Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 598

Atatürk

Atatürk /ataˈtyɾk/ ASCII Ataturk

“father of the Turks”2

Letters / syllables
7 / 3
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
mixed
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 Atatürk?

Atatürk

IPA /ataˈtyɾk/

The stress usually falls on syllable 3 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.

What does the surname Atatürk mean?

The name means “father of the Turks”, formed from ata, “father, forefather”, and Türk. It was conferred on Mustafa Kemal, founder of the Republic of Turkey, by a special law, No. 2587 of 24 November 1934.2,3

Grammar Compound of ata + Türk; a surname conferred by law.

What is Atatürk made of?

Atatürk is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: ata (father, ancestor) + türk (Turk).

Atatürk ++ root ata father, ancestor TURKIC ata “father; forebear” suffix türk Turk TURKIC Türk “Turk, the Turkish nation” Atatürk ata root father, ancestor ata TURKIC “father; forebear” türk suffix Turk Türk TURKIC “Turk, the Turkish nation”
Atatürk: parts and root words
  • ata Turkic — father; forebear2
  • Türk Turkic — Turk, the Turkish nation3

How was the name Atatürk formed?

Atatürk was formed by adding the suffix türk (“Turk”) to ata (“father, ancestor”).

Law No. 2587, “Law on the Surname Given to Our President Named Kemal”, was adopted on 24 November 1934 and published in the Official Gazette No. 2865 of 27 November 1934. Its first article states that the surname Atatürk is given to the President whose personal name is Kemal. The law has three articles and took effect on publication.1,4

Which surnames are related to Atatürk?

Atatürk Öztürk Atalay Türkmen Şentürk Türkoğlu Ertürk Türk Türker Atay Ataman Atasoy Ataç
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Öztürk same root 8 586,831
02 Atalay same root – –
03 Türkmen same root – –
04 Şentürk same root – –
05 Türkoğlu same root – –
06 Ertürk same root – –
07 Türk same root – –
08 Türker same root – –
09 Atay same root – –
10 Ataman same root – –
11 Atasoy same root – –
12 Ataç same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Atatürk?

  1. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk politician 1881–1938

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 T.C. Cumhurbaşkanlığı Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi: 1.3.2587.pdf accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Wiktionary: ata accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Wiktionary: Türk accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 T.C. Resmî Gazete Resmî Gazete: 2865.pdf 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 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026
  8. 8 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Atatürk

Q1

What does the surname Atatürk mean?

The name means “father of the Turks”, formed from ata, “father, forefather”, and Türk. It was conferred on Mustafa Kemal, founder of the Republic of Turkey, by a special law, No. 2587 of 24 November 1934.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Atatürk?

Atatürk is made up of two elements: ata “father; forebear” (Turkic) and Türk “Turk, the Turkish nation” (Turkic).
Q3

How do you pronounce Atatürk?

A·ta·türk, 3 syllables; IPA: /ataˈtyɾk/.