Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 588

Atar

Atar /aˈtaɾ/

“one who shoots; or perfumer”4

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

How do you pronounce Atar?

Atar

IPA /aˈtaɾ/

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

What does the surname Atar mean?

Read as Turkish, Atar is the aorist of atmak: ‘(he) throws, shoots’, describing an archer or marksman. Nişanyan Sözlük explains atar as the root at- plus the suffix -r. Nişanyan Adlar, however, lists under the same heading the Arabic-derived attar ‘perfumer’ and the poet Farīd ud-Dīn Attar.1,4

Grammar at- + -ar: aorist, third person singular.

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. Aorist of Turkish atmak: ‘throws, shoots’ (Nişanyan Sözlük, atar).
  2. A simplified spelling of Arabic attar ‘perfumer, spice seller’ (Nişanyan Adlar, Atar).

What is Atar made of?

Atar combines Turkic and Arabic elements in 2 parts: at- (atmak: to throw, to shoot) + -ar (aorist suffix -Ar/-Ir).

Atar ++ root at- atmak: to throw, to shoot TURKIC atmak “to throw, cast, shoot” suffix -ar aorist suffix -Ar/-Ir ARABIC attar “perfumer, seller ofherbs” Atar at- root atmak: to throw, to shoot atmak TURKIC “to throw, cast, shoot” -ar suffix aorist suffix -Ar/-Ir attar ARABIC “perfumer, seller of herbs”
Atar: parts and root words
  • atmak Turkic — to throw, cast, shoot4
  • attar Arabic — perfumer, seller of herbs1

How was the name Atar formed?

Atar was formed by adding the suffix -ar (“aorist suffix -Ar/-Ir”) to the verb stem at- (“atmak: to throw, to shoot”).

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

Which surnames are related to Atar?

Atar Atıcı Atmaca Attar Canatan
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Atıcı same root – –
02 Atmaca same root – –
03 Attar same root – –
04 Canatan same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Atar?

  1. Berke Atar basketball player 1999–
  2. Feyzi Arda Atar researcher
  3. Hasan Hüseyin Atar researcher 2000–
  4. Murat Atar researcher

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Adlar: Attar accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: atar accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Adlar: Atar accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: atmak 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

Common questions about Atar

Q1

What does the surname Atar mean?

Read as Turkish, Atar is the aorist of atmak: ‘(he) throws, shoots’, describing an archer or marksman. Nişanyan Sözlük explains atar as the root at- plus the suffix -r. Nişanyan Adlar, however, lists under the same heading the Arabic-derived attar ‘perfumer’ and the poet Farīd ud-Dīn Attar.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Atar?

The root word of Atar is atmak (Turkic): “to throw, cast, shoot”. There are 3 competing views on where Atar comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Atar?

A·tar, 2 syllables; IPA: /aˈtaɾ/.