Unraveling the Past: A Personal Account of Discovering Familial Roots and the History Behind the Öztürk Surname with iGENEA DNA Test
Family name Öztürk
As a person intrigued by ancestry and family roots, I undertook the iGENEA DNA analysis to understand the origins of my surname, Öztürk. The DNA analysis unveiled an intriguing world of ancient migration routes, resilience of my nomadic ancestors, surprising Jewish connections, and the historical circumstances that led to my existence today.
Having always been an individual with a deep-seated interest in familial lineage and historical roots, I turned to iGENEA for a DNA analysis to explore the origin and history of my family name, Öztürk. With the iGENEA DNA analysis test, I hoped to apprehensively uncover the layers of my heritage, ancestry, and unlock the chambers of information embedded in the genetic blueprint passed down through generations.
The entire process of dispatching my DNA sample was relatively straightforward. After a few weeks of anticipative waiting, I received my personalized results, which unfolded an intriguingly vast and enlightening panorama of my familial roots.
According to the DNA analysis, my family name, Öztürk, was traced back to the ancient nomadic tribes of Central Asia. Originating from the word 'Öz', which translates to 'genuine' in Turkish, coupled with 'Türk', meaning 'strong', my surname remarkably upheld a compelling narrative of my ancestors being genuine, strong individuals, who fearlessly treaded nomadic paths.
Furthermore, my DNA haplogroup was identified as R1b, an anthropological mark signifying the migratory routes of my forebears, sketching a journey that began in Central Asia and stretched across the expanses of the Eurasian steppe, circling around the Black Sea, and finally settling in Anatolia. The information shed light on the possible involvement of my ancestors in the Great Turkish Migration, a historical event that saw Turks moving towards the west, a notion not known to me before.
In addition, the iGENEA test revealed surprising Jewish ancestry. Although I possessed little knowledge of any Jewish roots prior to this test, the reveal prompted a swerve in my perspective and a renewed understanding of my family's religious and cultural history. This newly discovered Jewish connection became a focal point of family discussions, adding an enriched layer to our understanding of who we are.
Despite initially hoping to merely understand the meaning and origin of my surname, the iGENEA DNA test offered me so much more. It expanded my worldview concerning my heritage and lineage, tracing back hundreds of years, and giving me an eyewitness perspective of the migration patterns of my ancestors, the historical events they might've been a part of, and the undeniably diverse cultural mix that forms my existence today.
K. Öztürk