Comparison·Top 10
TÜİK · ADNKS 2025Yılmaz or Yıldırım?
For every Yıldırım there are about 1.77 Yılmazs (2025). Since 2018, Yıldırım has grown 4.7% and Yılmaz 3.8%, so the gap is narrowing. Nationally Yılmaz ranks 1st and Yıldırım 7th.1
SURNAME · No. 1
Yılmaz
“undaunted, one who never gives up”
- People
- 1,177,896
- Per 1,000
- 13.7
- Since 2018
- +3.8%
- Provinces led
- 57
- Origin
- Turkic
- Category
- Courage and resilience
SURNAME · No. 7
Yıldırım
“thunderbolt; lightning-fast”
- People
- 666,723
- Per 1,000
- 7.7
- Since 2018
- +4.7%
- Provinces led
- 1
- Origin
- Turkic
- Category
- Wind, rain and lightning
How have Yılmaz and Yıldırım changed since 2018?
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yılmaz | 1,134,443 | 1,144,894 | 1,152,872 | 1,160,248 | 1,167,108 | 1,171,014 | 1,174,516 | 1,177,896 |
| Yıldırım | 636,738 | 643,571 | 648,965 | 654,066 | 658,631 | 661,503 | 664,229 | 666,723 |
| Year | Yılmaz | Yıldırım | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1,134,443 | 636,738 | 1.78 |
| 2019 | 1,144,894 | 643,571 | 1.78 |
| 2020 | 1,152,872 | 648,965 | 1.78 |
| 2021 | 1,160,248 | 654,066 | 1.77 |
| 2022 | 1,167,108 | 658,631 | 1.77 |
| 2023 | 1,171,014 | 661,503 | 1.77 |
| 2024 | 1,174,516 | 664,229 | 1.77 |
| 2025 | 1,177,896 | 666,723 | 1.77 |
Which one leads in which provinces?
In the 2025 province lists, Yılmaz ranks above Yıldırım in 76 provinces and Yıldırım above Yılmaz in 5 provinces.1
Yılmaz ahead
The most populous entries are shown; the figure is the count in that province.
Do they share a root?
Both Yılmaz and Yıldırım go back to words of Turkic origin; Yılmaz is a from a verb and Yıldırım a plain noun formation.
- Yılmaz The verb yılmak means to be daunted, to lose heart and back away; the suffix -maz negates it. Yılmaz therefore describes someone who does not lose heart and does not give up in the face of hardship. It was already a male given name before the Surname Law.
- Yıldırım The word for a thunderbolt, the lightning that strikes the ground. In phrases it comes to mean “lightning-fast”, as in yıldırım hızıyla, “at lightning speed”. The surname carries this image of sudden power and speed, and Yıldırım is also a male given name.
How is this comparison made?
Sources
- 1Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK) · ADNKS, TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS)
- 2Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK) · ADNKS, TÜİK ADNKS: Cinsiyete göre nüfus, Türkiye ve 81 il