Doğan

§1How do you pronounce Doğan?

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

§2What does the surname Doğan mean?

Doğan has two readings. The more common one is the falcon, the bird of prey used in hunting. The other comes from the verb doğmak: “being born, rising”, as the sun rises. The name carries both associations, and which one a family had in mind can differ.^4,6

Grammar As the bird name a simple noun; in the verbal reading the -an participle of doğmak (doğ- + -an).

That Doğan goes back to doğan and doğmak is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

Doğan is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

§3What is Doğan made of?

Doğan is a single root: doğan (falcon; or the participle of doğmak “to be born, to rise”).

• doğan Turkic — falcon⁶
• doğmak Turkic — to be born; to rise (of the sun or moon)⁴

§4How was the name Doğan formed?

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

§5Which surnames are related to Doğan?

§6How else is Doğan spelled?

Toganspelling

§7How many people in Türkiye are called Doğan?

Doğan is the 12th most common surname, 35,243 behind Arslan and 35,334 ahead of Kılıç.¹

Bearers by year

Doğan gained 21,882 bearers between 2018 and 2025, yet its share slipped from 5.66 to 5.64 per 1,000 people, because the population grew faster. It has held 12th place every year since 2018.^1,2

§8How has Doğan ranked over the years?

§10How often would you meet a Doğan?

In a school of 1,000 pupils you would expect about 6 Doğans.

In a class of 30, the chance that at least one pupil is a Doğan is about 16%.

485,906 ÷ 86,092,168 × 1,000 ≈ 5.6 ^1,2

The calculation divides bearers by the 2025 ADNKS population; a real school or class will differ by region.

§11How does Doğan compare with similar surnames?

Surnames in the “Birds of prey” category and the Doğan family:

Doğan is about 71% as common as Şahin.

§12How many people are called Mehmet Doğan?

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.

people(given name) × people(surname) ÷ population^1,2,8

§13Who are some well-known people named Doğan?

1. Ahmed Doğan politician 1954–
2. Zehra Doğan writer 1989–
3. Mustafa Doğan association football player 1976–
4. Aynur Doğan singer 1975–
5. Mazlum Doğan politician 1955–1982
6. Fidan Dogan lawyer 1982–2013
7. Rıza Doğan amateur wrestler 1931–2004
8. İshak Doğan association football player 1990–

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

§14Is Doğan also a first name?

Yes. Doğan is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “falcon; rising, born”.

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

§15How is Doğan written and pronounced abroad?

In passports and records outside Turkey Doğan is usually written Dogan.

§17Common questions about Doğan

Q1

What does the surname Doğan mean?

Doğan has two readings. The more common one is the falcon, the bird of prey used in hunting. The other comes from the verb doğmak: “being born, rising”, as the sun rises. The name carries both associations, and which one a family had in mind can differ.

Q2

How many people in Türkiye have the surname Doğan?

485,906 people, according to TÜİK ADNKS 2025, which places it at number 12 in Türkiye.

Q3

In which provinces is Doğan the most common surname?

In the TÜİK ADNKS 2025 province lists it ranks first in Adıyaman.

Q4

What is the origin of the surname Doğan?

The root word of Doğan is doğan (Turkic): “falcon”.

Q5

How do you pronounce Doğan?

Do·ğan, 2 syllables; IPA: /doˈan/.