Listed below are detailed results to date of the Y-DNA tests for males surnamed with one of the variant spellings of TURK. Contact Toni Turk for more information at email trturk@earthlink.net .

TURK-Surname Y-DNA Summary:

Results have been identified within seven separate haplogroups. These are:

Haplogroup E3b (Hg21) (North African/Mediterranean)

                Kit 7525 –TURKEL

Haplogroup G (Middle East>Europe)

            Kit 11510 –TURK

                Kit 21053 - TUREK

Haplogroup I (Hg2) (Viking)

                Kit 4723 – TURK

                Kit 6383 – TURQUE

Haplogroup J2 (Middle East>Pict)

                Kit 5669 – TURK

                Kit 6650 – TURK

Haplogroup R1 – (Europe>Central Asia)

Kit 6878 – EUNALL (TURKOGLU)

Haplogroup R1a (Hg3) – (Central Asia>Eastern Europe)

                Kit 4623 – TURK

Kit 21986 – TEK

Haplogroup R1b (Hg1) – (Central Asia>Western Europe)

                Kit 4844 – TURK

                Kit 6902 – TURCQ

                Kit 10344 – DERRICK

Kit 11655 – TURK

Kit 19618 – TURK

Kit 21757 – TURK

Results Pending

                Kit 7614 – TURCOTT

Kit 14190 – TURK

THE DEFINITIONS IMMEDIATELY PRECEEDING THE RESULTS FOR OUR PARTICIPANTS ARE FROM FAMILY TREE DNA

Haplogroup E3b (Hg21) Individual Results:

• Haplogroup E3b 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.

Results of # 7525 TURKEL – A line from the Ukraine

A 12-marker Y-DNA test analyzed by Family Tree DNA ( www.familytreedna.com ) for TURKEL # 7525 reveals the following – Locus/DYS/Alleles: 1/393/13; 2/390/24; 3/19(394)/14; 4/391/10; 5/385a/16; 6/385b/17; 7/426/11; 8/388/12; 9/439/13; 10/389-1/13; 11/392/11; 12/389-2/31. [No SNP Test – closest  confirmed match at One Step Mutation level].

Family Tree DNA has identified one-step mutations in Moldovia, Russia and the Ukraine [all Ashkenazi]. The Y-STR (Institut fűr Rechtsmedizin Genetisches Forschungslabor - Medizinische Fakultät der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin [Charité] http://www.ystr.org ) databases reveal an exact match in Egypt.

GENEALOGY: TURKEL # 7525’s lineage is from the Ukraine.

CONCLUSIONS: While there may be other explanations for the origin of the TURKEL surname it is clear that its origins are in territories historically subject to Ottoman Turkish hegemony.

Haplogroup G Individual Results:

• Haplogroup G may have originated in India or Pakistan, and has dispersed into central Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. The G2 branch of this lineage (containing the P15 mutation) is found most often in the Europe and the Middle East.

Results of # 11510 TURK – A line from NY

A 25-marker Y-DNA test analyzed by Family Tree DNA ( www.familytreedna.com ) for TURK # 11510 reveals the following – Locus/DYS/Alleles: 1/393/17; 2/390/21; 3/19(394)/17; 4/391/10; 5/385a/13; 6/385b/14; 7/426/10; 8/388/12; 9/439/12; 10/389-1/12; 11/392/11; 12/389-2/30; 13/458/15; 14/459a/9; 15/459b/9; 16/455/11; 17/454/11; 18/447/23; 19/437/16; 20/448/22; 21/449/30; 22/464a/12; 23/464b/13; 24/464c/13; 25/464d/14. There are no matches – even at the 12 marker level – in the Family Tree DNA database. Similarly there are no matches in any of the Y-STR (Institut fűr Rechtsmedizin Genetisches Forschungslabor - Medizinische Fakultät der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin [Charité] http://www.ystr.org ) databases in Europe, Asia or the USA. [SNP Test – M201+].

GENEALOGY: TURK # 11510’s lineage is from NY.

CONCLUSIONS: The location of this line in NY leads to the conjecture that this line ties to the DE TURK line of PA and NY. The DE TURK line claims descent from the 11^th century figure Arnulph Le TURQUE. These Y-DNA results are consistent with such a lineage.

Results of # 21053 TUREK – A line from TN

A 12-marker Y-DNA test analyzed by Family Tree DNA ( www.familytreedna.com ) for TUREK # 21053 reveals the following – Locus/DYS/Alleles: 1/393/14; 2/390/21; 3/19(394)/16; 4/391/10; 5/385a/13; 6/385b/16; 7/426/11; 8/388/12; 9/439/11; 10/389-1/12; 11/392/11; 12/389-2/29; 13/458/17; 14/459a/9; 15/459b/9; 16/455/11; 17/454/11; 18/447/23; 19/437/16; 20/448/22; 21/449/27; 22/464a/12; 23/464b/14; 24/464c/14; 25/464d/14. There are matches only at the 3 and 4 step mutation levels in the Family Tree DNA database. Similarly there are no matches in any of the Y-STR (Institut fűr Rechtsmedizin Genetisches Forschungslabor - Medizinische Fakultät der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin [Charité] http://www.ystr.org ) databases in Europe, Asia or the USA. [The possibility exists that this lineage could be E3a rather than G. An SNP Test is recommended].

