Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

Category·Occupational surnames·100 surnames

Crafts: metal, wood, stone and leather

Surnames
100
in this dictionary
In the national top 30
0
ADNKS 2025

How did these surnames come about?

Red iron on the anvil, the steady ring of the hammer, a bellows in the corner: everyone knew the village forge. Demir 'iron' is a Turkic word, recorded in Old Turkic as temür. Add the agent suffix -ci and it becomes demirci, the smith who beat iron into horseshoes, axes and ploughshares. As a surname, Demirci is the best-known member of this hub. In Zonguldak province Demirci ranks 11th, with 3,122 people (TÜİK ADNKS 2025).

Material plus suffix

Most names here follow one pattern: the material worked, plus -cı/-ci. A Bakırcı made cauldrons and dishes from copper; bakır is Turkic too. A Kalaycı tinned copperware, coating the inside of pots so that food could be cooked in them. The word kalay 'tin' came through Arabic qalaʿī. A Kuyumcu worked gold and silver; dictionaries derive kuyum from the verb kuy- 'to pour, to cast'. Taşçı 'stonemason', Camcı 'glazier' and Çömlekçi 'potter' are built the same way.

Some trade words came ready-made. Nalbant 'farrier' is from Persian naʿlband: Arabic naʿl 'horseshoe' plus Persian -band 'one who fastens'. Dülger 'builder in wood' is of Persian origin. Marangoz 'joiner' goes back to Venetian marangon. Saraç 'saddler' is Arabic sarrāj. Tabak 'tanner' is linked to Arabic dabbāġ; it only sounds like tabak 'plate', which is a separate word.

The -oğlu branch

Craft names also entered the registers with -oğlu. Demircioğlu means 'son of the blacksmith', Bakırcıoğlu 'son of the coppersmith'. Article 6 of the Surname Regulation says plainly that a surname may be used alone or with “(oğlu)”, so the same trade could be registered in either shape.

The 1934 rules put nothing in the way. Article 3 of the Surname Law banned names of ranks and offices, and a smith or a carpenter held neither. Article 14 of the Regulation, in its 1934 text, gave a surname to the first applicant when unrelated people in the same village chose the same one. Where a village had several smithing families, that rule may have pushed some towards variant forms. For any single surname, though, this cannot be stated without documents.

A bazaar of languages

Read together, these names form a word list of old crafts. Tinning and farriery are rare trades now, yet the surnames keep the vocabulary alive. They also show how mixed the language of a market street was: Turkic demir, Persian nalbant, Arabic saraç and Venetian-derived marangoz stood shop by shop. A craft surname tells you about the origin of a word, never about the work or history of the family that carries it today.

