Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,788

Elgin

Elgin /elˈɟin/

“stranger, living far from home”1

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

How do you pronounce Elgin?

Elgin

IPA /elˈɟin/

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

What does the surname Elgin mean?

Elgin is listed as an adjective meaning ‘foreign, living far from home, forlorn’ and is used today as a female and male given name. Nişanyan’s dictionary of names reports that it was proposed in December 1934, was criticised at the time as meaning ‘stingy’, and was defended through the elements el and gin; Nişanyan leaves the meaning open.1

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. Dictionary sense: ‘foreign, living far from home’ (Turkish Wiktionary).
  2. Nişanyan Adlar reports the 1934 debate and other readings such as ‘longing for the homeland’ and ‘altruistic’, without settling the meaning.

Elgin is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Elgin made of?

Elgin is a single Turkic root: elgin (stranger, living abroad).

Elgin root elgin stranger, living abroad TURKIC elgin “foreign, living far fromhome” Elgin elgin root stranger, living abroad elgin TURKIC “foreign, living far from home”
Elgin: parts and root words
  • elgin Turkic — foreign, living far from home1

How was the name Elgin formed?

Elgin is the adjective elgin (“stranger, living abroad”), taken unchanged as a surname.

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

Who are some well-known people named Elgin?

  1. Neriman Elgin politician 1921–1994
  2. Ceyhun Elgin researcher

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

Is Elgin also a first name?

Yes. Elgin is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “stranger, living far from home”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Adlar: Elgin accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: elgin 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 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Elgin

Q1

What does the surname Elgin mean?

Elgin is listed as an adjective meaning ‘foreign, living far from home, forlorn’ and is used today as a female and male given name. Nişanyan’s dictionary of names reports that it was proposed in December 1934, was criticised at the time as meaning ‘stingy’, and was defended through the elements el and gin; Nişanyan leaves the meaning open.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Elgin?

The root word of Elgin is elgin (Turkic): “foreign, living far from home”. There are 3 competing views on where Elgin comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Elgin?

El·gin, 2 syllables; IPA: /elˈɟin/.