GENEALOGY: TUREK # 21053’s lineage is from TN.

CONCLUSIONS: As with the conclusions for TURK 11510 a descent from the 11^th century figure Arnulph Le TURQUE can not be ruled out.

Haplogroup I (Hg2) Individual Results:

• Haplogroups I, I1, and I1a are nearly completely restricted to northwestern Europe. These would most likely have been common within Viking populations. One lineage of this group extends down into central Europe.

Results of # 4723 TURK – A line from Croatia

A 25-marker Y-DNA test analyzed by Family Tree DNA ( www.familytreedna.com ) for TURK # 4723 reveals the following - Locus/DYS/Alleles: 1/393/14; 2/390/23; 3/19(394)/15; 4/391/10; 5/385a/15; 6/385b/15; 7/426/11; 8/388/12; 9 /439/12; 10/389-1/14; 11/392/12; 12/389-2/32, 13/458/15, 14/459a/8, 15/459b/10, 16/455/11, 17/454/11, 18/447/25, 19/437/14, 20/448/20, 21/449/27, 22/464a/11, 23/464b/13, 24/464c/14, 25/464d/15. Hg2.47+ is typically referenced as Viking or Norse [No SNP Test – closest confirmed match at Two Step Mutation level].

These Family Tree DNA findings reveal the following "results to countries" - two step mutations: England (2), Greenland – Inuit/European (1), Ireland (1), Italy (1), Norway (1). There are no closer matches reported in this particular database.

The Y-STR (Institut fűr Rechtsmedizin Genetisches Forschungslabor - Medizinische Fakultät der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin [Charité] http://www.ystr.org ) database reveals nine exact matches in Europe. These matches by geographic distribution are: Belgium (1), Freiberg (1), Galicia (1), Leipzig (1), London (1), Magdeburg (1), Norway West (1), Sweden (2). Two exact matches are found in the United States. These are described as European-American. One is in Louisiana and one is in New York City.

GENEALOGY: TURK # 4723’s father is Croatian. This line traces to a Mike TURK born about 1860 in Croatia.

Results of # 6393 TURQUE - A line from France

A 12-marker Y-DNA test analyzed by Family Tree DNA ( www.familytreedna.com ) for TURQUE # 6393 reveals the following – Locus/DYS/Alleles: 1/393/13; 2/390/22; 3/19(394)/15; 4/391/10; 5/385a/13; 6/385b/15; 7/426/11; 8/388/14; 9/439/12; 10/389-1/12; 11/392/11; 12/389-2/28 [No SNP Test – closest  confirmed match at One Step Mutation level].

The Family Tree DNA findings for # 6393 reveal the following "results to countries" - exact matches: Unknown Origin (1); one-step mutations: England (4), France (1), Ireland (1), Norway (1), Sweden (1); and two-step mutations: Denmark (3), England (45), Finland (1), France (2), Germany (4), Hungary (2), Ireland (15), Norway (2), Scotland (3), Sweden (2), Sweden Ashkenazi (1), United States – Native American (2). The following are the Y-STR matches (Institut fűr Rechtsmedizin Genetisches Forschungslabor - Medizinische Fakultät der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin [Charité] http://www.ystr.org ) - Bulgaria/Romania (1), Denmark (1), Leipzig (1), Lombardy (1), Mainz (1), Norway-East (1), Pomerania (1), Sweden (1), Vienna (1).

GENEALOGY: TURQUE # 6393’s ancestry traces to a Martin TURCK, who was born in 1778 in Boeschope (Nord), France, on the Belgian border.

CONCLUSIONS: These data validate the widespread dispersal of "Viking" Y-DNA. Plotting the populations with greater than 40% concentrations suggests a population flow to and from Scandinavia along the river corridors of Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean. The southern portions of that range were encompassed within the Ottoman Empire. In this particular case the name TURK appears within a population group with ties to Scandinavia, as well as areas of Turkic hegemony. TURK as a surname for those from the Balkans could mean Turkic. For those from the Normandy region it probably has a different derivation.

Haplogroup J2 Individual Results:

·        Haplogroup J2 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. The Cohen modal lineage is found in Haplogroup J2.

