Turk History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Early Origins of the Turk family
The surname Turk was first found in Silesia, where the name came from humble beginnings but acquired a significant reputation for its contribution to the emerging mediaeval society. It later became more prominent as many branches of the same house acquired distant estates and branches, some in foreign countries, always elevating their social status by their great contributions to society.
Early History of the Turk family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Turk research. Another 139 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1654, 1798 and 1846 are included under the topic Early Turk History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Turk Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Turcke, Turck, Turcke, Turk, Turke, Tuerck, Tuercke and many more.
Early Notables of the Turk family
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Turk Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Turk Ranking
In the United States, the name Turk is the 3,238th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 1
Turk migration to the United States +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Turk Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Isaac Turk, who landed in New York, NY in 1708 2
- Robert Turk, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1739 2
- Fredrick Turk, aged 29, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1753 2
Turk Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Martin Turk, who landed in America in 1850 2
- Nik Turk, who arrived in America in 1850 2
- Agnese Turk, who arrived in America in 1850 2
- T Turk, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 2
- Christian Turk, who landed in America in 1855 2
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Turk Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
- John Paul Turk, who arrived in Alabama in 1920 2
Turk migration to New Zealand +
Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:
Turk Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
- George Turk, aged 20, a labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Cartvale" in 1874
Turk migration to West Indies +
The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association.
3Turk Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
- Minister George Turk, (b. 1595), aged 40, British settler travelling aboard the ship "The Dorset" arriving in Barbados in September 1635 4
Contemporary Notables of the name Turk (post 1700) +
- Elizabeth Turk (b. 1961), American artist and sculptor
- Brian D. Turk, American actor
- Gordon Turk, prominent American concert organist
- Godwin Lee Turk (b. 1950), former American football linebacker
- Tommy Turk (1927-1981), American jazz trombonist
- John Turk (b. 1962), American model, bodybuilder, personal trainer, former Chicago police officer, and actor
- Clyde Turk (1907-1995), American jockey and trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses
- Daniel Anthony Turk (1962-2000), American football center
- Matthew Edward Turk (b. 1968), American football punter
- Roy Kenneth Turk (1892-1934), American songwriter
- ... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Historic Events for the Turk family +
- Mr. James Turk, British Ordinary Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 6
Citations +
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
- Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's retrieved 29th September 2021. Retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
- HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation - Roll of Honour. (Retrieved 2014, April 24) . Retrieved from http://www.findingsydney.com/roll.asp
- HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html