110+ Turkish Last Names: Popular & Unique Options

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Discover Turkish surnames based on origin, occupation, & more!

Co-authored by Raven Minyard, BA

Last Updated: January 22, 2026 Fact Checked

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Common

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Occupational

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Patronymic

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Unique

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Surnames from Other Cultures

Türkiye, westernized as Turkey, is a Middle Eastern country with a rich culture and history. And a lot of that culture is reflected in its citizens’ surnames. In this article, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most popular and unique Turkish surnames. Keep reading to learn what these traditional surnames mean.

Popular Turkish Last Names

Most Turkish last names describe a person’s occupation (like Avci, meaning “hunter,” or Binici, meaning “horseman”), or ancestry (like Deryaoglu, meaning “son of a fisherman.” Other popular surnames are related to appearance (like Akbas, meaning “white head”) or personality (Cetin, meaning “tough”).

Section 1 of 5:

Most Common Turkish Surnames

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Many popular Turkish names are derived from words within Turkic languages, Persian, or Arabic. They may describe a person’s occupation, ancestry, physical appearance, or personality. Here are some of the most common surnames in Turkey:
- Akbas (meaning: “white head”)
- Aksoy (meaning: “ancestry, lineage”)
- Arap (meaning: “Arab”)
- Arslan (meaning: “lion”)
- Ataturk (meaning: “Father of Turks”)
- Aydin (meaning: “enlightened, bright”)
- Bulut (meaning: “cloud”)
- Cetin (meaning: “tough, robust”)
- Dogan (meaning: “hawk”)
- Erdogan (meaning: “warrior, hawk”)
- Kaplan (meaning: “tiger”)
- Kara (meaning: “black, north”)
- Kartal (meaning: “eagle”)
- Kaya (meaning: “rock”)
- Kemal (meaning: “beauty, perfection, excellence”)
- Kilic (meaning: “sword”)
- Koc (meaning: “little, ram”)
- Kose (meaning: “beardless”)
- Kucuk (meaning: “small, tiny”)
- Kurt (meaning: “wolf”)
- Macar (meaning: “Hungarian”)
- Osman (meaning: “son of a snake, tender youth”)
- Ozdemir (meaning: “pure iron”)
- Ozuturk (meaning: “pure Turk”)
- Sahin (meaning: “falcon”)
- Sakarya (meaning: “the Sakarya River”)
- Simsek (meaning: “lightening”)
- Sydin (meaning: “enlightened one, ruler, good person”)
- Ulusoy (meaning: “supreme lineage or ancestry”)
- Yavuz (meaning: “resolute, ferocious”)
- Yildirim (meaning: “friendly, charismatic, most excellent”)
- Yildiz (meaning: “star”)
- Yilmaz (meaning: “dauntless”)

Section 2 of 5:

Occupational Turkish Surnames

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Many traditional surnames are related to a person’s occupation, as this helped differentiate between them and others who may share their first name. If no one in a family has that occupation, it typically means one of their ancestors did, and the name was passed down. Here are some of the most common Turkish occupational names:
- Avci (meaning: “hunter”)
- Baig (meaning: “chief, commander”)
- Balik (meaning: “fish”)
- Binci (meaning: “horseman”)
- Binici (meaning: “horseman”)
- Bardakci (meaning: “glassmaker”)
- Burakgazi (meaning: “warrior”)
- Celik (meaning: “steel, metalworker”)
- Ciftci (meaning: “farmer”)
- Coban (meaning: “shepherd”)
- Degirmenci (meaning: “miller”)
- Demir (meaning: “ironworker”)
- Demirci (meaning: “blacksmith”)
- Ekmekci (meaning: “baker”)
- Ersoy (meaning: “descendants, ancestors of soldiers”)
- Katirci (meaning: “mule, a person who made transports by mule”)
- Nacar (meaning: “carpenter”)
- Marangoz (meaning: “joiner, carpenter”)
- Mataraci (meaning: “bottlemaker, friendly person”)
- Pasha (meaning: “an honorary title dating back to the Ottoman Empire”)
- Peynirci (meaning: “cheese maker”)
- Polat (meaning: “steel, metal”)
- Reis (meaning: “boss, chief”)
- Teke (meaning: “goat herder; someone from Teke, Turkey”)
- Terzi (meaning: “tailor”)

