Explore the Family Name Toro

Possible origins of the surname Toro

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Toro have recent ancestry locations in Spain and Puerto Rico.

What Toro haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Toro is R-P25_1, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-P25_1 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-P311 and J-M304, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Layton, Wiseman, Quinones, Saxton, Hurtado, Jimenez, Arellano, Lebron, Cabral, Chacon.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Toro surname are: A2, H1, C1. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

Your paternal lineage may be linked to Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus's heliocentric view of the solar system now serves as the basis of our understanding of the universe, but was once at odds with the Catholic Church's beliefs. Ironically, the astronomer was laid to rest in 1543 at Frombork Cathedral in Poland, where he had served as a canon and developed many of his scientific theories.Since Copernicus's death, numerous attempts have been made to locate his unmarked tomb in the Cathedral (even Napoleon ordered a search), but in 2005, scientists discovered a skeleton buried next to an altar known to have been tended by Copernicus. The skeleton was the right age, and a forensic reconstruction of the face resembled paintings of the 16th-century astronomer. Finally, DNA collected from the mystery bones matched the DNA from hair found inside a calendar that belonged to Copernicus. The scientists' efforts revealed that Copernicus's male lineage belongs to haplogroup R-M343.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to some of the first Americans

Though the Ice Age was beginning to retreat when your A2 ancestors first entered North America, there were still massive barriers blocking their way. Glaciers and inhospitable climate covered much of the continent, blocking entry into the interior. Nonetheless, researchers have found evidence that a wave of American founders migrated over 13,000 kilometers to reach southern Chile in only 2,000 years, a blink of an eye in the story of human migration! Their highway to the south was the coast of the Pacific, stocked with fish, diverse marine mammals, and other valuable resources in the rich kelp forests of the upper latitudes and in the abundant fresh-water rivers near the equator. Because of this rapid movement south, the A2 haplogroup and its diverse branches are found throughout North and South America.