Results of # 5669 TURK - A line from Northern Ireland

A 12-marker Y-DNA test analyzed by Family Tree DNA ( www.familytreedna.com ) for TURK # 5669 reveals the following – Locus/DYS/Alleles: 1/393/11; 2/390/23; 3/19(394)/14; 4/391/10; 5/385a/16; 6/385b/19; 7/426/11; 8/388/16; 9/439/11; 10/389-1/13; 11/392/11; 12/389-2/30 [SNP - M172+ 12f2.1+].

Results of # 6650 TURK – A line from Northern Ireland

A 25-marker Y-DNA test analyzed by Family Tree DNA ( www.familytreedna.com ) for TURK # 6650 reveals the following – Locus/DYS/Alleles: 1/393/11; 2/390/23; 3/19(394)/14; 4/391/10; 5/385a/15; 6/385b/19; 7/426/11; 8/388/16; 9/439/11; 10/389-1/13; 11/392/11; 12/389-2/30; 13/458/15; 14/459a/9; 15/459b/9; 16/455/11; 17/454/11; 18/447/27; 18/437/15; 20/448/20; 21/449/30; 22/464a/14; 23/464b/15; 24/464c/16; 25/464d/16 [No SNP Test – closest  confirmed match at Two Step Mutation level].

The Family Tree DNA findings for 5669 & 6650 reveal that they are one-step mutations to one another. Additionally, 6650 has a two-step mutation in India (1). This is a three-step mutation for 5669. There are no Y-STR matches (Institut fűr Rechtsmedizin Genetisches Forschungslabor - Medizinische Fakultät der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin [Charité] http://www.ystr.org ).

GENEALOGY: Both TURK # 5669 & TURK # 6650’s lineages trace to Northern Ireland. The earliest known progenitor of their line is a Robert TURK, born about 1690 in Dunager, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. He migrated through Boston about 1718 and had settled in Augusta Co., VA, by 1739, where he died 17 Nov 1772. Research theories of the Pictish Nation http://members.tripod.com/~Halfmoon/ suggest that this lineage could descend from the Scottish MacTURKs who are considered to have Pictish roots, which are sometimes speculated to go back to the Scythians and Central Asia (Middle East).

CONCLUSIONS: The two individuals in Haplogroup J2 appear to have deep Semitic origins in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent, which may predate the formation of the Jewish religion. In all probability the progenitors of this line left the regions of the Middle East during a pre-historic era in a timeframe preceding the advent of Turkic elements. The origins of the MacTURK surname are indeterminate. The late Iain Kerr cited two derivations, which he ranked in order of likelihood http://home.clara.net/iainkerr/kerr/McTurk.htm :

• MacTurc from the Scots Gaelic “mac torc” (or MacTuirc from the Irish Gaelic, “mac toirc”), both translated as “son of the boar”. [The English name Turkington is thought to originate from the MacTuircs of County Armagh.]; or

• McTurk or mac toirc, possibly a Gaelicisation of an English form containing the element “Turk” whose original meaning is lost.

Haplogroup R1 Individual Results:

·        Haplogroup R1 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. The undifferentiated R1 lineage is quite rare.

Results of # 6878 EUNALL (TURKOGLU) – A line from Turkey

A 25-marker Y-DNA test analyzed by Family Tree DNA ( www.familytreedna.com ) for EUNALL (TURKOGLU) # 6878 reveals the following – Locus/DYS/Alleles: 1/393/13; 2/390/23; 3/19(394)/15; 4/391/11; 5/385a/12; 6/385b/12; 7/426/12; 8/388/12; 9/439/12; 10/389-1/13; 11/392/13; 12/389-2/32; 13/458/16; 14/459a/9; 15/459b/9; 16/455/11; 17/454/12; 18/447/26; 19/437/15; 20/448/18; 21/449/30; 22/464a/12; 23/464b/12; 24/464c/16; 25/464d/17 [SNP Test – M173+ SRY10831.2+ P25-].

Family Tree DNA matches identify 4 step mutations in France and Ireland [R1b]. There are no Y-STR (Institut fűr Rechtsmedizin Genetisches Forschungslabor - Medizinische Fakultät der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin [Charité] http://www.ystr.org ) database matches.

GENEALOGY: EUNALL (TURKOGLU) # 6878’s lineage is Turkish.

CONCLUSIONS: An immediate tie to the Turkic world is an established fact.

Haplogroup R1a (Hg3) Individual Results:

• Haplogroup R1a is believed to have originated in the Eurasian Steppes north of the Black and Caspian Seas. This lineage is believed to have originated in a population of the Kurgan culture, known for the domestication of the horse (approximately 3000 B.C.E.). These people were also believed to be the first speakers of the Indo-European language group. This lineage is currently found in central and western Asia, India, and in Slavic populations of Eastern Europe.

