Despite the close association to Franconia, ampelographers believe that the grape likely originated somewhere in a swath of land stretching from Dalmatia through Austria and Hungary. They base this belief on the proliferation of synonyms originating from these areas as well as DNA evidence showing that the old Hungarian wine grape "Kékfrankos" was, in fact, Blaufränkisch, and that Gouais blanc (Weisser Heunisch) and an unknown grape variety are the parent varieties of Blaufränkisch. Despite its French name, it has been speculated that Gouais blanc has Eastern European origins, with the term "Heunisch" thought to derive from the Huns, and Gouais blanc being confirmed as a parent variety of another old Hungarian wine grape Furmint, but ultimately the exact birthplace of both Gouais blanc and Blaufränkisch are unknown.