Fortune, blessing and fame

Kut is an Old Turkic concept that bundles “heaven-sent fortune, happiness, sovereignty”. Old Turkic texts describe rulership itself as granted through kut. The word is rarely used alone today, but it lives on in surnames and names such as Kutlu, Kutlay and Kutay. This hub brings old concepts like kut together with words for luck and fame.

The kut family

Kutlu is kut plus -lu: “blessed, auspicious”. It is still a living adjective in TDK, heard in phrases such as kutlu olsun, “may it be blessed”. Kutlay is explained as kut joined with ay, “moon”. Kutay, closer to a personal-name pattern, belongs primarily to the Turkic name-elements hub and is linked here as a secondary tag.

Uğur and luck

Uğur is a Turkish word for “good luck, good omen”; in older usage it also meant “opportunity, time”. Uğurlu, with -lu, means “bringing luck”. Bahtiyar is Persian in origin: baht, “fortune”, plus the suffix -yar, “fortunate, happy”. Talih is of Arabic origin and means “luck, fate”. Başarı, “success”, is a noun from başarmak, “to accomplish”.

Fame and glory

Ün means “voice, sound” and “renown” in Turkish. Ünlü, with -lü, means “well-known, famous”. Ünal is usually analysed as ün plus al, the imperative of almak, “take”: “win fame”. The analysis is widespread, though sources do not always agree on how the surname was understood. Şan is of Arabic origin and means “glory, renown”; Şanlı, with -lı, comes to mean “glorious, famed”.

Vowel harmony

This hub shows all four forms of the suffix -lI on its own: -lı in Şanlı, -lu in Uğurlu and Kutlu, -lü in Ünlü. The last vowel of the stem decides the form. It is one of the clearest cases of Turkish vowel harmony among surnames.

1934 and famous figures

Article 11 of the Surname Regulation states that surnames implying a link to famous historical figures may not be used unless the link is proven by official records or documents. Article 6 of the law contains a similar provision. Surnames such as Ünlü or Şanlı name a general quality, not a particular person, so the rule does not touch them. Still, it shows how carefully the idea of fame was handled in 1934.

Why it is interesting

This hub spans the range from the Old Turkic idea of kut to the Arabic words talih and şan. Words such as Uğur and Kutlu are still alive in everyday speech while being handed down as surnames.