Home › About
About Roots
Roots is a free educational tool for exploring cultural heritage across Africa and the Western world. It combines a short heritage quiz, a lookup of name origins and meanings, and a cultural atlas covering every African country and Western country. The goal is to give people a respectful starting point for conversations with family and for further research.
Roots explores culture, not DNA. It does not tell you your genetic ancestry, and its results are starting points rather than proof. Name meanings come from widely documented naming traditions, and spelling-based guesses are always labelled as guesses.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a DNA or ancestry test?
No. Roots looks at languages, traditions, regions and naming customs. A DNA test measures genetic ancestry, which is a different thing.
How accurate are the quiz results?
The quiz measures overlap between what you choose and the cultures in our atlas. It is a conversation starter. Many people have several heritages, so explore more than one result.
Where do the name meanings come from?
They are compiled from widely documented naming traditions and name dictionaries. Some surnames have several competing explanations, and we say so where we know of them.
Why is my name not found?
Our built-in list is limited. Try another spelling, a shorter form, or browse the atlas for your family’s region. Spelling-based guesses appear when a name matches a known pattern.
Do you store the names or answers I enter?
No. Everything runs in your browser, and what you type is not sent to us or stored on a server. See the Privacy Policy below.
How can I suggest a correction or a new name?
Email us at contact@myculture.name.ng. Corrections from people who know a culture firsthand are especially welcome.