Why does the -cı/-ci suffix look different from name to name?

Vowel harmony gives -cı, -ci, -cu and -cü, and after a voiceless consonant the c becomes ç, as in Çiftçi or Topçu. That makes eight shapes of one suffix.

Did the 1934 Surname Law ban occupational names?

No. Article 3 of Law No. 2525 banned names of military ranks and civil offices. Crafts and trades were outside the ban, so nicknames like Demirci or Terzi could become surnames.

Does an occupational surname show a family's trade?

No. The surname shows which word it came from. It says nothing about the work of the people who carry it today.

Category group·373 surnames

Occupational surnames

Surnames: 373; in this dictionary
In the national top 30: 0; ADNKS 2025

How did these surnames come about?

One suffix, eight shapes

Turkish turns a noun into a trade with a single suffix, -cı. Vowel harmony gives it four forms, -cı, -ci, -cu, -cü, and after a voiceless consonant the c hardens to ç, giving four more: -çı, -çi, -çu, -çü. So demir 'iron' becomes demirci 'blacksmith', kalay 'tin' becomes kalaycı 'tinsmith', and süt 'milk' becomes sütçü 'milkman'. The suffix is attested in Old Turkic and is still productive; new job titles are coined with it all the time.

Most occupational surnames carry it. Others do not, because the trade word arrived ready-made from Persian or Arabic: terzi 'tailor', çoban 'shepherd', kasap 'butcher', hekim 'physician'. A third set adds -oğlu 'son of': Demircioğlu is 'the blacksmith's son', Terzioğlu 'the tailor's son'.

Seven sub-hubs

The site sorts these names into seven hubs. Crafts covers people who worked metal, wood, stone and leather: Demirci, Bakırcı, Nalbant. Textiles and clothing gathers the tailor, the felt-maker and the dyer: Terzi, Keçeci, Boyacı. Farming and herding is about land, flocks and the hunt: Çiftçi, Çoban, Avcı. Food and trade holds the bazaar: Kasap, Helvacı, Bakkal. Service and transport runs from the innkeeper and the camel driver to the boatman and the ship's captain. Scribes and scholars collects literate trades such as Yazıcı, Kâtip and Hekim. Music and poetry brings together the poet, the minstrel and the drummer.

What 1934 changed

The Surname Law (Law No. 2525) made a surname compulsory for every Turk. Its Article 3 banned names of military ranks and civil offices, but it left crafts and trades alone. A village nickname like 'the blacksmith' or 'the miller' could therefore pass straight into the register. Article 6 of the Surname Regulation allowed a surname on its own or with “(oğlu)”, which is why Demirci and Demircioğlu sit side by side.

These names also preserve a vanished working world. Few people today card cotton, shoe horses or lead caravans, yet Hallaç, Nalbant and Kervancı survive as surnames. The word usta 'master craftsman' belongs nearby: Usta ranks 14th in Giresun province, with 2,768 people (TÜİK ADNKS 2025).

One caution applies throughout. An occupational surname records which word a name came from. It says nothing about what any family does today.

Sources^1,2,3,4,5

Which categories make up this group?

Crafts: metal, wood, stone and leather100 surnames
Surnames from the trade names of craftsmen who work a material: blacksmith, coppersmith, tinsmith, farrier, goldsmith, carpenter, joiner, stonemason, potter, saddler and tanner. Most are built with the suffix -cı/-ci, the base naming the material worked. Textile and clothing crafts have their own hub.
Textile and clothing trades50 surnames
Surnames from trade names connected with cloth, felt, dye and clothing: tailor, weaver, dyer, felt-maker, carpet-maker, quilt-maker, cotton-fluffer, coarse-wool maker and turban-maker. Terzi (tailor) is the most common member.
Farming, herding and hunting96 surnames
Surnames from trades of land, livestock and the hunt: farmer, shepherd, vine-grower, gardener, beekeeper, sower, thresher, miller, hunter, fisherman and falconer. Crop words such as wheat and grain are filed here too.
Food, market and trade115 surnames
Surnames from trades that prepare or sell food or deal in the market: butcher, cook, baker, bread-maker, halva-maker, coffee-house keeper, confectioner, grocer, herbalist (attar), merchant and market seller. Many carry the suffix -cı/-ci.
Services, roads and seafaring67 surnames
Surnames from service, transport and seafaring trades: barber, bath-keeper, watchman, innkeeper, carter, camel driver, muleteer, caravan leader, boatman, sailor and captain. They reflect the working world of the caravan and maritime trade.
Scribes, scholars and healers43 surnames
Surnames from trades of writing, knowledge, translation, architecture and healing: scribe, clerk, physician, surgeon, interpreter, architect, astronomer and bookseller. Yazıcı and Hekimoğlu are well-known examples.
Bards, poetry and music34 surnames
Surnames from words connected with poetry, folk minstrelsy and instruments: bard, poet, minstrel (aşık), ney player, drummer, shawm player, violinist and saz player. The aşık and ozan traditions of folk literature have left their mark on these names.

