Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,353

Çalış

Çalış /tʃaˈɫɯʃ/ ASCII Calis

“work!, strive”1

Probable origin Çalış: root entries for çalışmak · How do we know?

Published: Last updated:

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
From a verb
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
Ç
Cite and share
Download card

How do you pronounce Çalış?

Çalış

IPA /tʃaˈɫɯʃ/

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

What does the surname Çalış mean?

Çalış is the imperative of çalışmak: “work!”, “strive!”. Like other imperative names such as Erol, it carries a counsel or wish: to labour, to make an effort. The surname puts industry forward as a principle.1

Grammar Imperative, second person singular, of çalışmak.

That Çalış goes back to çalışmak is probable rather than proven: the dictionary entry cited supports it.

What is Çalış made of?

Çalış is a single Turkic root: çalış- (çalışmak: to work, strive).

Çalış root çalış- çalışmak: to work, strive TURKIC çalışmak “to work, to strive” Çalış çalış- root çalışmak: to work, strive çalışmak TURKIC “to work, to strive”
Çalış: parts and root words
  • çalışmak Turkic — to work, to strive1

How was the name Çalış formed?

Çalış is built on the verb çalış- (“çalışmak: to work, strive”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.3

Which surnames are related to Çalış?

Çalış Çalışkan Çalışır Çalışkanoğlu Çalışgan Çokçalış
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Çalışkan same root – –
02 Çalışır same root – –
03 Çalışkanoğlu same root – –
04 Çalışgan same root – –
05 Çokçalış same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Çalış?

  1. Taşkın Çalış association football player 1993–
  2. Hasan Çalış politician 1956–
  3. Havva Talay Çalış statesperson 1971–
  4. Orhan Çalış politician 1929–1991
  5. Aylin Sipahi Çalış researcher
  6. Fatih Çalış researcher
  7. Hasan Çalış researcher
  8. Metin Çalış cook 1971–

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

How is Çalış written and pronounced abroad?

Passports and English-language documents often show it as Calis.

Which surnames have a meaning similar to Çalış?

Çalışır, Hümmet and Say share gloss keywords with Çalış within the same primary category.

Which guides add context to Çalış?

Read the root, formation and register information for Çalış alongside these guides: How Turkish Surnames Are Formed: Roots and Suffixes and How to Pronounce and Spell Turkish Surnames.

Where do these facts come from?

All sources accessed 8 November 2026

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: çalışmak
  2. 2 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name
  3. 3 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525)

Common questions about Çalış

Q1

What does the surname Çalış mean?

Çalış is the imperative of çalışmak: “work!”, “strive!”. Like other imperative names such as Erol, it carries a counsel or wish: to labour, to make an effort. The surname puts industry forward as a principle.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Çalış?

The root word of Çalış is çalışmak (Turkic): “to work, to strive”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Çalış?

Ça·lış, 2 syllables; IPA: /tʃaˈɫɯʃ/.