Theancestral background of presidents of the United States has been relatively consistent throughout American history. The most common ancestry of U.S. presidents isEnglish, due to its origins as a group of former English colonies. With the exception ofMartin Van Buren and possiblyDwight D. Eisenhower,[1] every president has ancestors from theBritish Isles; Van Buren was ofDutch (New Netherlander) lineage and Eisenhower was ofGerman (Pennsylvania Dutch) andSwiss heritage.John F. Kennedy andDonald Trump are the only known presidents who did not have ancestors who arrived during thecolonial period.Barack Obama, the country's first and so far only African American president, is the only president to have ancestry from outside ofEurope; his paternal family is descended from theLuo people of Kenya. He is also believed to be a direct descendant ofJohn Punch, a colonial-era slave born in modern-dayCameroon.[2] There is no evidence that any president has hadIndigenous American ancestry.
The most common ethnic groups in theThirteen Colonies were those from eitherGreat Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) orUlster (north Ireland). Those of Irish, Dutch, German, orFrench backgrounds would see attempts to assimilate them into the dominantEnglish and predominatelyProtestant culture.[3] A majority of presidents trace their ancestries to the American colonists, in which they are known asOld Stock Americans.
Somenativist political groups within the United States were adamantly opposed to identifying with a foreign nation and would coin those who did ashyphenated Americans. PresidentsTheodore Roosevelt andWoodrow 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."[4]
Summary:
No. | President and parents |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | Patrilineal emigrant ancestor | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Washington (1732–1799) | Yes | Yes | John Washington (great-grandfather) Sulgrave, England →Colony of Virginia (1656) | [5][6] | |||||||||||
| 2 | John Adams (1735–1826) | Yes | Yes | Henry Adams (2nd great-grandfather) Braintree, England →Braintree, [Massachusetts Bay Colony (c. 1633) | [7][8] | |||||||||||
| 3 | Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Samuel Jefferson | [8][9][10] | ||||||||||
| 4 | James Madison (1751–1836) | Yes | Yes | Isaac Madison (3rd great-grandfather) London, England →Jamestown, Colony of Virginia (1608) | [9][11][12] | |||||||||||
| 5 | James Monroe (1758–1831) Spence Monroe Elizabeth Jones | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Patrick Andrew Monroe (2nd great-grandfather) Scotland → Colony of Virginia (c. 1650) | [7][8][9][13] | |||||||||
| 6 | John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) | Yes | Yes | Henry Adams (3rd great-grandfather) Braintree, England → Braintree, Massachusetts Bay Colony (c. 1633) | [7][8] | |||||||||||
| 7 | Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) Andrew Jackson Sr. Elizabeth Hutchinson | Yes | Yes | Yes | Andrew Jackson Sr. (father) Boneybefore, Ireland →Waxhaws, Carolinas (1765) | [7][8][9][13] | ||||||||||
| 8 | Martin Van Buren (1782–1862) Maria Hoes | Yes | Cornelis Maessen van Buren (3rd great-grandfather) Buurmalsen, Netherlands →New Netherland (1631) | [14][15] | ||||||||||||
| 9 | William Henry Harrison (1773–1841) Elizabeth Bassett | Yes | Yes | Yes | Benjamin Harrison (3rd great-grandfather) England → Colony of Virginia (c. 1630) | [7][8] | ||||||||||
| 10 | John Tyler (1790–1862) Mary Marot Armisted | Yes | Yes | Henry Tyler (3rd great-grandfather) Shropshire, England → Colony of Virginia (c. 1652) | [6][7] | |||||||||||
| 11 | James K. Polk (1795–1849) Jane Knox | Yes | Yes | Robert Bruce Polk (great-grandfather) Lifford, Ireland →Province of Maryland (c. 1680) | [10][16] | |||||||||||
| 12 | Zachary Taylor (1784–1850) Sarah Dabney Strother | Yes | James Taylor (2nd great-grandfather) England → Colony of Virginia | [17] | ||||||||||||
| 13 | Millard Fillmore (1800–1874) Phoebe Millard | Yes | John Fillmore Sr. (2nd great-grandfather) England →Massachusetts Bay Colony | [17] | ||||||||||||
| 14 | Franklin Pierce (1804–1869) Anna Kendrick | Yes | Yes | Thomas Pierce (3rd great-grandfather) Norwich, England → Massachusetts Bay Colony (c. 1634) | [17] | |||||||||||
| 15 | James Buchanan (1791–1868) James Buchanan Sr. Elizabeth Speer | Yes | Yes | James Buchanan Sr. (father) Ramelton, Ireland →Pennsylvania (1783) | [16] | |||||||||||
| 16 | Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Samuel Lincoln (4th great-grandfather) Hingham, England →Hingham, Massachusetts Bay Colony (1638) | [7][8][16] | ||||||||||
| 17 | Andrew Johnson (1808–1875) Mary McDonough | Yes | Yes | Yes | Edward Johnston (2nd great-grandfather) Aberdeen, Scotland →New Kent, Colony of Virginia (1664) | [17][18][19] | ||||||||||
| 18 | Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Matthew Grant (5th great-grandfather) England → Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630) | [7][16][17][18] | |||||||||
| 19 | Rutherford B. Hayes (1822–1893) Rutherford Hayes Jr. Sophia Birchard | Yes | Yes | Yes | George Hayes (3rd great-grandfather) Scotland →Windsor, Connecticut Colony (c. 1680) | [20] | ||||||||||