Section 3 of 5:

Patronymic Turkish Surnames

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Many Turkish surnames are patronymic, meaning they’re derived from the name of a father. They often relate to an ancestor’s occupation or appearance. These names typically end in “-ogul,” which translates to “son of.” Here are some examples:
- Abaciogul (meaning: “son of the dressmaker”)
- Ademoglu (meaning: “son of Adam”)
- Besteoglu (meaning: “masterpiece, son of a musician”)
- Cakiroglu (meaning: “son of Cakir”)
- Can (meaning: “son of Cain”)
- Canakicoglu (meaning: “son of the pot maker”)
- Cavosoglu (meaning: “son of a courier”)
- Cobanoglu (meaning: “son of the shepherd”)
- Colakoglu (meaning: “son of the one-handed man”)
- Demircioglu (meaning: “son of the blacksmith”)
- Deryaoglu (meaning: “son of a fisherman”)
- Eroglu (meaning: “son of a soldier without rank”)
- Guloglu (meaning: “son of Rose”)
- Gocmenoglu (meaning: “son of an immigrant”)
- Hacioglu (meaning: “son of the pilgrim”)
- Hancioglu (meaning: “son of the innkeeper”)
- Hatipoglu (meaning: “son of the preacher”)
- Karaoglu (meaning: “son of the dark one”)
- Kocaoglu (meaning: “son of the great one”)
- Kocoglu (meaning: “son of the brave one”)
- Koroglu (meaning: “son of the blind man”)
- Koseoglu (meaning: “son of the Kose”)
- Kurtoglu (meaning: “son of the wolf”)
- Oksuzoglu (meaning: “orphan”)
- Saracoglu (meaning: “son of the leatherworker”)
- Sarioglu (meaning: “son of the blonde one”)
- Topaloglu (meaning: “son of the lame man”)
- Turkoglu (meaning: “son of a Turk”)
- Uzunoglu (meaning: “son of the tall one”)
- Yumisoglu (meaning: “son of silver”)

Section 4 of 5:

Unique Turkish Surnames

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Turkish citizens did not have official last names until the Surname Law was enacted in 1934.^{[1]
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Research source} At that point, all citizens had to adopt a family name. While many chose names inspired by their ancestors or occupations, some chose names with more unique meanings, like the following:
- Acar (meaning: “nimble, jealous”)
- Aktas (meaning: “white rock”)
- Badem (meaning: “almond”)
- Bozkurt (meaning: “gray wolf”)
- Caliskan (meaning: “hard-working”)
- Deniz (meaning: “sea”)
- Gul (meaning: “rose”)
- Isik (meaning: “powerful light”)
- Karaca (meaning: “roe deer”)
- Karatas (meaning: “black stone”)
- Karga (meaning: “crow”)
- Keskin (meaning: “keen, sharp”)
- Korkmaz (meaning: “fearless”)
- Kundakci (meaning: “stock, wooden part of a rifle”)
- Sen (meaning: “joyful”)
- Solak (meaning: “left-handed”)
- Tas (meaning: “stone”)
- Tekin (meaning: “trustworthy person”)
- Tilki (meaning: “fox”)
- Tiryaki (meaning: “addict, opium user”)
- Turan (meaning: “the land of the Tur”)
- Unal (meaning: “to become famous”)
- Uzun (meaning: “long, tall”)
- Yalcin (meaning: “steep mountain”)
- Yuksel (meaning: “improve”)

Section 5 of 5:

Surnames from Other Cultures

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Want to learn more about the surnames from other countries and cultures? We’ve got you covered! Check out these other wikiHow articles to discover popular surnames from around the world: