Were rank names banned as surnames in 1934?

Yes. Article 3 of the Surname Law bans rank and office names, and Article 9 of the Regulation applies this to the ranks of the old and new state. Such names still appear in today's registers.

What do the numbers in Yüzbaşı and Binbaşı refer to?

The rank is named after the number of soldiers commanded: yüzbaşı is ‘head of a hundred’, binbaşı ‘head of a thousand’, onbaşı ‘head of ten’.

Where does the word Levent come from?

The origin is debated. A common view links it to Italian levantino ‘Levantine’, but this is not settled. In Ottoman usage it meant a marine.

Category·War and heroism·76 surnames

Military ranks and roles

Surnames: 76; in this dictionary
In the national top 30: 0; ADNKS 2025

How did these surnames come about?

Article 3 of Law No. 2590, passed in November 1934, reshaped the military ranks placed before a name into Mareşal, General and Amiral. Earlier that year, in June, Article 3 of the Surname Law (Law No. 2525) had banned the names of ranks and offices as surnames. Article 9 of the Surname Regulation spelled the rule out: surnames denoting ranks or offices of the old or the new state may not be used or newly given. The words on this page are exactly what those rules were about. And yet they appear in today's registers.

Ranks and duties

Çavuş is Old Turkic. In Seljuk and Ottoman times it named a herald, a messenger or an official who carried orders; today it is a rank in the army. Çavuşoğlu, with -oğlu, means ‘son of the çavuş’.

Onbaşı, yüzbaşı and binbaşı join a number word to baş ‘head, chief’: ‘head of ten’, ‘head of a hundred’, ‘head of a thousand’. These ranks take their names from the number of soldiers they once commanded, so in English they are corporal, captain and major. Bölükbaşı, ‘head of the company’, is built the same way.

Sipahi comes from Persian sipāhī ‘soldier’. In the Ottoman state it named a mounted soldier who held a timar, a land grant.

Serdar is Persian sar ‘head’ plus -dār ‘holder’, meaning ‘commander of an army’. It is also used as a given name today.

Topçu is top ‘cannon, ball’ plus the suffix -çu: a gunner. Topçu ranks 26th in Rize, with 1,298 people (TÜİK ADNKS 2025).

Bayraktar joins bayrak ‘flag’ and Persian -dār: the soldier who carries the standard. In Trabzon, Bayraktar is 16th, with 4,921 people (TÜİK ADNKS 2025).

Levent was the name for a marine in the Ottoman navy. Its origin is debated. A common view links it to Italian levantino ‘Levantine, easterner’, but the link is not settled. TDK also gives the sense ‘tall and handsome’, and Levent is now a common man's name.

Form

Two patterns stand out. The first is the compound with baş: Onbaşı, Yüzbaşı, Binbaşı, Bölükbaşı. The second is -oğlu: Çavuşoğlu, Yüzbaşıoğlu. The suffix -cı/-ci names troop types: Topçu ‘gunner’, Okçu ‘archer’. Persian -dār appears in Bayraktar and Serdar.

The contradiction of 1934

The rules were clear, yet these names live on in the registers. We do not explain how any particular surname was entered without a document to show it. What can be said is that the ban was about word forms. Nor does a rank word show that a family had a military past.

What is interesting

These words preserve the vocabulary of an older army. The sipahi and the levent are no longer units of any force, but they survive as surnames. And the difference between a corporal and a major can still be read inside the name.

Sources^1,2,3,4,5,6

All surnames in this category

The list grows as surnames are added to the dictionary.
#	Surname	Meaning	Origin	Letters
01	Akıncı	raider, frontier cavalryman	Turkic	6
02	Alayoğlu	son of Alay (regiment)	Greek	8
03	Albay	colonel	Turkic	5
04	Alemdar	standard-bearer	Persian	7
05	Alemdaroğlu	son of the standard-bearer	Persian	11
06	Baltacı	axe-maker; woodcutter; palace halberdier	Turkic	7
07	Baltacıoğlu	son of the axe-man	Turkic	11
08	Başbuğ	chief, commander	Turkic	6
09	Bayrakçı	flag-bearer	Turkic	8
10	Bayrakdar	flag-bearer	Turkic	9
11	Bayraktar	standard-bearer	Turkic	9
12	Bayraktaroğlu	son of the flag-bearer	Turkic	13
13	Bayraktutan	flag-bearer	Turkic	11
14	Borazancı	bugler	Turkic	9
15	Bostancı	market gardener; palace guard	Persian	8
16	Bostancıoğlu	son of the market gardener	Persian	12
17	Bölük	part; military company	Turkic	5
18	Bölükbaşı	company commander	Turkic	9
19	Buyrukçu	bearer or executor of orders	Turkic	8
20	Büyükbayraktar	great flag-bearer	Turkic	14
21	Cebeci	Ottoman armourer soldier	Mongolic	6
22	Cebecioğlu	son of the armourer	Mongolic	10
23	Civelek	lively, merry, sociable	Persian	7
24	Çavuş	sergeant	Turkic	5
25	Çavuşoğlu	son of the sergeant	Turkic	9
26	Çorbacı	soup maker; Janissary company commander	Persian	7
27	Çorbacıoğlu	son of the çorbacı	Persian	11
28	Demiralay	iron regiment	Turkic	9
29	Dizdar	castle warden	Persian	6
30	Dizdaroğlu	son of the castle warden	Persian	10
31	Dündar	rear guard	Persian	6
32	Erat	enlisted men, soldiers	Turkic	4
33	Erbaş	non-commissioned officer	Turkic	5
34	Gedikli	privilege holder; NCO	Turkic	7
35	Gözcü	lookout, watchman	Turkic	5
36	Kalyoncu	galleon sailor, marine	French	8
37	Karakullukçu	attendant in the Janissary barracks	Turkic	12
38	Kılıçdaroğlu	son of the sword-bearer	Turkic	12
39	Kırdar	rural warden	Turkic	6
40	Kol	arm; column, troop	Turkic	3
41	Kolcu	patrol guard	Turkic	5
42	Levendoğlu	son of the levent (marine; tall man)	Persian	10
43	Levent	Ottoman marine; tall, handsome	Persian	6
44	Manga	squad of soldiers	French	5
45	Noyan	lord, commander	Mongolic	5
46	Ocaklı	having a hearth; soldier of the corps	Turkic	6
47	Odabaş	head of the rooms, inn steward	Turkic	6
48	Odabaşı	Janissary officer; head servant	Turkic	7
49	Okçu	arrow maker; archer	Turkic	4
50	Onbaşı	corporal	Turkic	6
51	Özakıncı	true raider	Turkic	8
52	Özbayraktar	true standard-bearer	Turkic	11
53	Pandur	guard, constable	Other	6
54	Redif	follower; reserve soldier	Arabic	5
55	Sancaktar	standard-bearer	Turkic	9
56	Sarıca	yellowish	Turkic	6
57	Sekban	dog keeper; Janissary soldier	Persian	6
58	Serdar	commander-in-chief	Persian	6
59	Serdaroğlu	son of the commander-in-chief	Persian	10
60	Serdengeçti	volunteer ready to die	Persian	11
61	Sipahi	Ottoman cavalryman	Persian	6
62	Sipahioğlu	son of the sipahi	Persian	10
63	Solak	left-handed; palace guard	Turkic	5
64	Subaşı	head of troops; Ottoman official	Turkic	6
65	Tabur	battalion	Other	5
66	Topçu	artilleryman, gunner	Turkic	5
67	Topçuoğlu	son of the gunner	Turkic	9
68	Tugay	brigade	Turkic	5
69	Tuğcu	standard-bearer	Turkic	5
70	Tüfekçioğlu	son of the gunsmith	Turkic	11
71	Tümen	ten thousand; army division	Turkic	5
72	Türkeş	Türgiş tribe; archer	Turkic	6
73	Yamak	helper; Janissary auxiliary	Turkic	5
74	Yaya	pedestrian, foot soldier	Turkic	4
75	Yeniçeri	Janissary	Turkic	8
76	Yüzbaşıoğlu	son of the captain	Turkic	11

Common questions

Were rank names banned as surnames in 1934?: Yes. Article 3 of the Surname Law bans rank and office names, and Article 9 of the Regulation applies this to the ranks of the old and new state. Such names still appear in today's registers.
What do the numbers in Yüzbaşı and Binbaşı refer to?: The rank is named after the number of soldiers commanded: yüzbaşı is ‘head of a hundred’, binbaşı ‘head of a thousand’, onbaşı ‘head of ten’.
Where does the word Levent come from?: The origin is debated. A common view links it to Italian levantino ‘Levantine’, but this is not settled. In Ottoman usage it meant a marine.

Sources

1Türk Dil Kurumu, TDK Güncel Türkçe Sözlük
2Sevan Nişanyan, Nişanyan Sözlük
3T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr), Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525)
4T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr), Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759)
5T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr), Efendi, Bey, Paşa gibi Lakap ve Unvanların Kaldırılmasına Dair Kanun (Kanun No. 2590)
6Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK) · ADNKS, TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS)