Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 603

Baş

/baʃ/ ASCII Bas

“head; leader”2

Province lists
71
province top-30s
Letters / syllables
3 / 1
Formation
Plain noun
Vowel harmony
back
Contents§1–§11
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Provinces
  7. §7Notable people
  8. §8Abroad
  9. §9Sources
  10. §10Questions
  11. §11Related

How do you pronounce Baş?

Baş

IPA /baʃ/

What does the surname Baş mean?

Baş is the head; figuratively it means leader, chief and foremost, as in köyün başı, “head of the village”, or baş usta, “master craftsman”. The word goes back to Proto-Turkic *baĺč. As a surname it points to someone at the head of a community, a leader; it is the second element of names such as Kocabaş and Akbaş.2

Baş is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Baş made of?

Baş is a single root: baş (head; chief, first).

Baş root baş head; chief, first TURKIC baş “head; leader, chief,first” Baş baş root head; chief, first baş TURKIC “head; leader, chief, first”
Baş: parts and root words
  • baş Turkic — head; leader, chief, first2

How was the name Baş formed?

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

Which surnames are related to Baş?

Baş Akbaş Subaşı Başer Kocabaş Erbaş Baştürk Demirbaş Başkan Başoğlu Yüzbaşıoğlu Odabaş Sarıbaş
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Akbaş same root – –
02 Subaşı same root – –
03 Başer same root – –
04 Kocabaş same root – –
05 Erbaş same root – –
06 Baştürk same root – –
07 Demirbaş same root – –
08 Başkan same root – –
09 Başoğlu same root – –
10 Yüzbaşıoğlu same root – –
11 Odabaş same root – –
12 Sarıbaş same root – –

Where in Türkiye is Baş most common?

Baş is outside the national top 30, but it appears in the top-30 lists of 7 provinces; its best rank is 13th in Sinop.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 · rank 30 · 618 people Hakkari Hatay Isparta Mersin Istanbul Izmir Kars Kastamonu · rank 28 · 984 people Kayseri Kırklareli Kırşehir Kocaeli Konya Kütahya Malatya Manisa Kahramanmaraş Mardin Muğla Muş Nevşehir Niğde Ordu · rank 19 · 3,175 people Rize · rank 29 · 1,256 people Sakarya Samsun · rank 22 · 5,291 people Siirt Sinop · rank 13 · 1,502 people Sivas Tekirdağ Tokat Trabzon Tunceli Şanlıurfa Uşak Van Yozgat Zonguldak Aksaray Bayburt Karaman Kırıkkale Batman Şırnak Bartın Ardahan Iğdır Yalova Karabük Kilis Osmaniye Düzce · rank 24 · 1,621 people Hover or focus a province · ADNKS 2025
  • In the province top 30 7
  • Not listed
Baş: rank by province, 2025 (TÜİK ADNKS, province top-30 lists)
Provinces with the most bearers
#ProvinceRankPeople
01Samsun225,291
02Ordu193,175
03Düzce241,621
04Sinop131,502
05Rize291,256
06Kastamonu28984

Who are some well-known people named Baş?

  1. Erkan Baş politician 1979–
  2. Nimet Baş politician 1965–
  3. Haydar Baş politician 1947–2020
  4. Nesrin Baş amateur wrestler 2002–
  5. Yahya Baş politician 1952–2023
  6. Şemsettin Baş basketball player 1973–
  7. Göktuğ Baş basketball player 2001–
  8. Hüseyin Baş politician 1991–

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

How is Baş written and pronounced abroad?

In passports and records outside Turkey Baş is usually written Bas.

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: baş 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

Common questions about Baş

Q1

What does the surname Baş mean?

Baş is the head; figuratively it means leader, chief and foremost, as in köyün başı, “head of the village”, or baş usta, “master craftsman”. The word goes back to Proto-Turkic *baĺč. As a surname it points to someone at the head of a community, a leader; it is the second element of names such as Kocabaş and Akbaş.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Baş?

The root word of Baş is baş (Turkic): “head; leader, chief, first”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Baş?

Baş, 1 syllable; IPA: /baʃ/.