Results of # 4623 TURK – A line from Poland

A 37-marker Y-DNA test analyzed by Family Tree DNA ( www.familytreedna.com ) for TURK [# 4623] reveals the following - Locus/DYS/Alleles: 1/393/13; 2/390/25; 3/19(394)/17; 4/391/10; 5/385a/10; 6/385b/14; 7/426/12; 8/388/12; 9 /439/10; 10/389-1/13; 11/392/11; 12/389-2/30; 13/458/16; 14/459a/9; 15/459b/10; 16/455/11; 17/454/11; 18/447/23; 19/437/14; 20/448/20; 21/449/31; 22/464a/12; 23/464b/15; 24/464c/15; 25/464d/16; 26/460/11; 27/GATA H4/11; 28/YCAIIa/19; 29/YCAIIb/23; 30/456/15; 31/607/16; 32/576/17; 33/570/17; 34/CDYa/37; 35/CDYb/39; 36/442/13; 37/438/11. [SNP Test - SRY10831.2-].

Family Tree DNA findings for reveal the following "results to countries" - exact matches: Germany (1), Poland (5) [including 1 from Silesia], Romania (2) and Slovakia (1); one step mutations: Germany (2), Hungary (4), India (1), Poland (11), Romania (1) and Ashkenazi (1); two step mutations (37) - essentially Ashkenazi (17) [including 6 Levite]. The countries stated to have Ashkenazi connections are: Belarus (2) [1 Levite], Germany (1), Hungary (2), Lithuania (2) [Levite], Poland (4) [including Lodje (1), Lukow (1), Skala-Levite (1), Romania (1), Russia (1) [Levite], Switzerland (1) and the Ukraine (1) [Levite]. Two Ashkenazim are not specific to a given country. The following are not specific to Ashkenazi: Austria (1), Croatia (1), England (1), France (1), Germany (4), Hungary (1), Lithuania (1), Mongolia (1), Poland (3), Romania (2), Russia (3) [including 1 Native Siberian], Slovakia (2), and Uzbekistan (1). In all cases origins are self-defined. Those not specific to Ashkenazi may well be Ashkenazi. Similarly, those not listed as Levite may still be so. A review of the literature indicates a distinction between the Cohen Modal Haplotype and Levite priesthood lineage. The latter is "a different, less-well defined patrilineal lineage".

The Y-STR (Institut fűr Rechtsmedizin Genetisches Forschungslabor - Medizinische Fakultät der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin [Charité] http://www.ystr.org ) databases reveal an exact match in Turkey. Ninety-seven exact matches are found in Europe. Ninety percent of these are from Eastern Europe -- predominately Poland (57%). These matches by geographic distribution are: Berlin (12-4), Budapest (3), Bydgoszcz (3), Cologne (1-1), Freiberg (2-2), Krakow (7), Latvia (1), Leipzig (4-3), Lithuania (2-2), Lombardy (1), Magdeburg (1), Munich (3), Northern Poland (23), Östergötland/Jönköping Sweden (1), Pomerania (2-2), Rostock (2-2), Stuttgart (2), Ukraine (4), Warsaw (13), Westphalia (1-1), Wroclaw (9). Two exact matches are found in the United States. These are described as European-American. One is in Louisiana and one is in New York City.

The “Haplogroups in YSTR.org Database” reveals a direct match within YCC Haplogroup R1a (Hg3) at Haplotype #8. The notation is made that this is one of the two most common haplotypes found in Poland http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~dgarvey/DNA/RelGen/YSTR.htm . In this particular instance the branch of the R1a tree appears to be Slavic.

In a review of these results, Bennett Greenspan of Family Tree DNA makes the following observation: "The DNA for 4623 appears to be European, but I can’t easily determine anything specific. I don’t think it’s Jewish in origin, at least not Semitic. The Levites that are 2 steps away are not Semitic in Origin, but may be YAP+ which is the SNP group that is second most common among Jews and very common in Africa." He further comments, "… the Khazars made a <10% contribution to the Eastern European Ashkenazi gene pool, probably less."

THE KHAZARIAN QUESTION: The Khazars were a Turkic people, that originated in Central Asia and wrote in a runic script common to Mongolia. Assistant Professor Dr. Muallâ Uydu Yűcel (Istanbul University) notes the Ashina was one of the clans of the Gőktűrks. (“The Khazar Empire”, volume 1, The Turks, Yení Türkiye, 2002). By the 5th century they had migrated to the steppes of what is today southern Russia and eastern Ukraine. The royalty of the Khazar kingdom claimed descent from the Ashina Turkic dynasty. Early Turk tribes were quite diverse, although it is believed that reddish hair was predominate among them prior to the Mongol conquests.