All surnames in this group

The list grows as surnames are added to the dictionary.
#	Surname	Meaning	Origin	Letters
01	Abacı	maker of aba cloth	Arabic	5
02	Abacıoğlu	son of the aba-cloth maker	Arabic	9
03	Abaoğlu	aba (woollen cloak) + -oğlu	Arabic	7
04	Afyoncu	opium-poppy grower or seller	Arabic	7
05	Akdülger	ak + carpenter	Persian	8
06	Aktar	herbalist, spice seller	Arabic	5
07	Alabora	capsizing	French	7
08	Alıcı	buyer; bird of prey	Turkic	5
09	Altınbaş	a melon variety; golden head	Turkic	8
10	Altunbaşak	golden ear of grain	Turkic	10
11	Alver	trade, buying and selling	Turkic	5
12	Andıç	memorandum	Turkic	5
13	Arabacı	carter, coachman	Turkic	7
14	Arabacıoğlu	son of the carter		11
15	Aracı	mediator, middleman	Turkic	5
16	Arayıcı	searcher	Turkic	7
17	Arıcı	beekeeper	Turkic	5
18	Arpacı	barley dealer	Turkic	6
19	Arpacıoğlu	son of the barley dealer	Turkic	10
20	Aşar	tithe; one who overcomes	Arabic	4
21	Aşçı	cook	Turkic	4
22	Aşık	minstrel poet; lover	Arabic	4
23	Atasağun	physician, shaman	Turkic	8
24	Ateşçi	stoker, fire-tender	Persian	6
25	Attar	perfume and spice seller	Arabic	5
26	Avcı	hunter	Turkic	4
27	Avcıoğlu	son of the hunter	Turkic	8
28	Avcu	hunter	Turkic	4
29	Avkıran	game-slayer, skilled hunter	Turkic	7
30	Aynacı	mirror-maker	Persian	6
31	Ayrancı	ayran maker or seller	Turkic	7
32	Aytar	messenger, one who reports	Turkic	5
33	Ayvaz	household servant; dialect husband	Arabic	5
34	Ayvazoğlu	son of Ayvaz, the steward	Arabic	9
35	Bademci	almond seller	Persian	7
36	Bağ	vineyard; or bond	Persian	3
37	Bağcı	vine-grower	Persian	5
38	Bahçeci	gardener	Persian	7
39	Bahçıvan	gardener	Persian	8
40	Bakırcı	coppersmith	Turkic	7
41	Bakırcıoğlu	son of the coppersmith	Turkic	11
42	Bakkal	grocer	Arabic	6
43	Baksı	teacher, bard, shaman	Other	5
44	Bal	honey	Turkic	3
45	Balcı	honey seller, beekeeper	Turkic	5
46	Balcıoğlu	son of the honey seller	Turkic	9
47	Balıkçı	fisherman, fishmonger	Turkic	7
48	Ballı	honeyed; lucky	Turkic	5
49	Baltacı	axe-maker; woodcutter; palace halberdier	Turkic	7
50	Baltacıgil	the axe-maker’s family	Turkic	10
51	Baltacıoğlu	son of the axe-man	Turkic	11
52	Barak	shaggy cloth; man’s name	Turkic	5
53	Barçın	silk brocade	Turkic	6
54	Bardakçı	maker or seller of jugs and cups	Turkic	8
55	Barka	large rowing boat	French	5
56	Barutçu	gunpowder maker	Arabic	7
57	Basmacı	cloth printer	Turkic	7
58	Bastık	fruit leather	Turkic	6
59	Başak	ear of grain	Turkic	5
60	Baytar	veterinarian	Arabic	6
61	Bedel	equivalent, price	Arabic	5
62	Bekçi	watchman	Turkic	5
63	Belge	document	Turkic	5
64	Berber	barber	French	6
65	Berberoğlu	son of the barber	French	10
66	Besler	he feeds, he provides	Turkic	6
67	Beşikçi	cradle maker	Turkic	7
68	Beşikçioğlu	son of the cradle-maker	Turkic	11
69	Bıçakçı	cutler, knifesmith	Turkic	7
70	Biçer	reaper, harvester	Turkic	5
71	Bildirici	one who announces	Turkic	9
72	Binici	rider, horseman	Turkic	6
73	Bişi	fried dough, pişi	Turkic	4
74	Borazancı	bugler	Turkic	9
75	Bostan	vegetable garden	Persian	6
76	Bostancı	market gardener; palace guard	Persian	8
77	Bostancıoğlu	son of the market gardener	Persian	12
78	Boyacı	dyer	Turkic	6
79	Boyacıoğlu	son of the dyer	Turkic	10
80	Boyacıyan	of the dyer’s family	Turkic	9
81	Boyar	who dyes	Turkic	5
82	Bozacı	boza maker or seller		6
83	Börekçi	börek maker, pastry seller	Turkic	7
84	Buğdaycı	wheat dealer	Turkic	8
85	Bulgurlu	of bulgur; from Bulgurlu	Persian	8
86	Burçak	bitter vetch	Turkic	6
87	Büyükaşık	the great minstrel	Arabic	9
88	Büyükberber	the elder barber	French	11
89	Canbaz	acrobat, tightrope walker	Persian	6
90	Cankurtaran	life-saver, lifeguard	Turkic	11
91	Cerrah	surgeon	Arabic	6
92	Cerrahoğlu	son of the surgeon	Arabic	10
93	Cevheri	jeweller	Arabic	7
94	Cevizci	walnut seller or grower	Arabic	7

Common questions

Why does the -cı/-ci suffix look different from name to name?: Vowel harmony gives -cı, -ci, -cu and -cü, and after a voiceless consonant the c becomes ç, as in Çiftçi or Topçu. That makes eight shapes of one suffix.
Did the 1934 Surname Law ban occupational names?: No. Article 3 of Law No. 2525 banned names of military ranks and civil offices. Crafts and trades were outside the ban, so nicknames like Demirci or Terzi could become surnames.
Does an occupational surname show a family's trade?: No. The surname shows which word it came from. It says nothing about the work of the people who carry it today.

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)
5Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK) · ADNKS, TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS)

Occupational surnames

§1How did these surnames come about?