Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 338

Arı

Arı /aˈɾɯ/ ASCII Ari

“bee; pure, clean”2

Province lists
11
province top-30s
Letters / syllables
3 / 2
Formation
Plain noun
Vowel harmony
back
Contents§1–§13
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Spellings
  7. §7Provinces
  8. §8Notable people
  9. §9As a first name
  10. §10Abroad
  11. §11Sources
  12. §12Questions
  13. §13Related

How do you pronounce Arı?

Arı

IPA /aˈɾɯ/

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

What does the surname Arı mean?

Arı is the shared form of two different words. One is the bee, the honey-maker and symbol of industry, from Proto-Turkic *ārï. The other is the adjective “pure, clean”, from Old Turkic arıg, seen in names such as Arıkan. Sources do not say which of the two the surname comes from.2

That Arı goes back to arı is probable rather than proven: the dictionary entry cited supports it.

Arı is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Arı made of?

Arı is a single root: arı (bee; or pure, clean).

Arı + root arı bee; or pure, clean TURKIC arı “bee; Proto-Turkic *ārï” TURKIC arı “pure, clean;Proto-Turkic *arïg” Arı arı root bee; or pure, clean arı TURKIC “bee; Proto-Turkic *ārï” arı TURKIC “pure, clean; Proto-Turkic *arïg”
Arı: parts and root words
  • arı Turkic — bee; Proto-Turkic *ārï2
  • arı Turkic — pure, clean; Proto-Turkic *arïg2

How was the name Arı formed?

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

Which surnames are related to Arı?

Arı Arıkan Arıcı Arıcan Arın Arısoy Arısan Arıtürk Arsoy Arıboğan Özarı
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Arıkan same root – –
02 Arıcı same root – –
03 Arıcan same root – –
04 Arın same root – –
05 Arısoy same root – –
06 Arısan same root – –
07 Arıtürk same root – –
08 Arsoy same root – –
09 Arıboğan same root – –
10 Özarı same root – –

How else is Arı spelled?

Arığspelling

Where in Türkiye is Arı most common?

Arı is outside the national top 30, but it appears in the top-30 list of 1 province; its best rank is 26th in Niğde.1

Adana Adıyaman Afyonkarahisar Ağrı Amasya Ankara Antalya Artvin Aydın Balıkesir Bilecik Bingöl Bitlis Bolu Burdur Bursa Çanakkale Çankırı Çorum Denizli Diyarbakır Edirne Elazığ Erzincan Erzurum Eskişehir Gaziantep Giresun Gümüşhane Hakkari Hatay Isparta Mersin Istanbul Izmir Kars Kastamonu Kayseri Kırklareli Kırşehir Kocaeli Konya Kütahya Malatya Manisa Kahramanmaraş Mardin Muğla Muş Nevşehir Niğde · rank 26 · 1,393 people Ordu Rize Sakarya Samsun Siirt Sinop Sivas Tekirdağ Tokat Trabzon Tunceli Şanlıurfa Uşak Van Yozgat Zonguldak Aksaray Bayburt Karaman Kırıkkale Batman Şırnak Bartın Ardahan Iğdır Yalova Karabük Kilis Osmaniye Düzce Hover or focus a province · ADNKS 2025
  • In the province top 30 1
  • Not listed
Arı: rank by province, 2025 (TÜİK ADNKS, province top-30 lists)
Provinces with the most bearers
#ProvinceRankPeople
01Niğde261,393

Who are some well-known people named Arı?

  1. Ahmet Arı association football player 1989–
  2. Taner Arı association football player 1987–
  3. Kadir Arı association football player 1994–
  4. Genco Arı pianist 1983–
  5. Rahime Arı amateur wrestler 1999–
  6. Merve Arı basketball player 1998–
  7. Ulvi Arı mime artist 1961–
  8. Cavit Arı politician 1968–

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

Is Arı also a first name?

Yes. Arı is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “bee; pure, clean”.

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

How is Arı written and pronounced abroad?

In passports and records outside Turkey Arı is usually written Ari.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Wiktionary: arı accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 Natural Earth Natural Earth: Admin-1 boundaries accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Arı

Q1

What does the surname Arı mean?

Arı is the shared form of two different words. One is the bee, the honey-maker and symbol of industry, from Proto-Turkic *ārï. The other is the adjective “pure, clean”, from Old Turkic arıg, seen in names such as Arıkan. Sources do not say which of the two the surname comes from.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Arı?

The root word of Arı is arı (Turkic): “bee; Proto-Turkic *ārï”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Arı?

A·rı, 2 syllables; IPA: /aˈɾɯ/.