Since the initial framing of the research question, the www.turkgenealogy.com website has undertaken sponsorship of the TURK Surname Y-DNA Project with Family Tree DNA. The goal is to bring the science of genetics into union with genealogical studies to try and answer the question of origins for those bearing the TURK surname or one of its identified 428 variations. Sufficient Y-DNA results have now been received to re-frame the research question.

To date the database maintained online at the TURK Genealogy website is the repository for the genealogical records of more than 35,000 individuals worldwide. Y-DNA analyses have now determined that those with this surname are distributed across at least five different haplogroups, i.e. E3b (Northern Africa/Mediterranean), I (Viking), J (Middle East>Pict), R1a (Central Asia>Eastern Europe), and R1b (Western Europe). Such genetic diversity of those with this surname clearly reinforces that the surname has multiple, independent origins.

Etymologists have identified the following origins:

• Derivation from a place name, e.g. from Tόrkwitz in Breslau and Turknwitz in Bohemia.

• Derivation from a natural or manmade feature near which the original surname bearer lived, e.g. zum Turken and zum Durken.

• Derivation from a nickname, a physical characteristic or personal attribute of the original bearer.

• Derivation from a patronymic such as Dietrich from Theodorich.
• Derivation from a shortened title of a fighter against the Turks and given to a returned Crusader.

• Derivation from a descriptive title for a Turk who settled among non-Turks, i.e. the Turk.
• Finally in the twentieth century Turkey required its citizens to assume surnames.  Some assumed a variation of TURK such as TURKOGLU.

The TURK surname is first encountered in the eleventh century. This surname is now found throughout the world, but still those who do not bear this surname usually do a double-take when first encountering it. Regardless of the origin, bearers of this surname share the experience of life with a distinctive name. The TURK Genealogy website, which is devoted to the broadest definition of TURK genealogy, invites papers from around the world on any aspect of the TURK surname.

Perhaps the most romantic account of the origin of the TURK surname is that found in the History and Genealogy of the DeTurk, DeTurck Family, by Eugene Peter DeTurk, and published at Kutztown, Pennsylvania, by the DeTurk Family Association in 1934. This account was a focal point of the original framing of the research question seeking assistance "in identifying in Turkish sources references to the man known as Arnulph le Turque in France at the end of the eleventh, but primarily at the beginning of the twelfth century."

The following is an elaboration of historical construct wed to what must be considered either as legend or fable until such time that a documented connecting genealogical record is produced substantiating it. Currently there is a 400 year genealogical gap between Arnulph le Turque and the referenced 1529 grant at Nismes:

"During the campaigns of the First Crusade at Dorylaeum (1097), Antioch (1098),
Ascalon and Jerusalem (1099) a Seljuk Emir Hayraddin Saladin was captured by French
Crusaders. Count Raimund IV of Toulouse (Raymond of St. Giles) sent the emir to France, where he was knighted and admitted into the nobility as Arnulph le Turque. He bore on his shield as well as on his helmet a lion holding the sun, the sun signifying the deity of the Turks, the lion - valor or strength.

"History and tradition identify Arnulph le Turque as a progenitor of the Turk family, which in France became known first as le Turk and later as Ade Turk@. King Francis I renewed the original grant of arms to Reginald le Turk. The copy of this grant at Nismes in 1529 is still to be found in the archives of Paris. Reginald married Louison de Foix. He was the mayor of Nismes and at his death in 1554 he was survived by two sons. Their names were Victor and Hugo le Turk. The descendants of Victor remained in the province of Languedoc, where the name finally died out. Hugo on the other hand settled at Rochelle in the northwestern part of France, where he became a master mechanic. He married Margat de Privas. He died in 1601 and was survived by four sons: Michael, Harman, Robert and Sancred de Turk. The family name spread itself to other parts of Alsace and Lorraine [ref. European Heraldic and Family Data in the library at Versailles and Paris, VIII, 192, cited in History and Genealogy of the DeTurk, DeTurck Family, Eugene Peter DeTurk, Kutztown, PA: DeTurk Family Association, 1934 {GS film #1321165 item 1}].

"The account of Hayraddin Saladin derives from the referenced 1934 account. Michael Foss in People of the First Crusade (1997) records that Raymond of St. Giles made a treaty with the emir of Tripoli (between Damascus and Allepo) that if he were to defeat the emir of Cairo and take Jerusalem that the emir of Tripoli would be christened. The emir of Tripoli was Jalal al-Mulk of the famous and learned Banu Ammar family. Raymond of St. Giles later established himself over the principality of Tripoli and personally never returned to France.

"Was a christened Jalal al-Mulk supplanted by Raymond of St. Giles and returned in his stead to France? Could he have been one and the same as Hayraddin Saladin? If so, is there a genealogical record of the Banu Ammar family?"

So far, on the surface Y-DNA results do not seem to bear out the Arnulph le Turque "legend". Theoretically, if this account was grounded in fact you would expect to find male direct-line descendants of Arnulph in France and Germany with Y-DNA markers showing origins in either the Middle East, North Africa or Central Asia. While there are those with such markers within the TURK Surname Y-DNA Project they are not genealogically connected to either France or Germany, but to Eastern Europe or the Picts of Scotland. In other words, results to date are predictable based on the genealogical geography of the participants in the project.

A summary of the haplogroups tied to genealogical geography of the participants follows:

• Haplogroup E3b (Northern Africa/Mediterranean) – Ukraine
• Haplogroup I (Viking) – Croatia & France
• Haplogroup J (Middle East>Pict) – Northern Ireland
• Haplogroup R1a (Central Asia>Eastern Europe) – Poland & Turkey
• Haplogroup R1b> (Western Europe) – France & Germany

Those who hold firmly to the story of Arnulph le Turque as their ancestor are encouraged to validate their claim by participating in the TURK Surname Y-DNA Project. It should be accepted that all origin explanations are in fact indeterminate, but the following are advanced as observations:

• Northern Africa/Mediterranean – within the area of former Ottoman Turkish hegemony
• Viking – in France could refer to either a foreigner or a place-name; additionally in Croatia an area of former Ottoman Turkish hegemony
• Middle East>Pict – from the Gaelic for "son of the boar"
• Central Asia>Eastern Europe – in Poland may derive from a Khazar descendant or a place-name (Turek); in Turkey an ethnic derivation
• Western Europe – in France and Germany there are probably multiple origins as described by etymologists

In summary, there is not one research question. There are multiple research questions. The Arnulph question remains on the table. It is acknowledged that additional Y-DNA results will further clarify and refine the issue of origins. At some point we will want to divide into research haplogroups - ideally with a representative from each group concentrating on their results and framing their own research questions.

Dr. Toni Richard Turk
trturk@earthlink.net