Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,752

Efe

Efe /eˈfe/

“zeybek leader, brave man”2

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

How do you pronounce Efe?

Efe

IPA /eˈfe/

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

What does the surname Efe mean?

An efe was the leader of a band of zeybeks, the armed irregulars of the Aegean hinterland; the young members of the band were called kızan. The word also means a bold, swaggering man and, in some dialects, an elder brother. Today it is a popular male given name, especially in the Aegean region.2

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. Turkic origin: linked to Old Turkic ebe, eçe, eğe ‘elder brother’; Nişanyan considers this the most likely view.
  2. Greek origin: proposed as a survival of Greek ephēbos ‘youth, young man’.
  3. Clipping of efendi: a shortened form of efendi, used by the zeybeks to address one another.

Efe is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Efe made of?

Efe is a single Turkic root: efe (leader of the zeybeks; brave man; elder brother).

Efe root efe leader of the zeybeks;brave man; elder brother TURKIC efe “head of a zeybek band inthe Aegean; brave man;…” Efe efe root leader of the zeybeks; brave man;elder brother efe TURKIC “head of a zeybek band in theAegean; brave man; elder brother”
Efe: parts and root words
  • efe Turkic — head of a zeybek band in the Aegean; brave man; elder brother2

How was the name Efe formed?

Efe is the word efe (“leader of the zeybeks; brave man; elder brother”), taken unchanged as a surname.

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.7

Which surnames are related to Efe?

Efe Kocaefe Canefe Efemgil Efeoğlu
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Kocaefe same root – –
02 Canefe same root – –
03 Efemgil same root – –
04 Efeoğlu same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Efe?

  1. Cem Efe association football player 1978–
  2. Gökçen Efe revolutionary 1881–1919
  3. Mestan Efe statesperson
  4. Muharrem Efe association football player 1990–
  5. Nurullah Efe politician 1945–
  6. Recep Efe cross-country skier 1990–
  7. Ali Osman Efe statesperson 1900–1951
  8. Asuman Efe botanist 1955–

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

Is Efe also a first name?

Yes. Efe is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “zeybek leader, brave man”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Vikipedi: Efe (ad) accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: efe accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Wiktionary: Efe accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Wiktionary: efe accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 kaikki.org kaikki.org accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  8. 8 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Efe

Q1

What does the surname Efe mean?

An efe was the leader of a band of zeybeks, the armed irregulars of the Aegean hinterland; the young members of the band were called kızan. The word also means a bold, swaggering man and, in some dialects, an elder brother. Today it is a popular male given name, especially in the Aegean region.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Efe?

The root word of Efe is efe (Turkic): “head of a zeybek band in the Aegean; brave man; elder brother”. There are 4 competing views on where Efe comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Efe?

E·fe, 2 syllables; IPA: /eˈfe/.