 700 to 1,000 years ago .

J2-Z30390

January 2019 Analysis - J2-Z30390

Upstream SNPs:

M304>M172>M410>CTS7683>L26>PF5088>PF5125>Z2227>Z1846>M67> Z1847>Y4036 >Z467>Z455>L210>Z459>L227>Z489>Z482>Z30386>Z30390

ISOGG Haplogroup J Tree (2019-2020): J2a1a1a2b2a2b3a2~ (J2-Z489, three levels above the J2-Z30390 level)

TMRCA (YFull Tree) (as of January 9, 2021)

J-Y15223: 1,450 ybp (1,000-1,900 ybp @95%) (J-Y15223 is at the same level as J-Z30390)

J-Y15238: 900 ybp (500-1,350 ybp @95%) (J-Y15238 is at the same level as J-Y15241)

J-Y24992: 1,450 ybp (1,000-1,900 ybp @95%)

TMRCA (JewishDNA.net) (as of January 9, 2021)

J2a-L210-Y15222 (AB-044): 814-1021 CE (@95%)

The J2-Z30930 cluster follows the same pattern as many of the larger Ashkenazi Y-DNA clusters, with (1) a shared direct male ancestor dating back to about the second half of the first millenium CE, as evidenced by initial branching during that time frame; and (2) substantial branching within those subbranches dating back to the time when the Ashkenazi population began its massive expansion out of a small bottlenecked population, about 700 to 1,000 years ago .

Upstream SNPs:

M304>M172>M410>CTS7683>L26>PF5088>PF5160>L24>Z393>L25>PF4888>PF5366 >FGC4992

ISOGG Haplogroup J Tree (2019-2020): J2a1a1b2a1c2~ (J2-PF5366, one level above the J2-FGC4992 level)

TMRCA (YFull Tree) (as of January 9, 2021)

J-FGC4975: 2,300 ybp (1,650-2,900 ybp @95%) (J-FGC4975 is at the same level as J-FGC4992)

J-FGC30508: 650 ybp (475-900 ybp @95%) (J-FGC30508 is at the same level as J-FGC30510)

TMRCA (JewishDNA.net) (as of January 9, 2021)

J2a-L25-FGC30510 (AB-047): 957-1388 CE (@95%)

Branching is shown here starting at the J2-FGC4992 level to indicate that the J-L254 and J-FGC30508 branches share a direct male ancestor, who presumably lived in the Near East.

The J2-L254 and J2-FGC30508 subclusters follow the same pattern as many of the larger Ashkenazi Y-DNA clusters, with (1) a shared direct male ancestor dating back to about the second half of the first millenium CE, as evidenced by initial branching during that time frame; and (2) substantial branching within those subbranches dating back to the time when the Ashkenazi population began its massive expansion out of a small bottlenecked population, about 700 to 1,000 years ago .

J2-BY268

January 2019 Analysis - J2-BY268

2022 analysis: J2-FGC21083

Upstream SNPs:

M304>M172>M410>CTS7683>L26>PF5088>PF5160>L24>Z393>L25> CTS1192>L70>Z435>CTS3601>PF5456>FGC54172>BY268

ISOGG Haplogroup J Tree (2019-2020): J2a1a1b2a1b1b3a2~ (J2-FGC54172, one level avove the J2-BY268 level)

TMRCA (YFull Tree) (as of January 9, 2021)

J-FGC21085: 1,350 ybp (850-1,900 ybp @95%) (J-FGC21085 is on the same level as J-BY268)

TMRCA (JewishDNA.net) (as of January 9, 2021)

J2a-L70-PF5456 (AB-045): 689-1015 CE (@95%)

The J2-BY268 cluster follows the same pattern as many of the larger Ashkenazi Y-DNA clusters, with (1) a shared direct male ancestor dating back to about the second half of the first millenium CE, as evidenced by initial branching during that time frame; and (2) substantial branching within those subbranches dating back the time when the Ashkenazi population began its massive expansion out of a small bottlenecked population, about 700 to 1,000 years ago .

J2-Z43500

2022 analysis: J2-Z43501

January 2019 Analysis - J2-Z43500

Upstream SNPs:

M304>M172>M410>CTS7683>Z6049>Z6048>S15572>S23560>Z43525> Z43500

ISOGG Haplogroup J Tree (2019-2020): J2a1 (J2-CTS7683, six levels above the J2-Z43500 level)

TMRCA (YFull Tree) (as of January 9, 2021)

J-Y36257: 3,300 ybp (2,5000-4,300 ybp @95%) (J-Y32657 is on the same level as J-Z43500)

J-Y37133: 450 ybp (175-800 ybp @95%) (J-Y37133 is on the same level as J-BY37931)

TMRCA (JewishDNA.net) (as of January 9, 2021)

J2a-M410-Z6046 (AB-050): 601-921 CE (@95%)

The J2-Z43500 cluster follows the same pattern as many of the larger Ashkenazi Y-DNA clusters, with (1) a shared direct male ancestor dating back to about the second half of the first millenium CE, as evidenced by initial branching during that time frame; and (2) substantial branching within those subbranches dating back to the time when the Ashkenazi population began its massive expansion out of a small bottlenecked population, about 700 to 1,000 years ago .

Y-DNA SNPs Not Appearing on Trees Posted Above

In addition to the SNPs posted above, there are a number of SNPs identified through the methodology used on this website that do not appear in any of the trees posted above. In some cases, primarily with regard to SNPs reported by Family Tree DNA based upon the results of Big Y testing or Geno 2.0 testing, the reported SNPs are ancestral to the SNPs set forth in one or more of the trees above; if the tested man is Ashkenazi on his direct male line, Big Y testing would likely determine that he belongs to one of the clusters set forth above. In other instances, it is possible that SNPs identify a small and/or undertested Ashkenazi cluster; further testing or information may identify such clusters. Often, because the methodology used herein to identify potential Ashkenazi SNPs is overinclusive (especially for the 50 cM cohort but also, on occasion, for the 80 cM and 100 cM cohorts), SNPs set forth below do not reflect Ashkenazi (or Jewish) ancestry on the direct male line. Finally, there are some SNPs (identified with "N/A") that do not appear on FTDNA's Y-DNA haplotree at all.

Upstream SNPs. The following SNPs in the table above (identified in red) are upstream from SNPs found in one or more Ashkenazi Y-DNA clusters: CTS7683, L210, L25, L70, M172, M410, M67, M92, PF5366, and PF5456.

If men who are reported based upon STR or Geno 2.0 testing as having these SNPs are of Ashkenazi descent on their direct male line, there is a high probability that such men belong to one of those Ashkenazi Y-DNA clusters. However, a large proportion of the men reported as having these terminal SNPs are not of Ashkenazi descent on their direct male lines.

Downstream SNPs that may reflect an Ashkenazi Y-DNA line. The following terminal SNPs in the table above (identified in blue) do not appear in the Ashkenazi Y-DNA trees posted above, but may reflect an Ashkenazi Y-DNA line: BY22607 and BY37765.

Other SNPs. With the exception of the SNPs that are not on FTDNA's Y-DNA Haplotree (identified with "N/A"), it is unlikely that men reported as having terminal SNPs other than the upstream SNPs identified above are of Ashkenazi descent on their direct male lines.

Other Reported Terminal SNPs in Haplogroup J. In addition to the SNPs identified above, the dataset includes one SNP (J-M304) which is ancestral to haplogroup J as a whole, and one SNP not identified by the materials consulted for this analysis as belonging to haplogroup J1 or J2.