Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,812

Emre

Emre /emˈɾe/

“companion or beloved”1

Letters / syllables
4 / 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 Emre?

Emre

IPA /emˈɾe/

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

What does the surname Emre mean?

Emre is best known in Anatolia from the 13th-century poet Yunus Emre and is a very common male given name today. Its origin is disputed: one view traces it to Persian ham-rāh “companion”, another to the Old Turkic root amra- “to love”.1

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. Turkish Wiktionary traces the name to Persian ham-rāh “fellow traveller, companion”.
  2. English Wiktionary connects the name with Old Turkic amra- “to love, to desire”, the root also behind imrenmek.

What is Emre made of?

Emre combines Persian and Turkic elements in 1 parts: Emre (Emre: companion, friend).

Emre + root Emre Emre: companion, friend PERSIAN Emre “male name from Persianham-rāh ‘fellow…’” TURKIC amra- “Old Turkic: to love, todesire” Emre Emre root Emre: companion, friend Emre PERSIAN “male name from Persian ham-rāh‘fellow traveller, companion’” amra- TURKIC “Old Turkic: to love, to desire”
Emre: parts and root words
  • Emre Persian — male name from Persian ham-rāh “fellow traveller, companion”1
  • amra- Turkic — Old Turkic: to love, to desire1

How was the name Emre formed?

Emre is the word Emre (“Emre: companion, friend”), taken unchanged as a surname.

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

Which surnames are related to Emre?

#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 İmre same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Emre?

  1. Erhan Emre actor 1978–
  2. Gizem Emre actor 1995–
  3. Polen Emre actor 1991–
  4. Yunus Emre politician 1982–
  5. Zeynel Emre politician 1981–
  6. Ahmet Cevat Emre politician 1878–1961
  7. Akif Emre journalist 1957–2017
  8. Gültekin Emre writer 1951–

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

Is Emre also a first name?

Yes. Emre is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “companion or beloved”.

2018–2025

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: Emre accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Wiktionary: Emre 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 Emre

Q1

What does the surname Emre mean?

Emre is best known in Anatolia from the 13th-century poet Yunus Emre and is a very common male given name today. Its origin is disputed: one view traces it to Persian ham-rāh “companion”, another to the Old Turkic root amra- “to love”.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Emre?

The root word of Emre is Emre (Persian): ‘male name from Persian ham-rāh “fellow traveller, companion”’. There are 3 competing views on where Emre comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Emre?

Em·re, 2 syllables; IPA: /emˈɾe/.