It has been suggested that the movements of Germanic peoples had a strong influence upon the modern distribution of the male lineage represented by the Y DNA haplogroup I1 as classed by geneticists which is currently believed to have arisen approximately 4,000 to 6,000 years ago from a single male (Most Recent Common Ancestor) in Northern Europe, perhaps modern Denmark.

Traces of this lineage appear in the areas the Germanic tribes were recorded as having invaded or migrated to.

Haplogroup I1 accounts for approximately 40% of Icelandic males, 40%-50% of Swedish males, approximately 40% of Norwegian males, and approximately 40% of Danish Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups. Haplogroup I peaks in certain areas of Northern Germany at approximately 30%.

Amongst men in Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, and Germany haplogroup R1b and haplogroup R1a collectively reach levels of 40% or more in Sweden, 50% or more in Norway, 55-60% in Iceland and 60-70% in Germany. In the areas of England and the Netherlands Haplogroup R1b accounts for approximately between 50%-70% of the Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups.