Genetic research shows a strong similarity between the Y chromosome haplotypes of Irish men with Goidelic surnames, and males from the area of Spain and Portugal, especially Galicia, Asturias, and Cantabria (and perhaps former Basque country). The incidence of the R1b-M269 haplogroup is 70% or more in Ireland, Cumbria and Cornwall in England, the Northern region in Portugal (Douro Litoral, Minho and Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro), northern Spain (Galicia, Asturias, León, Cantabria and Basque Country), western France (Gascony, Saintonge, Poitou, and Brittany), and Wales and Scotland in Britain. R1b-M269's incidence declines gradually with distance from these areas but it is still common across the central areas of Europe. R1b-M269 is the most frequent haplogroup in Germany and in the Low Countries, and is common in southern Scandinavia and in northern and central Italy.