Ashkenazi is a medieval Hebrew word for Germany. Ashkenaz is placed as a grandson of Noah through Gomer. According to the Torah, a relative of Ashkenaz was Togarmah - the progenitor of the Turkic peoples. Khazarian accounts claim that their descent is through Kozar, the seventh son of Togarmah - the grandson of Noah. Jewish tradition placed the Khazarians in the lost tribe of Simeon, which was closely associated with Levi. The Khazars were basically a Turkic people. Turkic legend traces their origins to a mountain north of the Turfan Depression in eastern Turkestan, which is now in northwest China. This legend gives the maternal ancestor as a mythical she-wolf, who gave birth to ten sons. The father was a lone surviving human male of the original Turks. One of the ten sons was A-shih-na, who established a tribe that adopted the name Turk. This is the origin of the wolf as a Turk totem.

One of the earliest historical references to the Khazars is from 555. They were recorded as a nomadic tribe north of the Caucasus Mountains. This is the same region where the Oghur Turkic tribes settled after crossing the Volga and entering Europe around 463. The Oghurs had come from western Siberia and central Asia. The Oghurs intermixed with resident Akatzirs and Huns.

Khazaria was a Turkic kingdom located in Eastern Europe near the Caspian Sea. It flourished as an independent state from about 650 to 1016. Its last power base was the Crimean peninsula. In the ninth century, the Khazarian royalty and nobility, as well as a significant portion of the Khazarian Turkic population embraced the Jewish religion. The downfall of the Khazar kingdom caused many of the Jewish Khazars to flee westward. The possibility exists that some bearing the TURK surname have origins that trace to these refugee Jews from Khazaria.

David Keys in Catastrophe reminds us that "It is possible that the Jewish presence in Khazaria even predated the Khazar state and consisted of Crimean Jews and refugees from Constantinople’s anti-Semitic pogroms of the 630s." (pp. 94-95) He further notes that about 800 the Khazar king Obadiah brought together "a multitude of Israel’s sages" to improve Talmudic knowledge within the kingdom. These Talmudic experts were brought in "almost certainly to settle as their theological interpretation of the Scriptures and the Talmud would have been a long-term and on-going activity" (p. 96). Given the geometric progression of the ancestral record, the interval of 48 generations guarantees the far-reaching impact of these Jewish residents within the Khazarian kingdom.

Kevin Brook, author of The Jews of Khazaria, states that "about 30 percent of Ashkenazic Levites have paternal roots stemming from outside of the Middle East which seem not to be shared by general Ashkenazim; these are also found among Sorbs but could also come from other parts of Eastern Europe and western Asia ... David Keys in his book CATASTROPHE suggests they could be Khazar remnants - i.e. descendants of Khazar shamanist priests who adopted the Levite titles artificially upon converting to Judaism."

The answers to the Khazarian riddle are held within the known skeletons of Khazars and North Caucasian Turks. DNA as an archeological tool should be able to clarify their contribution to the Ashkenazi gene pool.

TURK is a very common surname among Ashkenazi Jews. This name first appeared in Germany in the 16^th century. "A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People", editor Eli Barnavi, Schocken Books, NY: 1992, is the source of the following excerpts:

1. Legends trace the origins of Polish Jewry to a Turkic people – the Khazars; however, there is no historical evidence to corroborate such theories.
2. Information about Jewish life in Eastern Europe before the second half of the 13^th century is scant and fragmentary.
3. Large waves of immigrants began arriving in Eastern Europe from Western Europe in the 13^th century.
4. The mass immigration of Ashkenazi Jews from Germany into Poland occurred in the 16^th century.
5. The social and cultural profile of the east European community was molded by Ashkenazi Jews who came to Poland in numbers that surpassed those who arrived earlier from other places.
6. In 1574 the Jewish world witnessed an upsurge of messianic fervor.
7. In 1759 Jacob Frank’s disciples converted from Judaism to Christianity. The nucleus of this following was in Poland.

GENEALOGY: Martin TÜRK [born about 1765], father of Friedrich Wilhelm TÜRCK [born 7 Apr 1791 in Zanzin, Beyersdorf, Brandenburg, Preussen], is the earliest known TURK ancestor in this line who is not speculative. The earliest known religious affiliation was Evangelical Lutheran. Zanzin was in the Preussen Neumark near Landsberg an der Warthe. Today this region is known as Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland. The TURK ancestor in this line is thought to have immigrated to the USA through New York City on 19 Apr 1887. Y-DNA results have established that the TURK paternal line is Polish and Slavic.  It is possible this line derives from the Sorbs. This line, however, became a part of the border population that could be described as Germanized Poles. Whether or not the referenced ancestors were aware of their Polish origins is unknown.

