The DNA test kit was a birthday gift from my husband, but the true gift turned out to be what I discovered about my ancestry.

Earlier this month when I received the results, I was surprised. Floored, even.

While the report confirmed what I have known my whole life — I am Filipino (nearly 99%, according to the test) — it also revealed my DNA suggests a tiny percentage (less than one percent) of my ancestry is Native American.

The report indicates I most likely had a fourth-great- (or greater) grandparent who was 100% Native American and who was likely born between 1710 and 1800.

The test also found in my DNA traces of other populations — broadly Chinese and Southeast Asian, and European — which I could understand given the Philippines’ proximity to China and Southeast Asian countries, and its history as a former Spanish colony.

But I had a hard time processing my Native American connection, as small as it is. Although right there, in the report’s color-coded graph of my chromosomes, is a sliver of Native American ancestry in chromosome No. 11.

I have always been interested in genealogy — asking my parents about our background, creating family trees and using online genealogy sites to try to discover more about our history. But my research has not gone farther than four or five generations.

This interest has been further fueled by genealogy shows like “Finding Your Roots” on PBS and “Who Do You Think You Are?” on TLC. I love when Henry Louis Gates Jr., host of “Finding Your Roots,” asks his celebrity guests to turn the page of their “Book of Life” (I want one of my own!), revealing a familial connection to an amazing historical figure or an inspiring story of an ancestor’s perseverance and survival.

While my husband had my genealogy interest in mind when he bought the gift for my birthday, he told me the decision was also based on a personal one for him.

My husband is Swedish, born and raised in Sweden, and he found out a few years ago that he’s also part Finnish — speaking of late-in-life ancestral discoveries. He said he purchased the kit for me as a way to also find out about the ancestry of our children, three daughters ages 12, 10 and 6.

I’m so grateful he did.

When I went over the DNA test results with my parents and two siblings, they were just as shocked as I was to learn about our Native American connection. My parents had no idea.

“How did that happen?” my father asked.

“I don’t know,” I replied and laughed. “You tell me how that happened.”

The answer to this newfound family mystery may lie within my maternal grandfather, who died when my mother was just 9 years old. We don’t know much about him. Perhaps his lineage can be traced back to our Native American ancestor.

But I’m not compelled to look for more answers or do any further research at this point. Honestly, I don’t even have the time to document my present family story (the last photo album I put together for my children was probably 10 years ago), let alone a story from possibly eight or more generations ago.

For now, just knowing my ancestry is enough.

And being able to share the discovery with my daughters and pass on this knowledge to them — and future generations — is a wonderful bonus birthday gift.

“She Speaks” is a column by women writers of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Reach Zenaida Serrano at zserrano@staradvertiser.com.