Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 761

Bilir

Bilir /biˈliɾ/

“one who knows, knowledgeable”1

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

How do you pronounce Bilir?

Bilir

IPA /biˈliɾ/

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

What does the surname Bilir mean?

Bilir is the aorist of bilmek “to know”: “he knows, one who knows”. In Turkish bilirkişi, literally “knowing person”, means an expert witness. The surname praises a knowledgeable, understanding person, in the same field as Anlar and Bilge.1

Grammar Aorist third person singular of bilmek (bil- + -ir).

What is Bilir made of?

Bilir breaks into 2 parts: bil- (bilmek: to know) + -ir (aorist suffix).

Bilir + root bil- bilmek: to know TURKIC bilmek “to know; to understand” suffix -ir aorist suffix Bilir bil- root bilmek: to know bilmek TURKIC “to know; to understand” -ir suffix aorist suffix
Bilir: parts and root words
  • bilmek Turkic — to know; to understand1

How was the name Bilir formed?

Bilir belongs to the “from a verb” class of surnames (bil- + -ir).

Which surnames are related to Bilir?

Bilir Bilgin Bilgen Bilici Bilen Özbilen Bilgi Bildik Bilecen Güçbilmez
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Bilgin same root – –
02 Bilgen same root – –
03 Bilici same root – –
04 Bilen same root – –
05 Özbilen same root – –
06 Bilgi same root – –
07 Bildik same root – –
08 Bilecen same root – –
09 Güçbilmez same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Bilir?

  1. Zehra Bilir singer 1913–2007
  2. Mustafa Bilir musician 1958–
  3. Ali Bilir poet 1945–
  4. Harun Bilir athletics competitor 2004–
  5. Hasan Bilir politician 1961–
  6. Mahmut Bilir association football player 1994–
  7. Servet Bilir politician 1920–1997
  8. Zerrin Ersoy Bilir ceramicist 1956–

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

Is Bilir also a first name?

Yes. Bilir is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “one who knows, knowledgeable”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: bilmek accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Bilir

Q1

What does the surname Bilir mean?

Bilir is the aorist of bilmek “to know”: “he knows, one who knows”. In Turkish bilirkişi, literally “knowing person”, means an expert witness. The surname praises a knowledgeable, understanding person, in the same field as Anlar and Bilge.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Bilir?

The root word of Bilir is bilmek (Turkic): “to know; to understand”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Bilir?

Bi·lir, 2 syllables; IPA: /biˈliɾ/.