CONCLUSIONS: There are several possible origins of this surname:

• TURK could come from the Hebrew word, "Ter' Oork," meaning "blessed of the hand of the Lord."
• It could come from the Khazar Turkic word, "from the Turkic lands." In the latter case, "Turk" derives from the Mongolian for "strong" or "robust."
• Those within the “Haplogroup R1a” TURK line are not of Semitic origin in the male line. They may or may not be descendants of refugee Khazarian Jews. However, the emergence of TURK as a surname in the Ashkenazi realm correlates with the mass immigration of Ashkenazim into Poland in the 16^th century. It raises the speculation that "indigenous" Polish Jews, who were encountered by Ashkenazim, whose culture and ethnic profiles differed from the newcomers, could have merited a group appellation.  Was TURK as a surname selected to reflect the legend of their origins? In the 15^th and 16^th centuries and beyond, many Ashkenazim in Poland, including probably some named TURK, converted to Christianity. This speculation, however, has not been encountered in the literature.
• According to http://www.polishroots.org/surnames/surnames_13.htm 13,066 Polish citizens were surnamed TUREK in 1990. It is conceivable that this surname derives from the town of Turek located in the Łódź region http://ngw.nl/int/pol/t/turek.htm . Turek is located 140 miles east of Gorzów Wielkopolski. It is entirely possible that TURK is a derivation of TUREK rather than the reverse being the case. The community of Turek had a significant Jewish population. Perhaps both Jewish and non-Jewish TURKs derive their surname from this place name. The place name comes from the word “Tur” (bull) and the bull appears in the arms of the town. The bull already appeared on the seals of the city in the 14^th century. It should be noted that the 2001 Polish American Journal states “Polish Jewish surnames frequently denoted a country, region or city. Example Turech, Turek …” http://www.polamjournal.com/Library/Did_You_Know_/body_did_you_know_.html .  Alexander Beider in A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Kingdom of Poland (1996) cites a variety of origins for the many variant spellings of the TURK surname; however, TURK itself is generally viewed as a variant of TUREK and TUREK derives from the village of Turek cited above.  Turek is also the name of the district in which the town of Turek is located. Other localities within the district are Dobra, Pęczniew, and Uniejów. Turek district fell within the Kalisz guberniya. This region fell to Prussia in the second partion of Poland in 1793. It should be noted that Turek is also Polish for Turk.

While there is no historical evidence tying the Khazars into Polish Jewry, there is acceptance that something less than 10% of Eastern European Ashkenazim have a Khazarian ancestry. The R1a haplogroup, which is associated with 54-60% of Eastern Europeans is possibly the consequence of genetic influences from Central Asia. These could be the same influences that resulted in 12.7% of Ashkenazi Jews belonging to this same haplogroup. Currently it is accepted that TURK probably derives from TUREK, which stems from the district and town by that same name. At present there is insufficient Y-DNA evidence to conclude that Christian and Jewish TURKs share a common ancestor. It is likely they at least share a common geographic origin. In this particular case TURK as a surname does not appear to have its origins in the Turkic world.

Results of # 21986 TEK – A line from Greece

A 25-marker Y-DNA test analyzed by Family Tree DNA ( www.familytreedna.com ) for TURK [# 4623] reveals the following - Locus/DYS/Alleles: 1/393/13; 2/390/25; 3/19(394)/16; 4/391/11; 5/385a/11; 6/385b/14; 7/426/12; 8/388/12; 9 /439/10; 10/389-1/14; 11/392/11; 12/389-2/32; 13/458/15; 14/459a/9; 15/459b/10; 16/455/11; 17/454/11; 18/447/24; 19/437/14; 20/448/20; 21/449/32; 22/464a/13; 23/464b/14; 24/464c/15; 25/464d/16. [No SNP Test – but a confirmed exact match].

Family Tree DNA findings for reveal the following "results to countries" - exact matches: India (1), Mongolia (1),  Poland (1), Russia (Altai – Siberian) (19), Russia (Kirghiz) (1); one step mutations: China (ethnic minority) (1), Germany (1), Iceland (1), India (4), Ireland (1), Kyrgystan ( 1), Mongolia (2), Norway (1), Russia (1), Russia (Altai – Siberian) (12), Slovakia (3), Syria (Arab) (1), Uzbekistan (1).

The Y-STR (Institut fűr Rechtsmedizin Genetisches Forschungslabor - Medizinische Fakultät der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin [Charité] http://www.yhrd.org ) database reveals exact matches: Slovenia (Ljubljana) (2), Romania (Transylvania) (1), Turkey (Central Anatolia) (1).

GENEALOGY: TEK # 21986’s lineage is from Langaza, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Note: In the Ottoman time they used the father's first name instead of the "last name". So they didn't have a last name. When Greece and Turkey exchanged two million of their people in early 1920s, my father's family was one these exchanged families. (My dad was born in Turkey but his father and grandfather with extended families were the ones that migrated to Turkey.) They were forced to move from Langaza, Greece to Izmir, Turkey. In 1934 in the new Turkish Republic a new law called "Last Name" was established. At that time the government gave them my father's family the "Tek" last name. But before that they had simply been known as the "Sait oglu Kamber".  Sait is my father's grandfather's name. And my father's father name is Kamber. So it looks like "Sait's son Kamber". Also they had a nick name: "Ahcilar" (Cooks).

