Turkey has one of the youngest surname traditions in the world: family names were only made compulsory by the Surname Law of 1934. Given a free choice, many families picked strong, meaningful Turkish words — for strength (Demir “iron,” Çelik “steel,” Kaya “rock”), the natural world (Yıldız “star,” Şahin “hawk,” Kurt “wolf”), or virtues (Yılmaz “dauntless”).

Compound names

Many combine two words: Öztürk (“pure Turk”), Aksoy (“pure lineage”), Erdoğan (“born a brave man”). Because the tradition is so recent and the words so evocative, Turkish surnames are unusually easy to translate.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most common Turkish surname?

Yu0131lmaz, meaning u201cdauntless,u201d is the most common Turkish surname.

When did Turkey adopt surnames?

Surnames became compulsory in Turkey with the Surname Law of 1934, so most Turkish family names are less than a century old.

What do Turkish surnames mean?

Because families chose them freely in 1934, many are strong Turkish words u2014 u201ciron,u201d u201csteel,u201d u201cstar,u201d u201clionu201d or u201cdauntless.u201d

All last names A–Z