Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 329

Araz

Araz /aˈɾaz/

“the river Aras”5

Letters / syllables
4 / 2
Formation
Plain noun
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
A
Contents§1–§9
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Notable people
  6. §6As a first name
  7. §7Sources
  8. §8Questions
  9. §9Related

How do you pronounce Araz?

Araz

IPA /aˈɾaz/

The stress usually falls on syllable 2 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.

What does the surname Araz mean?

Araz is the name used in Azerbaijan and Iran for the Aras, the river that rises in eastern Anatolia and flows into the Caucasus; Nişanyan Adlar links the personal name to this river. Turkish also has a separate word araz of Arabic origin, ‘accident’ in philosophy and ‘symptom’ in medicine. As a given name and surname the river reading comes first.5

Grammar Proper name from a river name.

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. Nişanyan Adlar explains the name as the Azerbaijani and Iranian form of the river Aras.
  2. Turkish Wiktionary connects the personal name with the Arabic-derived word araz.

What is Araz made of?

Araz is a single root: Araz (the Azerbaijani and Iranian form of the river name Aras).

Araz + root Araz the Azerbaijani andIranian form of the… PERSIAN Araz “Azerbaijani and Iranianname of the Aras; from…” ARABIC araz “accident (philosophy);symptom” Araz Araz root the Azerbaijani and Iranian form ofthe river name Aras Araz PERSIAN “Azerbaijani and Iranian name ofthe Aras; from Classical…” araz ARABIC “accident (philosophy); symptom”
Araz: parts and root words
  • Araz Persian — Azerbaijani and Iranian name of the Aras; from Classical Persian aras5
  • araz Arabic — accident (philosophy); symptom5

How was the name Araz formed?

Araz belongs to the “plain noun” class of surnames.

Who are some well-known people named Araz?

  1. Musa Araz association football player 1994–
  2. Fatma Nezihe Araz writer 1920–2009
  3. Süleyman Araz archer 1995–
  4. Rıfat Araz politician 1878–1964
  5. Arda Berkay Araz association football player 2005–
  6. Emir Enes Araz association football player 2006–
  7. Mine Araz researcher
  8. Murat Araz researcher

People surnamed Araz as recorded in Wikidata, ordered by the number of Wikipedia language editions.

Is Araz also a first name?

Yes. Araz is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “the river Aras”.

Araz as a first name: meaning and statistics — turkiyenames.com →

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 nisanyanadlar.com nisanyanadlar.com: Araz accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: araz accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: Araz accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: araz accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 Wikimedia Wiktionary: Araz accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  8. 8 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026
  9. 9 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Araz

Q1

What does the surname Araz mean?

Araz is the name used in Azerbaijan and Iran for the Aras, the river that rises in eastern Anatolia and flows into the Caucasus; Nişanyan Adlar links the personal name to this river. Turkish also has a separate word araz of Arabic origin, ‘accident’ in philosophy and ‘symptom’ in medicine. As a given name and surname the river reading comes first.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Araz?

The root word of Araz is Araz (Persian): “Azerbaijani and Iranian name of the Aras; from Classical Persian aras”. There are 3 competing views on where Araz comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Araz?

A·raz, 2 syllables; IPA: /aˈɾaz/.