Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,262

Efes

Efes /eˈfes/

“Ephesus”1

Letters / syllables
4 / 2
Formation
Place name
Vowel harmony
front
Initial
E
Contents§1–§8
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Notable people
  6. §6Sources
  7. §7Questions
  8. §8Related

How do you pronounce Efes?

Efes

IPA /eˈfes/

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

What does the surname Efes mean?

Efes is what Turkish calls Ephesus, the ancient city near Selçuk in today’s Izmir Province. It comes via Ottoman Turkish from Medieval Greek Éphesos; Wiktionary traces it further to Luwian Apaša. The surname carries this place name.1

What is Efes made of?

Efes is a single root: Efes (Ephesus).

Efes root Efes Ephesus GREEK Efes “Ephesus, ancient citynear Selçuk” Efes Efes root Ephesus Efes GREEK “Ephesus, ancient city nearSelçuk”
Efes: parts and root words
  • Efes Greek — Ephesus, ancient city near Selçuk1

How was the name Efes formed?

Efes belongs to the “place name” class of surnames.

Who are some well-known people named Efes?

  1. Nilgün Efes businessperson 1957–
  2. Şefik Kamil Efes businessperson 1899–1988
  3. Hüseyin Kamil Efes kaymakam 1913–1962

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: Efes 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

Common questions about Efes

Q1

What does the surname Efes mean?

Efes is what Turkish calls Ephesus, the ancient city near Selçuk in today’s Izmir Province. It comes via Ottoman Turkish from Medieval Greek Éphesos; Wiktionary traces it further to Luwian Apaša. The surname carries this place name.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Efes?

The root word of Efes is Efes (Greek): “Ephesus, ancient city near Selçuk”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Efes?

E·fes, 2 syllables; IPA: /eˈfes/.