The ancestral background of presidents of the United States has been relatively consistent throughout American history. The most common ancestry of U.S. presidents is English, due to the country's origins as a group of former English colonies. With the exception of Martin Van Buren and possibly Dwight D. Eisenhower, every president has ancestors from the British Isles; Van Buren was of Dutch (New Netherlander) lineage and Eisenhower was of German (Pennsylvania Dutch) and Swiss heritage. John F. Kennedy, Woodrow Wilson, Ronald W. Reagan, and Donald Trump are the only known presidents who did not have ancestors who arrived during the colonial period. Barack Obama, the country's first and so far only African American president, is the only president to have ancestry from outside of Europe; his paternal family is descended from the Luo people of Kenya. He is also believed to be a direct descendant of John Punch, a colonial-era slave born in modern-day Cameroon. There is no evidence that any president has had Indigenous American ancestry.
The most common ethnic groups in the Thirteen Colonies were those from either Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) or Ulster (north Ireland). Those of Irish, Dutch, German, or French backgrounds would see attempts to assimilate them into the dominant English and predominately Protestant culture. A majority of presidents trace their ancestries to the American colonists, in which they are known as Old Stock Americans.
Some nativist political groups within the United States were adamantly opposed to identifying with a foreign nation and would coin those who did as hyphenated Americans. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson were outspoken opponents of hyphenated Americans, with Wilson once remarking, "Any man who carries a hyphen about with him, carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic when he gets ready."
Ancestry table of American Presidents Summary: (British) English – 38 (British) Scottish – 23 (British) Ulster Scots – 23 (British) Welsh – 17 French – 12 German – 11 Irish – 8 Dutch – 6 Swiss – 3 Swedish – 2 (British) Guernsey – 1 Kenyan (Luo) – 1 Polish – 1
Patrilineal emigrant ancestorCitations1 George Washington(1732–1799) Augustine Washington
Mary Ball Yes John Washington (great-grandfather)Sulgrave, England → Colony of Virginia (1656) 2 John Adams(1735–1826) John Adams Sr.
Susanna Boylston Henry Adams (2nd great-grandfather)Braintree, England → Braintree, [Massachusetts Bay Colony (c. 1633)3 Thomas Jefferson(1743–1826) Peter Jefferson
Jane Randolph Samuel Jefferson4 James Madison(1751–1836) James Madison Sr.
Eleanor Rose Conway Isaac Madison (3rd great-grandfather)London, England → Jamestown, Colony of Virginia (1608)5 James Monroe(1758–1831) Spence Monroe
Elizabeth Jones Patrick Andrew Monroe (2nd great-grandfather)Scotland → Colony of Virginia (c. 1650)6 John Quincy Adams(1767–1848) John Adams
Abigail Smith Henry Adams (3rd great-grandfather)Braintree, England → Braintree, Massachusetts Bay Colony (c. 1633)7 Andrew Jackson(1767–1845) Andrew Jackson Sr.
Elizabeth Hutchinson Andrew Jackson Sr. (father)Boneybefore, Ireland → Waxhaws, Carolinas (1765)8 Martin Van Buren(1782–1862) Abraham Van Buren
Maria Hoes Cornelis Maessen van Buren (3rd great-grandfather)Buurmalsen, Netherlands → New Netherland (1631)9 William Henry Harrison(1773–1841) Benjamin Harrison V
Elizabeth Bassett Benjamin Harrison (3rd great-grandfather)England → Colony of Virginia (c. 1630)10 John Tyler(1790–1862) John Tyler Sr.
Mary Marot Armisted Henry Tyler (3rd great-grandfather)Shropshire, England → Colony of Virginia (c. 1652)11 James K. Polk(1795–1849) Samuel Polk
Jane Knox Robert Bruce Polk (great-grandfather)Lifford, Ireland → Province of Maryland (c. 1680)12 Zachary Taylor(1784–1850) Richard Taylor
Sarah Dabney Strother James Taylor (2nd great-grandfather)England → Colony of Virginia13 Millard Fillmore(1800–1874) Nathaniel Fillmore
Phoebe Millard John Fillmore Sr. (2nd great-grandfather)England → Massachusetts Bay Colony14 Franklin Pierce(1804–1869) Benjamin Pierce
Anna Kendrick Thomas Pierce (3rd great-grandfather)Norwich, England → Massachusetts Bay Colony (c. 1634)15 James Buchanan(1791–1868) James Buchanan Sr.
Elizabeth Speer James Buchanan Sr. (father)Ramelton, Ireland → Pennsylvania (1783)16 Abraham Lincoln(1809–1865) Thomas Lincoln
Nancy Hanks Samuel Lincoln (4th great-grandfather)Hingham, England → Hingham, Massachusetts Bay Colony (1638)17 Andrew Johnson(1808–1875) Jacob Johnson
Mary McDonough Edward Johnston (2nd great-grandfather)Aberdeen, Scotland → New Kent, Colony of Virginia (1664)18 Ulysses S. Grant(1822–1885) Jesse Root Grant
Hannah Simpson Matthew Grant (5th great-grandfather)England → Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630) 19 Rutherford B. Hayes(1822–1893) Rutherford Hayes Jr.
