Annual Report of the TURK Surname Society 4/2/07
Guild of One-Name Studies - TURK #3130
Nearly 59,000 individuals with this surname or one of its identified variant spellings have been extracted worldwide. Look-ups will be done in the TURK Surname Society database for all who are interested. Improvements of this database are solicited. The TURK Surname Society database is online.
The TURK Surname Society database includes the complete extractions of the following eight variations from every federal US census (1790-1930) and from the US Social Security Death Index: TERK, TIRK, TUERK, TURCK, TUREK, TURK, TURKE and TURKS. The TURK variant has been extracted from all UK censuses (1841-1881). DE TURCK, DE TURK, MacTURK and McTURK have generally been included in the US and UK extractions.
Extractions have also been done in the records of various archives, published genealogies, and online records, such as: Ancestral File, GenForum, International Genealogical Index and Rootsweb. Finally, the database has been the recipient of the records of many individual genealogists.
The TURK Surname Y-DNA Project is affiliated with the genealogical efforts of the TURK Surname Society. Through this affiliation an attempt is being made to align science with the more traditional approaches to understanding heritage. Both efforts focus on all persons with TURK as a root part of a surname, or that have a phonetic or translation equivalent. Within this definition 480 variant spellings of the surname have been identified. Fourteen independent Y-DNA origins have been identified.
Y-DNA Surname Projects are managed through Family Tree DNA. Those wishing to join the TURK Y-DNA Project may do so here.
The TURK Surname Society (GOONS) collects all genealogical references for all individuals within one degree of relationship to the targeted surname and its variant spellings, i.e. includes spouses and children of the targeted surname.
Extraction Focus - While all variants are of interest, the primary focus is on fourteen variations. The TURK Surname Society maintains a website and an active mailing list for all things “Turk” – http://www.turkgenealogy.com
GOONS variations: DeTURK, MacTURK, TURCK, TUREK, TURK, TURKE
Additional extraction variations: DeTURCK, MacTURCK, McTURCK, McTURK, TERK, TIRK, TUERK, TURKS.
Records Extractions - The rounded numbers of extracted records have come from the following sources:
o Ancestral File - 1,000
o Cemetery - 1,000
o Census - 45,000
o IGI - 15,000
o Publications - 13,000
o Researchers - 20,000
o SSDI - 6,000
o Vital Records - 5,000
o Websites - 4,000
TOTAL - 110,000
When comparing the integrated TURK Guild database with other surname non-integrated databases the comparable figure is 110,000. However, considering the greater complexity of integrating a database, the value of such a database to the individual researcher is significantly greater than the simple aggregation of records.
TURK Surname Y-DNA Project - This effort attempts to align the genealogical record with the scientific record. The goal is to be able to direct a Y-DNA participant without a genealogical record to his placement within such records. Currently Y-DNA results have clustered into ten different haplogroups/haplotypes. A by-product of the Guild and the Y-DNA efforts has been the clarification of the multiple, independent origins of the surname.
Surname Frequency Distribution
• Eastern European 3896
• Germany 10,393
• United Kingdom 6027
• United States 33,261
• Other 1938
• Unspecified 3347
TOTAL 58862 (2 Apr 2007)
Y-DNA Hapgroup – E3b This lineage is believed to have evolved in the Middle East. It expanded into the Mediterranean during the Pleistocene Neolithic expansion. It is currently distributed around the Mediterranean, southern Europe, and in north and east Africa.
Surnames:
• TURKEL (Ukraine)
• TURCHI (Italy)
Y-DNA Hapgroup – G This lineage may have originated in India or Pakistan, and has dispersed into central Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Surname:
• TUREK (Poland)
Y-DNA Hapgroup – G2 This lineage (containing the P15 mutation) is found most often in Europe and the Middle East. Moorish Spain is a possible origin.
Surname:
• TURCO (Sicily)
• TURK (Netherlands)
Y-DNA Hapgroup – I This lineage dates to 23,000 years ago or longer. Found distributed at low frequency throughout Europe.
Viking Lineages
Surnames:
• TURK (England)
• TURKUS (Russia)
• TURQUE (France)
Y-DNA Haplogroup – I1c This lineage likely has its roots in northern France. Today it is found most frequently within Viking / Scandinavian populations in Northwest Europe and extends at low frequencies into Central and Eastern Europe.
Surname:
• TURK – Croatia
Y-DNA Hapgroup – J2 This lineage originated in the northern portion of the Fertile Crescent where it later spread throughout central Asia, the Mediterranean, and south into India. As with other populations with Mediterranean ancestry this lineage is found within Jewish populations. Suggests a tie between the Picts and Semitic Lineages
Surnames:
• TURK/MacTURK (Northern Ireland/Scotland)
• TURK (Poland)
• TURKANIS (Ukraine)
Y-DNA Haplogroup – K2 This specific line is found at low frequency in southern Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle East.
Surname:
• ÖZTÜRK (Bulgaria)
Y-DNA Hapgroup – R1 The undifferentiated R1 lineage is quite rare. It is found only at very low frequencies in Europe, Central Asia, and South Asia. This lineage possibly originated in Europe and then migrated east into Asia.
Surname:
• TURKOGLU (Turkey)
Y-DNA Hapgroup – R1a1 This lineage is believed to have originated in the Eurasian Steppes north of the Black & Caspian Seas. It is thought to descend from a population of the Kurgan culture, known for the domestication of the horse (circa 3000 B.C.E.). These people were also believed to be the first speakers of the Indo-European language group. It is found in central & western Asia, India, and in Slavic populations of Europe.
Surname:
• TURK/TÜRK/TÜRCK/TÜRCK (Prussia/Poland)
Y-DNA Hapgroup – R1b1 This lineage is the most common in European populations. It is believed to have expanded throughout Europe as humans re-colonized after the last glacial maximum 10-12 thousand years ago. This lineage is also the haplogroup containing the Atlantic Modal Haplotype.
Surname:
• DERRICK (Germany)
• TURCK (Germany)
• TURCOTTE/TURQ/TURK (France)
• TURK (England)
• TURK/MacGREGOR (Northern Ireland/Scotland)
Toni Richard Turk trturk@earthlink.net
Emeritus AG (Southern States); Ed.D. (BYU)
GOONS Regional Representative (Central US)
TURK Surname Y-DNA Project Public Website: http://www.familytreedna.com/(jbgofeee3rqawr45bsxqpn45)/public/turk-guild/index.aspx