Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 482

Arık

Arık /aˈɾɯk/ ASCII Arik

“pure, clean; or lean”1

Letters / syllables
4 / 2
Formation
Adjective
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
A
Contents§1–§11
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Notable people
  7. §7As a first name
  8. §8Abroad
  9. §9Sources
  10. §10Questions
  11. §11Related

How do you pronounce Arık?

Arık

IPA /aˈɾɯk/

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

What does the surname Arık mean?

As a given name Arık is linked to Old Turkic arıg ‘clean, pure’, the same root as modern arı ‘unmixed’. Modern dictionaries, however, list arık as ‘lean, scrawny’ and as ‘irrigation ditch, seedbed’, so the reading behind the surname is not settled.1

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. Name reading: Old Turkic arıg ‘clean, pure’; the Turkish Wiktionary name list glosses Arık as ‘clean’.
  2. Dictionary reading: in modern Turkish arık means ‘lean, scrawny’, which would make it a nickname about the body.
  3. With the sense ‘irrigation ditch, seedbed’, arık could also be a field or place name.

Arık is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Arık made of?

Arık is a single Turkic root: arık (pure, clean (Old Turkic); lean (modern Turkish)).

Arık + root arık pure, clean (Old Turkic);lean (modern Turkish) TURKIC arık “lean, scrawny; plantingditch, irrigation…” TURKIC arıg “clean, pure (Old Turkic)” Arık arık root pure, clean (Old Turkic); lean (modernTurkish) arık TURKIC “lean, scrawny; planting ditch,irrigation channel” arıg TURKIC “clean, pure (Old Turkic)”
Arık: parts and root words
  • arık Turkic — lean, scrawny; planting ditch, irrigation channel1
  • arıg Turkic — clean, pure (Old Turkic)1

How was the name Arık formed?

Arık is the adjective arık (“pure, clean (Old Turkic); lean (modern Turkish)”), taken unchanged as a surname.

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.6

Which surnames are related to Arık?

Arık Arıkoğlu Ark
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Arıkoğlu same root – –
02 Ark same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Arık?

  1. Engin Arık university teacher 1948–2007
  2. Remzi Oğuz Arık politician 1899–1954
  3. Mevlüt Arık amateur wrestler 1988–
  4. Ünsal Arık boxer 1980–
  5. Aslı Arık athletics competitor 1995–
  6. Nermin Arık writer 1928–2005
  7. Çetin Arık politician 1971–
  8. Fatma Arık athletics competitor 1997–

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

Is Arık also a first name?

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

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

How is Arık written and pronounced abroad?

Outside Türkiye the name is often written Arik in passports and registers that lack Turkish letters.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: arık accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Adlar: Arık accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Vikipedi: Arık accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: arık accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Arık

Q1

What does the surname Arık mean?

As a given name Arık is linked to Old Turkic arıg ‘clean, pure’, the same root as modern arı ‘unmixed’. Modern dictionaries, however, list arık as ‘lean, scrawny’ and as ‘irrigation ditch, seedbed’, so the reading behind the surname is not settled.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Arık?

The root word of Arık is arıg (Turkic): “clean, pure (Old Turkic)”. There are 4 competing views on where Arık comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Arık?

A·rık, 2 syllables; IPA: /aˈɾɯk/.