Haplogroup R1b (Hg1) Individual Results:

• Haplogroup R1b is the most common haplogroup 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 (HG1).

Results of # 4844 TURK – A line from France

A 25-marker Y-DNA test analyzed by Family Tree DNA ( www.familytreedna.com ) for TURK # 4844 reveals the following – Locus/DYS/Alleles: 1/393/13; 2/390/25; 3/19(394)/14; 4/391/11; 5/385a/11; 6/385b/14; 7/426/12; 8/388/12; 9/439/14; 10/389-1/14; 11/392/13; 12/389-2/30; 13/458/17; 14/459a/9; 15/459b/10; 16/455/11; 17/454/11; 18/447/25; 19/437/15; 20/448/19; 21/449/29; 22/464a/15; 23/464b/15; 24/464c/17; 25/464d/18. These Y-DNA results fall within the Atlantic Modal Haplotype (AMH) 1.15+ [No SNP Test – closest  confirmed match at One Step Mutation level].

Family Tree DNA findings reveal the following "results to countries" –  exact match: Great Britain (1); one step mutations: England (1), France (1), Germany (2), Ireland (1); two step mutations: England (12); France (3); Germany (24); Great Britain (1), Hungary (1); Ireland (4); Italy (1); Italy – Sardinia (1); Polynesia – European (1), Scotland (5); Shetland (1); Spain – Sephardi (1); United Kingdom (2). There are no closer matches reported in this particular database.

The Y-STR (Institut fűr Rechtsmedizin Genetisches Forschungslabor - Medizinische Fakultät der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin [Charité] http://www.ystr.org ) database reveals thirteen exact matches in its European Database. These matches by geographic distribution are: Argentina Europeans (2), Berlin (1), Cantabria (1), Columbia Antioquia (1), Leipzig (1), Lombardy (1), London (2), Sicily (1), Southern Ireland (2), Tuscany (1). Two exact matches are found in the United States. These are described as European-Hispanic. Both are in New York City.

GENEALOGY: TURK # 4844’s lineage is French. This line traces to a Nicolas LE TURC born about 1735 in the Moselle region of France.

Results of # 6902 TURCQ – A line from France

A 12-marker Y-DNA test analyzed by Family Tree DNA ( www.familytreedna.com ) for TURCQ # 6902 reveals the following – Locus/DYS/Alleles: 1/393/13; 2/390/24; 3/19(394)/14; 4/391/11; 5/385a/11; 6/385b/14; 7/426/12; 8/388/12; 9/439/11; 10/389-1/13; 11/392/13; 12/389-2/29. These Y-DNA results fall within the Atlantic Modal Haplotype (AMH) [No SNP Test – but a confirmed exact match].

Family Tree DNA findings reveal the following "results to countries" – exact matches: England (17); France (1); Iceland (1); Ireland (8); Norway (1); Portugal (1); Scotland (3); Shetland (1); Spain (2); Ukraine – Ashkenazi (1); United Kingdom (2); United States (1);  one step mutations: Austria (3); Belgium (1); British Isles (2); Denmark (1); Denmark – German (1); England (102); England – Anglo-Celt (1); Finland (1); France (8); Germany (20); Great Britain (7); Holland (9); Hungary (2); Iceland (10); Ireland (31); Italy (1); Italy – Apulia (1); Latvia (1); Netherlands (11); Norway (4); Philippines – European (1); Poland (1); Poland – Ashkenazi (1); Poland – Ashkenazi – Yanow (1), Polynesia – European (4); Portugal (2); Prussia (1); Scotland (38); Shetland (6); Spain (6); Spain – Basque (1); Spain – Sephardi (1); Ukraine – Ashkenazi (2); United Kingdom (11); Unknown – Ashkenazi (1); Wales (1).

The Y-STR (Institut fűr Rechtsmedizin Genetisches Forschungslabor - Medizinische Fakultät der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin [Charité] http://www.ystr.org ) database reveals 364 exact matches in its European Database. These matches by geographic distribution are: Albania (1); Andalucia (9); Argentina – European (1); Asturias (5); Baranya Romani (1); Barcelona (18); Belgium (6); Berlin (13); Bern (4); Budapest (1); Bulgaria (1); Bydgoszcz (1); Cantabria (6); Central-East Spain (7); Central Portugal (13); Cologne (2); Colombia Antioquia (19); Colombia Bogota (5); Denmark (2); Düsseldorf (6); Emilia Romagna (5); Estonia (1); Finland (1); Freiburg (20); Friesland (1); Galicia (6); Groningen (2); Hamburg (2); Holland (2); Krakow (1); Latium (4); Lausanne (5); Leipzig (13); Liguria (2); Limburg (3); Ljubljana (1); Lombardy (13); London (12); Madeira (7); Magdeburg (7); Mainz (1); Marche (4); Munich (8); Northern Poland (5); Northern Portugal (13); Norway East (4); Norway North (2); Norway Oslo (1); Paris (1); Pomerania (1); Rostock (3); Sao Paulo (7); Sicily (4); Southern Ireland (11); Southern Portugal (3); Strasbourg (3); Stuttgart (3); Sweden (12); Tuscany (6); Tyrol (6); Umbria (2); Valencia (5); Warsaw (3); Westphalia (11); Zaragoza (10); Zeeland (6). One exact match is found in the Asia database in Turkey.

