Although geese and ducks were more likely the main dish at the 1621 feast weve come to know as the first Thanksgiving, its the turkey that has long graced Americans Thanksgiving tables (however unwillingly). The choice is historically a utilitarian one, and the association is so strong that “Turkey Day” has been an informal name for the holiday since at least 1863—the year President Lincoln made the holiday official.
Rumor has it Ben Franklin even wanted it to be the national bird. But its name—turkey—calls to mind ancient and exotic locales—more Anatolia, Mount Ararat, or Istanbul than Jamestown, Plymouth Rock, or New Amsterdam. Whats such a New World bird doing with such an Old World name?
The English gave the Turks credit for any number of new imports in the 16th century. Even pumpkins were known as “Turkish cucumbers.”
As Thanksgiving approaches, most Americans look forward to eating turkey. But have you ever wondered how the turkey and Turkey the country got their names? It’s actually an interesting story of mistaken identity.
The Evolution of the Turkey Bird
Turkeys are native to North America and evolved here over 20 million years ago from a common ancestor shared with grouse, pheasants, and other fowl. The earliest turkeys emerged during the Miocene epoch and there were at least six different species that are now extinct. The wild turkey that exists today evolved around 2 million years ago.
Indigenous peoples in Mexico domesticated the wild turkey around 2000 years ago. These domesticated turkeys are the direct ancestor of the bird we eat for Thanksgiving dinner today.
How the Turkey Got Its Name
The turkey is named after the country Turkey, but not because the bird is from there! In fact, the bird is native only to North America.
Here’s what happened:
- When Europeans first encountered turkeys in America in the 1500s, they thought the birds resembled African guinea fowl.
- Since African guinea fowl were imported to Europe through Turkey (the country), they were nicknamed turkey-cocks and turkey-hens.
- When the settlers sent American turkeys back to Europe, they used this same name since the birds looked similar.
- This name then stuck and the American bird became known as the turkey.
So the country Turkey was named first, and then the American bird took its name from the older English nickname for the guinea fowl which came from Turkey.
Turkey in Other Languages
Despite our use of the name turkey, speakers of other languages came up with very different names for this bird:
- In French it is called dinde, shortened from the original coq d’Inde meaning “rooster of India.”
- In Portuguese, it is peru, literally meaning “Peru bird.”
- In Hebrew it is tarnegol hodu, or “Indian chicken.”
- In Arabic, it is dik rumi, meaning “Roman rooster.”
This shows that when Europeans first encountered turkeys, they mistakenly thought the birds came from India, Peru, or even Rome! Of course, the Turks didn’t call it turkey either – in Turkish the bird is called hindi, meaning “Indian.”
The Turkey’s Popularity in England
While the English first learned of the turkey from Spain and Portugal, it quickly became popular in England too:
- By 1575, English were enjoying roast turkey for Christmas dinner.
- Shakespeare mentioned roast turkey in his play Henry IV in 1597.
- Charles Dickens wrote about roast turkey in 1843’s A Christmas Carol.
So when Thanksgiving became a national holiday in 1863, the tradition of eating roast turkey was already well established in New England from the English custom. And Americans have been gobbling it up ever since!
Why Turkeys Are Named After Turkey
When the Spanish arrived in Mexico in the 16th century they encountered the already-domesticated common turkey, Meleagris gallopavo. They apparently liked the bird; turkeys were among the plunder they took back to Spain around 1519. By 1541, the birds had arrived in England. In those days the Turkish Ottoman Empire was at its peak, and the English had Turkey (with a capital T) on their mind. The English gave the Turks credit for any number of new imports: maize was Turkish wheat, and pumpkins were Turkish cucumbers—though both were actually New World plants. To paraphrase Cindy Ott in her 2012 book Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon, if it was exotic, chances are it got a Turkish appellation. So the new bird was soon being called a turkey-cock, a name eventually shortened to turkey.
THE HISTORY OF TURKEY in 10 minutes
FAQ
What was Turkey before it was Turkey?
Where are turkeys originally from?
What was the original name of Turkey?
What is the oldest Turkey in the world?
Where did turkeys come from?
1517, a roasted peacock on the table at a medieval banquet. Original Publication: From a woodcut of ‘Virgile’. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Britain probably obtained its first turkeys from the Spanish, who had brought the birds back to Europe after encountering them in the Aztec empire.
Who first described a wild turkey?
Learn turkey trivia and everything you ever wanted to know about the wild turkey. The first description of the turkey was written by Oviedo in 1525 in his General and Natural History of the Indies. Spanish explorers took some of those domesticated turkeys back to Europe around 1519.
When did turkeys become a popular food?
They spread rapidly among European farmers and were popular fare among the elites. In 1541, Archbishop Cranmer ordered that large fowl such as cranes, swans, and turkeys “should be but one in a dish”. The turkey became a common dish at all festivals in England during the 1500s. They were the usual fare at Christmas Dinner. Return to the Americas!
Where did turkey fowl come from?
They’re native to the Americas. They got the name because when Europeans first came across them they incorrectly thought they were a form of African guinea fowl which, because they were imported into Europe from Turkey, were commonly known as turkey fowl. How did turkeys come to Britain? 1517, a roasted peacock on the table at a medieval banquet.