Sources1,2,3,4,5

All surnames in this category

#SurnameMeaningOriginLetters
01 Akdülger ak + carpenter Persian 8
02 Aynacı mirror-maker Persian 6
03 Bakırcı coppersmith Turkic 7
04 Bakırcıoğlu son of the coppersmith Turkic 11
05 Baltacı axe-maker; woodcutter; palace halberdier Turkic 7
06 Baltacıgil the axe-maker’s family Turkic 10
07 Baltacıoğlu son of the axe-man Turkic 11
08 Bardakçı maker or seller of jugs and cups Turkic 8
09 Barutçu gunpowder maker Arabic 7
10 Beşikçi cradle maker Turkic 7
11 Beşikçioğlu son of the cradle-maker Turkic 11
12 Bıçakçı cutler, knifesmith Turkic 7
13 Cevheri jeweller Arabic 7
14 Çakıcı penknife maker, cutler Turkic 6
15 Çakmakçı maker of fire strikers and gunlocks Turkic 8
16 Çamcı pine-wood or resin worker Turkic 5
17 Çanakçı potter Turkic 7
18 Çekiç hammer Turkic 5
19 Çırak apprentice Persian 5
20 Çilingir locksmith Persian 8
21 Çilingiroğlu son of the locksmith Persian 12
22 Çubukçu pipe-stem maker Turkic 7
23 Dabak tanner Arabic 5
24 Damgacı stamper, stamp-maker Turkic 7
25 Demirci blacksmith Turkic 7
26 Demircioğlu son of the blacksmith Turkic 11
27 Demiriş ironwork Turkic 7
28 Demirörs iron anvil Turkic 8
29 Derici leather worker Turkic 6
30 Dikici shoe-stitcher; farmer Turkic 6
31 Doğramacı joiner Turkic 9
32 Dökmeci metal founder, caster Turkic 7
33 Dülger building carpenter Persian 6
34 Dülgeroğlu son of the carpenter Persian 10
35 Eskici second-hand dealer; cobbler Turkic 6
36 Göncü leather dealer; cobbler Turkic 5
37 Havutçu maker of camel pack saddles Persian 7
38 Hızarcı sawyer Armenian 7
39 Kağıtçıbaşı head of the paper-makers Turkic 11
40 Kalaycı tinsmith Arabic 7
41 Kalaycıoğlu son of the tinsmith Arabic 11
42 Kalfa journeyman Arabic 5
43 Kalkancı shield maker Turkic 8
44 Kantarcı steelyard maker; market weigher Arabic 8
45 Kantarcıoğlu son of the weigher Arabic 12
46 Kaşıkçı spoon maker Turkic 7
47 Kayar re-nailing horseshoes; share Turkic 5
48 Kaynakçı welder Turkic 8
49 Kazancı cauldron-maker; stoker Turkic 7
50 Kazancıgil the cauldron maker’s family Turkic 10
51 Keser adze Turkic 5
52 Kınacı henna maker, henna seller Arabic 6
53 Kiremitçi tiler Greek 9
54 Kirişçi maker of bowstrings and gut strings Turkic 7
55 Kömürcü charcoal burner, coal dealer Turkic 7
56 Kundakçı gunstock maker Greek 8
57 Kutucu box maker Greek 6
58 Kuyucu well-digger Turkic 6
59 Külünk stonemason’s pick Persian 6
60 Kürkçü furrier Turkic 6
61 Mıhçıoğlu son of the nail-maker Persian 9
62 Mumcu candle-maker, chandler Persian 5
63 Mumcuoğlu son of the candle maker Persian 9
64 Nalbant farrier Persian 7
65 Nalbantoğlu son of the farrier Persian 11
66 Nalçakan farrier Turkic 8
67 Oduncu woodcutter Turkic 6
68 Okçu arrow maker; archer Turkic 4
69 Onaran one who mends Turkic 6
70 Onarıcı repairer, mender Turkic 7
71 Örs anvil Turkic 3
72 Örücü knitter, darner Turkic 5
73 Özkılıçcı true swordsmith Turkic 9
74 Pir elder, master, founder Persian 3
75 Pirinççi rice dealer or brass-worker Persian 8
76 Pirinççioğlu son of the rice seller or brass worker Persian 12
77 Saatçı watchmaker Arabic 6
78 Saraç saddler, harness maker Arabic 5
79 Saraçoğlu son of the saddler Arabic 9
80 Semerci packsaddle maker Greek 7
81 Semercioğlu son of the packsaddle maker Greek 11
82 Sobacı stove-maker Other 6
83 Tabak tanner; plate Arabic 5
84 Talaş sawdust, shavings Persian 5
85 Tarakçı comb maker or seller Turkic 7
86 Taşçı stonemason, quarryman Turkic 5
87 Taşçıer stonecutter man Turkic 7
88 Taşçıoğlu son of the stonemason Turkic 9
89 Taşdöğen stone-pounder Turkic 8
90 Temelkuran founder, one who lays foundations Turkic 10
91 Timuçin blacksmith; Genghis Khan’s birth name Mongolic 7
92 Tüfekçi gunsmith; musketeer guard Persian 7
93 Tüfekçioğlu son of the gunsmith Turkic 11
94 Urgancıoğlu son of the rope-maker Mongolic 11
95 Usta master craftsman Persian 4
96 Ustabaş foreman, master craftsman Turkic 7
97 Ustaoğlu son of the master craftsman Persian 8
98 Yapıcı builder; constructive Turkic 6
99 Yapıcıoğlu son of the builder Turkic 10
100 Yaycıoğlu son of the bowyer Turkic 9
The list grows as surnames are added to the dictionary.

Common questions

What does the surname Demirci mean?

Demirci is the Turkic word demir 'iron' plus the agent suffix -ci, so it means 'blacksmith'. Demircioğlu means 'son of the blacksmith'.

Is the surname Tabak about plates?

As a trade word, tabak is a tanner, linked to Arabic dabbāġ. Tabak 'plate' is a separate word that happens to sound the same.

Why does Nalbant have no -cı suffix?

Because it entered Turkish as a ready-made trade word. Persian naʿlband combines Arabic naʿl 'horseshoe' with Persian -band 'one who fastens'.

Sources

  1. 1Türk Dil Kurumu, TDK Güncel Türkçe Sözlük
  2. 2Sevan Nişanyan, Nişanyan Sözlük
  3. 3T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr), Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525)
  4. 4T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr), Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759)
  5. 5Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK) · ADNKS, TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS)