Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,211

Doğu

Doğu /doˈu/ ASCII Dogu

“east, sunrise”1

Letters / syllables
4 / 2
Formation
Suffixed
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
D
Contents§1–§11
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Notable people
  7. §7As a first name
  8. §8Abroad
  9. §9Sources
  10. §10Questions
  11. §11Related

How do you pronounce Doğu?

Doğu

IPA /doˈu/

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

What does the surname Doğu mean?

Doğu is the east, the direction where the sun rises; it derives from doğmak “to rise”, literally “the place of rising”. It is the Turkish equivalent of Ottoman şark. As a surname it names the quarter where light and the new day begin.1

Grammar doğ- + -u; noun from a verb.

Doğu is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Doğu made of?

Doğu breaks into 2 parts: doğ- (doğmak: (of the sun) to rise) + -u (deverbal noun suffix).

Doğu + root doğ- doğmak: (of the sun) torise TURKIC doğu “east, where the sunrises; doğ- + -u” suffix -u deverbal noun suffix Doğu doğ- root doğmak: (of the sun) to rise doğu TURKIC “east, where the sun rises; doğ-+ -u” -u suffix deverbal noun suffix
Doğu: parts and root words
  • doğu Turkic — east, where the sun rises; doğ- + -u1

How was the name Doğu formed?

Doğu belongs to the “suffixed” class of surnames (doğ- + -u).

Which surnames are related to Doğu?

Doğu Gündoğdu Aydoğdu Gündoğan Aydoğmuş Doğulu Doğar
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Gündoğdu same root – –
02 Aydoğdu same root – –
03 Gündoğan same root – –
04 Aydoğmuş same root – –
05 Doğulu same root – –
06 Doğar same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Doğu?

  1. Yaşar Doğu amateur wrestler 1913–1961
  2. Ahmet Doğu amateur wrestler 1973–
  3. Ersan Doğu association football player 1972–
  4. Cengiz Doğu poet 1945–2019
  5. Mehmet Fuat Doğu diplomat 1914–2004
  6. Sinem Doğu ice hockey player 1987–
  7. Adnan Doğu soldier 1926–2020
  8. Barlas Doğu politician 1936–

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

Is Doğu also a first name?

Yes. Doğu is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “east, sunrise”.

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

How is Doğu written and pronounced abroad?

In databases without Turkish characters it usually appears as Dogu.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: doğu 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 Doğu

Q1

What does the surname Doğu mean?

Doğu is the east, the direction where the sun rises; it derives from doğmak “to rise”, literally “the place of rising”. It is the Turkish equivalent of Ottoman şark. As a surname it names the quarter where light and the new day begin.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Doğu?

The root word of Doğu is doğu (Turkic): “east, where the sun rises; doğ- + -u”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Doğu?

Do·ğu, 2 syllables; IPA: /doˈu/.