| 20 | James A. Garfield (1831–1881) Abram Garfield Eliza Ballou | Yes | Yes | Yes | Edward Garfield (5th great-grandfather) Hillmorton, England → Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630) | [6][8][17] | ||||||||||
| 21 | Chester A. Arthur (1829–1886) Malvina Stone | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | William Arthur (father) Cullybackey, Ireland →Lower Canada (c. 1820) Lower Canada →Vermont (c. 1822) | [9] | |||||||||
| 22/24 | Grover Cleveland (1837–1908) Ann Neal | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Moses Cleveland (5th great-grandfather) Ipswich, England → Massachusetts Bay Colony (1635) | [9][16] | ||||||||
| 23 | Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901) Elizabeth Ramsey Irwin | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Benjamin Harrison (5th great-grandfather) England → Colony of Virginia (c. 1630) | [7][11][16] | |||||||||
| 25 | William McKinley (1843–1901) Nancy Campbell Allison | Yes | Yes | Yes | John McKinley (2nd great-grandfather) Dervock, Ireland →Province of Pennsylvania (1742) | [7][10][16] | ||||||||||
| 26 | Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Claes Maartenszen van Rosenvelt (5th great-grandfather) Netherlands →New Amsterdam, New Netherland (c. 1649) | [6][8][9][15] | ||||||
| 27 | William Howard Taft (1857–1930) | Yes | Yes | Robert Taft Sr. (4th great-grandfather) County Louth, Ireland → Braintree, Massachusetts Bay Colony (c. 1675) | [17] | |||||||||||
| 28 | Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) Janet E. Woodrow | Yes | Yes | James Wilson (grandfather) Ulster, Ireland →Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (c. 1795) | [10] | |||||||||||
| 29 | Warren G. Harding (1865–1923) Phoebe Elizabeth Dickerson | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Richard Harding (8th great grandfather)Northampton, England → Braintree, Massachusetts Bay Colony (1623) | [9] | |||||||||
| 30 | Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933) Victoria Josephine Moor | Yes | Yes | John Coolidge (7th great-grandfather) Cottenham, England →Watertown, Massachusetts Bay Colony (c. 1635) | [7][11] | |||||||||||
| 31 | Herbert Hoover (1874–1964) Jesse Clark Hoover Hulda Randall Minthorn | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Andreas Huber (3rd great-grandfather) Ellerstadt, Holy Roman Empire → Province of Pennsylvania (1738) | [21][22] | |||||||||
| 32 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Claes Maartenszen van Rosenvelt (5th great-grandfather) Netherlands → New Amsterdam, New Netherland (c. 1649) | ||||||||||
| 33 | Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) John Anderson Truman | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unknown | [16][24] | ||||||||
| 34 | Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) David Jacob Eisenhower | Yes | Yes | Johann Peter Eisenhauer (2nd great-grandfather) Karlsbrunn, Holy Roman Empire →York, Province of Pennsylvania (1741) | [22][25][26] | |||||||||||
| 35 | John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) | Yes | Patrick Kennedy (great-grandfather) New Ross, Ireland →Boston, Massachusetts (c. 1848) | [27] | ||||||||||||
| 36 | Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) Rebekah Baines | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unknown | [28] | ||||||||
| 37 | Richard Nixon (1913–1994) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unknown | [8] | |||||||||
| 38 | Gerald Ford (1913–2006) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Philip King Devonshire, England → Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania (1730) | [29][30] | ||||||||||
| 39 | Jimmy Carter (1924–2024) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Thomas Carter (8th great-grandfather) England → Colony of Virginia (c. 1635) | [9][16] | ||||||||||
| 40 | Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Michael O'Regan (great-grandfather) County Tipperary, Ireland → London, England (1852) London, England →Carroll County, Illinois (1856) | [31][32] | ||||||||||
| 41 | George H. W. Bush (1924–2018) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | John Bush (7th great-grandfather) Messing, England → Massachusetts Bay Colony (c. 1640) | [9][16][33][34] | |||||
| 42 | Bill Clinton (born 1946) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unknown | [9][16] | ||||||||||
| 43 | George W. Bush (born 1946) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | John Bush (8th great-grandfather) Messing, England → Massachusetts Bay Colony (c. 1640) | [9][16][33][34] | |||||
| 44 | Barack Obama (born 1961) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Barack Obama Sr. (father) Nyang'oma Kogelo, Kenya Colony →Honolulu, Hawaii (1959) | [2][37] | ||||
| 45/47 | Donald Trump (born 1946) | Yes | Yes | Frederick Trump (grandfather) Kallstadt, Germany →New York City, New York (1885) | [10][40] | |||||||||||
| 46 | Joe Biden (born 1942) Joseph Robinette Biden Sr. Catherine Eugenia Finnegan | Yes | Yes | Yes | William Biden (3rd great-grandfather) Westbourne, England →Baltimore, Maryland (c. 1820) | [41] |
Anthony Sadowski, the progenitor of the most famous Polish family in America, was an ancestor of Gerald R. Ford, the 38th president of the United States.