Alp-

Anyone who splits Alper as ‘Al + per’ has taken a wrong turn. The correct analysis is alp plus er, ‘valiant man’. Understanding the prefix Alp- starts with spotting this small trap.

Alp is a word used since Old Turkic for ‘hero, valiant warrior’. The TDK dictionary lists it with this meaning. It is a frequent element in the old Turkic tradition of personal names. In surnames, too, it appears mostly in compounds that are also given names from that tradition.

Alp- is a one-syllable word and does not change under vowel harmony. One detail stands out: its final p does not turn into b before a second element that begins with a vowel. Alper, Alpay and Alparslan are all written with p. The second element keeps its own vowels, and the compound is written as one word.

Most examples are also used as given names. Alper is ‘valiant man’ and Alpay ‘valiant moon’. In Alptekin the second element is tekin ‘prince’; the modern sense ‘safe’ does not apply here. Alparslan and Alpaslan join alp with arslan/aslan and mean ‘valiant lion’. In Alpdoğan the second element has two readings, doğan ‘falcon’ or ‘born, rising’. Alpkaya reads as ‘valiant rock’ and Alptürk as ‘valiant Turk’. Alpman adds the element -man to alp.

Alparslan is also the name of a Seljuk ruler in history. For that reason the surname is listed among historical names too. It would be wrong, however, to infer any link between its bearers and that ruler. The surname simply shares the name.

Confusion with the Al- page is the main risk. Al means ‘red’ and opens surnames such as Alkan and Altaş. Forms like Alper and Alpay contain alp instead. To tell them apart, look for the p after the l. The same word can also close a compound; surnames such as Gökalp are covered on a separate page, under the element -alp.

Surnames with Alp- belong to a wide family built on old Turkic name elements. Er-, Ay-, -han and -tekin are other members of that family.