it's quite complicated it seems

Only 1 to 2 percent of the human population has red hair, many of whom come from Western or Northern European descent, although red hair can be found around the globe ("Red Alert!" The Washington Post, March 19, 2002).

1. Scotland has the highest percentage of people with red hair (13 percent of the population has red hair and 40 percent carries the gene.)
2. Ireland has the second highest percentage of red-haired people (10 percent have red hair and 46 percent carry the gene.)
3. Wales has the third highest percentage (nearly 10 percent of the population have red hair.)

According to some geneticists, red hair is representative of the British Isles' most ancient lineages, such as the Picts who were described as large, red-haired people. Some surnames reflect a clan or family's common hereditary coloring, such as the Irish Flanary ("red eyebrow"), Flynn ("bright red"), Flanagan ("red, ruddy"), and Reid ("red-haired, ruddy complexion").

Historically, Greek writers have described certain areas as having large red-headed populations, such as the Udmurt people of the Volga, now known as Russia, and the Tocharians of northwestern China.

People with the rarest hair color and associated characteristics can be found around the world, especially in the cold climates such as the northwestern areas of Europe where redheads appear to have emerged some 50,000 years ago. Redheads the world over share the experience of having a relatively uncommon trait.

Read more at Suite101: All About Red Hair: The History, Geography, Health, and Science of Redheads User Posted Link

They even have red headed natives in Peru and on Easter Island. Thor Heyerdahl thought that was evidence of migration from europe

Posted By: Worzel Scrimmage on March 13th 2011 at 19:41:54

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