TURK GENEALOGY: TURCQ # 6902’s lineage is French.

Results of # 10344 DERRICK – A line from Germany

A 25-marker Y-DNA test analyzed by Family Tree DNA ( www.familytreedna.com ) for DERRICK # 10344 reveals the following – Locus/DYS/Alleles: 1/393/12; 2/390/24; 3/19(394)/14; 4/391/11; 5/385a/11; 6/385b/14; 7/426/12; 8/388/12; 9/439/12; 10/389-1/14; 11/392/13; 12/389-2/30; 13/458/16; 14/459a/9; 15/459b/9; 16/455/11; 17/454/11; 18/447/25; 19/437/15; 20/448/19; 21/449/29; 22/464a/15; 23/464b/15; 24/464c/16; 25/464d/17 [No SNP Test – closest  confirmed match at One Step Mutation level].

Family Tree Y-DNA findings reveal the following "results to countries" –  one step mutations: China (Uygur – Central Asia) (1), France (1), Germany (1), Ireland (1), Polynesia (European admixture) (1), Sweden (1); two step mutations: Austria (1), China (Muslim – Central Asia) (1), Denmark (1), England (Anglo-Celt / Isle of Man) (3), France (1), Hungary (1), Iceland (1), Indonesia (European admixture) (1), Ireland (1), Italy (Apulia / Sardinia) (3), Norway (1), Polynesia (European admixture) (2), Portugal (1), Romania (1), Russia (Native Siberian) (1), Shetland (1), Spain (Andalusia / Basque) (2), Uzbekistan (1).

The Y-STR (Institut fűr Rechtsmedizin Genetisches Forschungslabor - Medizinische Fakultät der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin [Charité] http://www.ystr.org ) database reveals 4 exact matches in its European Database. These matches by geographic distribution are: Argentina – European (1); Central – East Spain (1); Columbia Antioquia (1); Pomerania (1). Two exact matches are found in the US database: New York City – European (1) and Texas – European (1).

GENEALOGY: DERRICK # 10344’s lineage is German.

Results of # 11655 & 21757 TURK – A line from Northern Ireland

A 12-marker Y-DNA test analyzed by Family Tree DNA ( www.familytreedna.com ) for TURK  # 11655 reveals the following – Locus/DYS/Alleles: 1/393/13; 2/390/24; 3/19(394)/14; 4/391/10; 5/385a/11; 6/385b/14; 7/426/12; 8/388/12; 9/439/11; 10/389-1/13; 11/392/13; 12/389-2/30. These Y-DNA results fall within the Atlantic Modal Haplotype (AMH) [SNP Test – P25+].

GENEALOGY: TURK # 11655 traces his TURK lineage to James TURK, born about 1719 in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. TURK # 21757 traces his TURK lineage to William TURK, born about 1765 in Northern Ireland

Results of # 19618 TURK – A line from England

A 12-marker Y-DNA test analyzed by Family Tree DNA ( www.familytreedna.com ) for TURK  # 19618 reveals the following – Locus/DYS/Alleles: 1/393/13; 2/390/24; 3/19(394)/15; 4/391/10; 5/385a/11; 6/385b/14; 7/426/12; 8/388/12; 9/439/13; 10/389-1/13; 11/392/13; 12/389-2/31. [No SNP Test – closest  confirmed match at One Step Mutation level].

The Y-STR (Institut fűr Rechtsmedizin Genetisches Forschungslabor - Medizinische Fakultät der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin [Charité] http://www.ystr.org ) database reveals 8 exact matches in its European Database. These matches by geographic distribution are: Argentina – European (1); Central Portugal (2); London (2); Munich (1); Northern Portugal (1); Westphalia (1). Two exact matches are found in the US database: New York City – European (1) and Texas – European (1). One exact match is found in the US database: Louisiana Hispanic.

Family Tree Y-DNA findings reveal the following "results to countries" –  one step mutations: England (3); two step mutations: Denmark (1), England (13), Germany (2), Ireland (4), Italy (1), Scotland (6), United Kingdom (1).

GENEALOGY: TURK # 19618 traces his TURK lineage to Robert Henry TURK, born 25 Oct 1853 in Croydon, Surrey, England.

CONCLUSIONS: Science indicates a western European origin for Haplogroup R1b. It is probable that those within this haplogroup have non-Turkic origins.