SURNAMENo. 3
ADNKS 2025Demir
“iron; strong, steadfast”4
#3 The 3rd most common surname in Türkiye 876,934 peopleTÜİK ADNKS 20251
Leading provinces Şanlıurfa · Van · Mardin
Published: Last updated:
- Letters / syllables
- 5 / 2
- Formation
- Plain noun
- Initial
- D
Cite and share
How do you pronounce Demir?
The stress usually falls on syllable 2 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.
What does the surname Demir mean?
Demir is the Turkish word for iron, from Old Turkic temür. Figuratively it stands for what is strong, sound and unbreakable. It is a very old personal name across the Turkic world; the name Timur is another form of the same word.4
Demir is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.
How was the name Demir formed?
Demir is the word demir (“iron”), taken unchanged as a surname.
Which surnames are related to Demir?
| # | Surname | Relation | Rank | People |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Özdemir | same root | 10 | 556,378 |
| 02 | Demirci | same root | – | – |
| 03 | Demirel | same root | – | – |
| 04 | Aydemir | same root | – | – |
| 05 | Demirtaş | same root | – | – |
| 06 | Kandemir | same root | – | – |
| 07 | Akdemir | same root | – | – |
| 08 | Taşdemir | same root | – | – |
| 09 | Demircan | same root | – | – |
| 10 | Demirhan | same root | – | – |
| 11 | Erdemir | same root | – | – |
| 12 | Demirer | same root | – | – |
How many people in Türkiye are called Demir?
TÜİK’s ADNKS 2025 register counts 876,934 people named Demir in Türkiye, placing the surname 3rd. That is 22,788 behind Kaya and 159,279 ahead of Çelik.1
Bearers by year
| 2018 | 820,156 |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 831,095 |
| 2020 | 840,270 |
| 2021 | 849,475 |
| 2022 | 858,092 |
| 2023 | 864,643 |
| 2024 | 871,107 |
| 2025 | 876,934 |
Demir is growing faster than Türkiye’s population: up 56,778 people (6.9%) since 2018, against 5.0% for the population as a whole. That is the largest absolute gain of any top-10 surname. It has held 3rd place every year since 2018.1,2
NVİ NVİ, a separate register, reported 1,105,381 people named Demir for 2021. NVİ and ADNKS count different populations, so we never chart them together.3
How has Demir ranked over the years?
| Year | Rank | People | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | 876,934 | +5,827 | [1] |
| 2024 | 3 | 871,107 | +6,464 | [1] |
| 2023 | 3 | 864,643 | +6,551 | [1] |
| 2022 | 3 | 858,092 | +8,617 | [1] |
| 2021 | 3 | 849,475 | +9,205 | [1] |
| 2020 | 3 | 840,270 | +9,175 | [1] |
| 2019 | 3 | 831,095 | +10,939 | [1] |
| 2018 | 3 | 820,156 | – | [1] |
Where in Türkiye is Demir most common?
Demir tops the list only in Bitlis, Kahramanmaraş, Mardin, Tunceli, Şanlıurfa, Van, Batman, Şırnak and Osmaniye, but is in the top three in 39 provinces.1
- Most common surname (#1) 9
- In the top three (#2–3) 30
- In the province top 30 42
- Not listed
How often would you meet a Demir?
In a school of 1,000 pupils you would expect about 10 Demirs.
In a class of 30, the chance that at least one pupil is a Demir is about 26%.
876,934 ÷ 86,092,168 × 1,000 ≈ 10.2 1,2
The calculation divides bearers by the 2025 ADNKS population; a real school or class will differ by region.
How does Demir compare with similar surnames?
Surnames in the “Metals and gemstones” category and the Demir family:
For every Çelik there are about 1.2 Demirs.
How many people are called Mehmet Demir?
The calculated first-name pairings for Demir include Mehmet Demir, Fatma Demir and Mustafa Demir; the figures below are estimates assuming independence.
These are estimates that assume given names and surnames are independent. In reality, families and regions do not choose names independently, so read them as orders of magnitude.
| # | Full name | Estimated people |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Mehmet Demir ↗ | ≈12,956estimate |
| 02 | Fatma Demir ↗ | ≈11,736estimate |
| 03 | Mustafa Demir ↗ | ≈10,773estimate |
Who are some well-known people named Demir?
- Yusuf Demir association football player 2003–
- Neslihan Demir volleyball player 1983–
- Emre Demir association football player 2004–
- Erdin Demir association football player 1990–
- Mahmut Demir amateur wrestler 1970–
- Muhammet Demir association football player 1992–
- Nilüfer Demir journalist 1986–
- Aykut Demir association football player 1988–
People surnamed Demir as recorded in Wikidata, ordered by the number of Wikipedia language editions.
Is Demir also a first name?
Yes. Demir is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “iron; strong, steadfast”.
Demir as a first name: meaning and statistics — turkiyenames.com →
Which surnames have a meaning similar to Demir?
Akdemir, Karademir and Kökdemir share gloss keywords with Demir within the same primary category.
Which guides add context to Demir?
Read the root, formation and register information for Demir alongside these guides: Turkish Surname Statistics: Surnames in Numbers and How to research a Turkish surname and family tree.
Where do these facts come from?
- 1 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS)
- 2 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK ADNKS: Cinsiyete göre nüfus, Türkiye ve 81 il
- 3 Anadolu Ajansı (figures: NVİ, İçişleri Bakanlığı)NVİ AA (17 Jul 2021): Türkiye'de en yaygın kullanılan soyadları Yılmaz, Kaya ve Demir — NVİ figures
- 4 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: demir
- 5 Wikimedia Wiktionary: demir
- 6 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: demir
- 7 Wikimedia Wiktionary: Demir
- 8 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name
- 9 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı — En çok kullanılan isimler (ADNKS)
- 10 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525)
- 11 Natural Earth Natural Earth: Admin-1 boundaries
- 12 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com)
Common questions about Demir
- Q1
What does the surname Demir mean?
- Demir is the Turkish word for iron, from Old Turkic temür. Figuratively it stands for what is strong, sound and unbreakable. It is a very old personal name across the Turkic world; the name Timur is another form of the same word.
- Q2
How many people in Türkiye have the surname Demir?
- 876,934 people, according to TÜİK ADNKS 2025, which places it at number 3 in Türkiye.
- Q3
In which provinces is Demir the most common surname?
- In the TÜİK ADNKS 2025 province lists it ranks first in Bitlis, Kahramanmaraş, Mardin, Tunceli, Şanlıurfa, Van, Batman, Şırnak and Osmaniye.
- Q4
What is the origin of the surname Demir?
- The root word of Demir is demir (Turkic): “iron; figuratively strong, hard”.
- Q5
How do you pronounce Demir?
- De·mir, 2 syllables; IPA: /deˈmiɾ/.