Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,330

Erdem

Erdem /eɾˈdem/

“virtue”2

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

How do you pronounce Erdem?

Erdem

IPA /eɾˈdem/

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

What does the surname Erdem mean?

Erdem is virtue, moral excellence. Clauson and Nişanyan link it to er, “man”, much as Latin virtus comes from vir, “man”. In Old Turkic it also meant prowess and manly valour.2

Grammar A single word, not a compound with the prefix Er-.

Erdem is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Erdem made of?

Erdem is a single root: erdem (virtue, moral excellence).

Erdem root erdem virtue, moral excellence TURKIC erdem “virtue; in Old Turkicalso manliness, prowess” Erdem erdem root virtue, moral excellence erdem TURKIC “virtue; in Old Turkic alsomanliness, prowess”
Erdem: parts and root words
  • erdem Turkic — virtue; in Old Turkic also manliness, prowess2

How was the name Erdem formed?

Erdem belongs to the “plain noun” class of surnames.

Which surnames are related to Erdem?

Erdem Ertem Erdemli Erdemoğlu
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Ertem same root – –
02 Erdemli same root – –
03 Erdemoğlu same root – –

Where in Türkiye is Erdem most common?

Erdem is outside the national top 30, but it appears in the top-30 list of 1 province; its best rank is 22nd in Burdur.1

Adana Adıyaman Afyonkarahisar Ağrı Amasya Ankara Antalya Artvin Aydın Balıkesir Bilecik Bingöl Bitlis Bolu Burdur · rank 22 · 1,039 people Bursa Çanakkale Çankırı Çorum Denizli Diyarbakır Edirne Elazığ Erzincan Erzurum Eskişehir Gaziantep Giresun Gümüşhane Hakkari Hatay Isparta Mersin Istanbul Izmir Kars Kastamonu Kayseri Kırklareli Kırşehir Kocaeli Konya Kütahya 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 Ardahan Iğdır Yalova Karabük Kilis Osmaniye Düzce Hover or focus a province · ADNKS 2025
  • In the province top 30 1
  • Not listed
Erdem: rank by province, 2025 (TÜİK ADNKS, province top-30 lists)
Provinces with the most bearers
#ProvinceRankPeople
01Burdur221,039

Who are some well-known people named Erdem?

  1. Arif Erdem association football player 1972–
  2. Eda Erdem volleyball player 1987–
  3. Naci Erdem association football player 1931–2022
  4. Sunay Erdem architect 1971–
  5. Alparslan Erdem association football player 1988–
  6. Reha Erdem screenwriter 1960–
  7. Eren Erdem politician 1986–
  8. Kaya Erdem politician 1928–

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

Is Erdem also a first name?

Yes. Erdem is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “virtue”.

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

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: erdem 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 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 Natural Earth Natural Earth: Admin-1 boundaries accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Erdem

Q1

What does the surname Erdem mean?

Erdem is virtue, moral excellence. Clauson and Nişanyan link it to er, “man”, much as Latin virtus comes from vir, “man”. In Old Turkic it also meant prowess and manly valour.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Erdem?

The root word of Erdem is erdem (Turkic): “virtue; in Old Turkic also manliness, prowess”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Erdem?

Er·dem, 2 syllables; IPA: /eɾˈdem/.