SURNAMENo. 11
ADNKS 2025Arslan
“lion”3
- CategoryLions, wolves and predators
- OriginTurkic
- FormPlain noun
#11 The 11th most common surname in Türkiye 521,149 peopleTÜİK ADNKS 20251
- Letters / syllables
- 6 / 2
- Formation
- Plain noun
Contents§1–§17
How do you pronounce Arslan?
The stress usually falls on syllable 2 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.
What does the surname Arslan mean?
Arslan is the older, full Old Turkic form of aslan, “lion”; the r later dropped out in speech and aslan became the usual form. A symbol of strength, courage and sovereignty, it appears in the names of Seljuk sultans such as Alparslan and Kılıçarslan.3
Arslan is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.
What is Arslan made of?
Arslan is a single Turkic root: arslan (lion (older form)).
- arslan Turkic — lion; the older, fuller form of aslan3
How was the name Arslan formed?
Arslan is the word arslan (“lion (older form)”), taken unchanged as a surname.
Which surnames are related to Arslan?
| # | Surname | Relation | Rank | People |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Alparslan | same root | – | – |
| 02 | Özarslan | same root | – | – |
| 03 | Kılıçaslan | same root | – | – |
| 04 | Arslantaş | same root | – | – |
| 05 | Arslanoğlu | same root | – | – |
| 06 | Kılıçarslan | same root | – | – |
| 07 | Arslantürk | same root | – | – |
| 08 | Küçükaslan | same root | – | – |
| 09 | Alarslan | same root | – | – |
| 10 | Bozarslan | same root | – | – |
| 11 | Çetinaslan | same root | – | – |
| 12 | Arslanboğa | same root | – | – |
How else is Arslan spelled?
- Aslanspelling
How many people in Türkiye are called Arslan?
In TÜİK’s ADNKS 2025 figures, 521,149 people in Türkiye carry the surname Arslan, ranking it 11th in the top 30. That is 35,229 behind Özdemir and 35,243 ahead of Doğan.1
Bearers by year
| 2018 | 494,860 |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 500,426 |
| 2020 | 504,888 |
| 2021 | 509,315 |
| 2022 | 513,393 |
| 2023 | 515,937 |
| 2024 | 518,611 |
| 2025 | 521,149 |
Arslan is growing faster than Türkiye’s population: up 26,289 people (5.3%) since 2018, against 5.0% for the population as a whole. It has held 11th place every year since 2018.1,2
How has Arslan ranked over the years?
| Year | Rank | People | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 11 | 521,149 | +2,538 | [1] |
| 2024 | 11 | 518,611 | +2,674 | [1] |
| 2023 | 11 | 515,937 | +2,544 | [1] |
| 2022 | 11 | 513,393 | +4,078 | [1] |
| 2021 | 11 | 509,315 | +4,427 | [1] |
| 2020 | 11 | 504,888 | +4,462 | [1] |
| 2019 | 11 | 500,426 | +5,566 | [1] |
| 2018 | 11 | 494,860 | – | [1] |
Where in Türkiye is Arslan most common?
Arslan is not first anywhere, but it is in the top three in 2 provinces: Hatay and Yozgat.1
- In the top three (#2–3) 2
- In the province top 30 75
- Not listed
| # | Province | Rank | People |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Istanbul | 10 | 94,640 |
| 02 | Ankara | 11 | 40,531 |
| 03 | Izmir | 12 | 21,451 |
| 04 | Bursa | 11 | 18,297 |
| 05 | Antalya | 11 | 15,807 |
| 06 | Gaziantep | 15 | 15,510 |
How often would you meet an Arslan?
In a school of 1,000 pupils you would expect about 6 Arslans.
In a class of 30, the chance that at least one pupil is an Arslan is about 17%.
521,149 ÷ 86,092,168 × 1,000 ≈ 6.1 1,2
The calculation divides bearers by the 2025 ADNKS population; a real school or class will differ by region.
How does Arslan compare with similar surnames?
Surnames in the “Lions, wolves and predators” category and the Arslan family:
For every Aslan there are about 1.3 Arslans.
How many people are called Mehmet Arslan?
These are estimates that assume given names and surnames are independent. In reality, families and regions do not choose names independently, so read them as orders of magnitude.
| # | Full name | Estimated people |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Mehmet Arslan | ≈7,699estimate |
| 02 | Fatma Arslan | ≈6,974estimate |
| 03 | Mustafa Arslan | ≈6,402estimate |
| 04 | Ayşe Arslan | ≈5,490estimate |
| 05 | Ahmet Arslan | ≈5,188estimate |
Who are some well-known people named Arslan?
- Tolgay Arslan association football player 1990–
- Emir Şekib Arslan politician 1869–1946
- Ender Arslan basketball player 1983–
- Fırat Arslan boxer 1970–
- Cihat Arslan association football player 1970–
- Hakan Arslan association football player 1988–
- Volkan Arslan association football player 1978–
- Emir Emin Arslan politician 1868–1943
People surnamed Arslan as recorded in Wikidata, ordered by the number of Wikipedia language editions.
Is Arslan also a first name?
Yes. Arslan is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “lion”.
Arslan as a first name: meaning and statistics — turkiyenames.com →
Where do these facts come from?
- 1 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS)
- 2 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK ADNKS: Cinsiyete göre nüfus, Türkiye ve 81 il
- 3 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: arslan
- 4 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Adlar: Arslan
- 5 Wikimedia Wiktionary: arslan
- 6 Wikimedia Wiktionary: Arslan
- 7 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name
- 8 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı — En çok kullanılan isimler (ADNKS)
- 9 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525)
- 10 Natural Earth Natural Earth: Admin-1 boundaries
- 11 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com)
Common questions about Arslan
- Q1
What does the surname Arslan mean?
- Arslan is the older, full Old Turkic form of aslan, “lion”; the r later dropped out in speech and aslan became the usual form. A symbol of strength, courage and sovereignty, it appears in the names of Seljuk sultans such as Alparslan and Kılıçarslan.
- Q2
How many people in Türkiye have the surname Arslan?
- 521,149 people, according to TÜİK ADNKS 2025, which places it at number 11 in Türkiye.
- Q3
What is the origin of the surname Arslan?
- The root word of Arslan is arslan (Turkic): “lion; the older, fuller form of aslan”.
- Q4
How do you pronounce Arslan?
- Ars·lan, 2 syllables; IPA: /aɾsˈɫan/.