Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,694

Dönmez

Dönmez /dønˈmez/ ASCII Donmez

“steadfast, true to his word”2

Province lists
31
province top-30s
Letters / syllables
6 / 2
Formation
From a verb
Vowel harmony
front
Contents§1–§12
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Provinces
  7. §7Notable people
  8. §8As a first name
  9. §9Abroad
  10. §10Sources
  11. §11Questions
  12. §12Related

How do you pronounce Dönmez?

Dönmez

IPA /dønˈmez/

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

What does the surname Dönmez mean?

The negative aorist of dönmek, “to turn back”: “who does not turn back”. Since sözünden dönmek in Turkish means to go back on one’s word, the name describes a resolute, loyal person who keeps his word and holds his course.2

Grammar Negative aorist participle of dönmek (dön- + -mez).

What is Dönmez made of?

Dönmez is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: dön- (dönmek: to turn, to turn back) + -mez (negative aorist participle).

Dönmez + root dön- dönmek: to turn, to turnback TURKIC dönmek “to turn; to go back onone’s word” suffix -mez negative aoristparticiple Dönmez dön- root dönmek: to turn, to turn back dönmek TURKIC “to turn; to go back on one’sword” -mez suffix negative aorist participle
Dönmez: parts and root words
  • dönmek Turkic — to turn; to go back on one’s word2

How was the name Dönmez formed?

Dönmez was formed by adding the suffix -mez (“negative aorist participle”) to the verb stem dön- (“dönmek: to turn, to turn back”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.4

Which surnames are related to Dönmez?

Dönmez Döner Erdönmez Yurdadön
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Döner same root – –
02 Erdönmez same root – –
03 Yurdadön same root – –

Where in Türkiye is Dönmez most common?

Dönmez is outside the national top 30, but it appears in the top-30 lists of 3 provinces; its best rank is 10th in Hatay.1

Adana Adıyaman Afyonkarahisar Ağrı Amasya Ankara Antalya Artvin Aydın Balıkesir Bilecik Bingöl Bitlis Bolu Burdur Bursa Çanakkale Çankırı Çorum Denizli Diyarbakır Edirne Elazığ Erzincan Erzurum Eskişehir Gaziantep Giresun Gümüşhane Hakkari Hatay · rank 10 · 7,605 people Isparta Mersin Istanbul Izmir Kars Kastamonu Kayseri Kırklareli Kırşehir Kocaeli Konya Kütahya · rank 22 · 2,182 people Malatya Manisa Kahramanmaraş Mardin Muğla Muş Nevşehir Niğde Ordu Rize Sakarya Samsun Siirt Sinop Sivas Tekirdağ Tokat Trabzon Tunceli Şanlıurfa Uşak Van Yozgat Zonguldak Aksaray Bayburt Karaman Kırıkkale Batman Şırnak Bartın · rank 21 · 860 people Ardahan Iğdır Yalova Karabük Kilis Osmaniye Düzce Hover or focus a province · ADNKS 2025
  • In the province top 30 3
  • Not listed
Dönmez: rank by province, 2025 (TÜİK ADNKS, province top-30 lists)
Provinces with the most bearers
#ProvinceRankPeople
01Hatay107,605
02Kütahya222,182
03Bartın21860

Who are some well-known people named Dönmez?

  1. Fatih Dönmez politician 1965–
  2. Şebnem Dönmez actor 1974–
  3. Ayfer Dönmez actor 1982–
  4. Ecem Dönmez swimmer 1998–
  5. Efgani Dönmez politician 1976–
  6. Benian Dönmez film actor 1965–
  7. Enver Dönmez actor 1943–2014
  8. Şükriye Dönmez actor 1969–

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

Is Dönmez also a first name?

Yes. Dönmez is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “steadfast, true to his word”.

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

How is Dönmez written and pronounced abroad?

In passports and records outside Turkey Dönmez is usually written Donmez or Doenmez.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Wiktionary: dönmek accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 Natural Earth Natural Earth: Admin-1 boundaries accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Dönmez

Q1

What does the surname Dönmez mean?

The negative aorist of dönmek, “to turn back”: “who does not turn back”. Since sözünden dönmek in Turkish means to go back on one’s word, the name describes a resolute, loyal person who keeps his word and holds his course.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Dönmez?

The root word of Dönmez is dönmek (Turkic): “to turn; to go back on one’s word”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Dönmez?

Dön·mez, 2 syllables; IPA: /dønˈmez/.