Sophia Birchard George Hayes (3rd great-grandfather)Scotland → Windsor, Connecticut Colony (c. 1680)20 James A. Garfield(1831–1881) Abram Garfield
Eliza Ballou Edward Garfield (5th great-grandfather)Hillmorton, England → Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630)21 Chester A. Arthur(1829–1886) William Arthur
Malvina Stone William Arthur (father)Cullybackey, Ireland → Lower Canada (c. 1820)Lower Canada → Vermont (c. 1822)22/24 Grover Cleveland(1837–1908) Richard Falley Cleveland
Ann Neal Moses Cleveland (5th great-grandfather)Ipswich, England → Massachusetts Bay Colony (1635)23 Benjamin Harrison(1833–1901) John Scott Harrison
Elizabeth Ramsey Irwin Benjamin Harrison (5th great-grandfather)England → Colony of Virginia (c. 1630)25 William McKinley(1843–1901) William McKinley Sr.
Nancy Campbell Allison John McKinley (2nd great-grandfather)Dervock, Ireland → Province of Pennsylvania (1742)26 Theodore Roosevelt(1858–1919) Theodore Roosevelt Sr.
Martha Bulloch Claes Maartenszen van Rosenvelt (5th great-grandfather)Netherlands → New Amsterdam, New Netherland (c. 1649)27 William Howard Taft(1857–1930) Alphonso Taft
Louisa Maria Torrey Robert Taft Sr. (4th great-grandfather)County Louth, Ireland → Braintree, Massachusetts Bay Colony (c. 1675)28 Woodrow Wilson(1856–1924) Joseph Ruggles Wilson
Janet E. Woodrow James Wilson (grandfather)Ulster, Ireland → Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (c. 1795)29 Warren G. Harding(1865–1923) George Tryon Harding
Phoebe Elizabeth Dickerson Richard Harding (8th great grandfather) Northampton, England → Braintree, Massachusetts Bay Colony (1623)30 Calvin Coolidge(1872–1933) John Calvin Coolidge Sr.
Victoria Josephine Moor John Coolidge (7th great-grandfather)Cottenham, England → Watertown, Massachusetts Bay Colony (c. 1635)31 Herbert Hoover(1874–1964) Jesse Clark Hoover
Hulda Randall Minthorn Andreas Huber (3rd great-grandfather)Ellerstadt, Holy Roman Empire → Province of Pennsylvania (1738)32 Franklin D. Roosevelt(1882–1945) James Roosevelt I
Sara Ann Delano Claes Maartenszen van Rosenvelt (5th great-grandfather)Netherlands → New Amsterdam, New Netherland (c. 1649)33 Harry S. Truman(1884–1972) John Anderson Truman
Martha Ellen Young Unknown34 Dwight D. Eisenhower(1890–1969) David Jacob Eisenhower
Ida Elizabeth Stover Johann Peter Eisenhauer (2nd great-grandfather)Karlsbrunn, Holy Roman Empire → York, Province of Pennsylvania (1741)35 John F. Kennedy(1917–1963) Joseph Patrick Kennedy Sr.
Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald Patrick Kennedy (great-grandfather)New Ross, Ireland → Boston, Massachusetts (c. 1848)36 Lyndon B. Johnson(1908–1973) Samuel Ealy Johnson Jr.
Rebekah Baines Unknown37 Richard Nixon(1913–1994) Francis Anthony Nixon
Hannah Elizabeth Milhous Unknown38 Gerald Ford(1913–2006) Leslie Lynch King Sr.
Dorothy Ayer Gardner Philip King Devonshire, England → Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania (1730)39 Jimmy Carter(1924–2024) James Earl Carter Sr.
Bessie Lillian Gordy Thomas Carter (8th great-grandfather)England → Colony of Virginia (c. 1635)40 Ronald Reagan(1911–2004) John Edward Reagan
Nelle Clyde Wilson Michael O'Regan (great-grandfather)County Tipperary, Ireland → London, England (1852)London, England → Carroll County, Illinois (1856)41 George H. W. Bush(1924–2018) Prescott Sheldon Bush
Dorothy Wear Walker John Bush (7th great-grandfather) Messing, England → Massachusetts Bay Colony (c. 1640) 42 Bill Clinton(born 1946) William Jefferson Blythe Jr.
Virginia Dell Cassidy Unknown43 George W. Bush(born 1946) George Herbert Walker Bush
Barbara Pierce John Bush (8th great-grandfather) Messing, England → Massachusetts Bay Colony (c. 1640) 44 Barack Obama(born 1961) Barack Hussein Obama Sr.
Stanley Ann Dunham Barack Obama Sr. (father)Nyang'oma Kogelo, Kenya Colony → Honolulu, Hawaii (1959)45/47 Donald Trump(born 1946) Frederick Christ Trump Sr.
Mary Anne MacLeod Frederick Trump (grandfather)Kallstadt, Germany → New York City, New York (1885)46 Joe Biden(born 1942) Joseph Robinette Biden Sr.
Catherine Eugenia Finnegan William Biden (3rd great-grandfather)Westbourne, England → Baltimore, Maryland (c. 1820)
See also Ancestral background of vice presidents of the United States African heritage of presidents of the United States Most royal candidate theory Lists of Americans (lists of people from the United States by various criteria, including ethnic or national origin)
References
Further reading
External links Presidential Family Trees and Famous Kin, famouskin.com