Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,432

Evliya

Evliya /evliˈja/

“saint”1

Letters / syllables
6 / 3
Formation
Plain noun
Vowel harmony
mixed
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 Evliya?

Evliya

IPA /evliˈja/

The stress usually falls on syllable 3 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.

What does the surname Evliya mean?

Evliya comes from Arabic awliyāʾ, the plural of walī ‘one close to God’; in Turkish it is used as a singular meaning ‘saint’. It was also given as a personal name in Ottoman times.1

Evliya is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Evliya made of?

Evliya is a single root: evliya (evliya: saint; Arabic awliyāʾ).

Evliya root evliya evliya: saint; Arabicawliyāʾ ARABIC awliyāʾ “saints (plural of walī);in Turkish used as…” Evliya evliya root evliya: saint; Arabic awliyāʾ awliyāʾ ARABIC “saints (plural of walī); inTurkish used as singular ‘saint’”
Evliya: parts and root words
  • awliyāʾ Arabic — saints (plural of walī); in Turkish used as singular ‘saint’1

How was the name Evliya formed?

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

Which surnames are related to Evliya?

#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Evliyaoğlu same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Evliya?

  1. Mahmut Nedim Evliya politician 1914–1965
  2. Halit Evliya politician 1938–
  3. Hasan Fehmi Evliya politician 1920–1994
  4. Zehra Evliya actor 1984–

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

Is Evliya also a first name?

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

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: evliya accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: evliya 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 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Evliya

Q1

What does the surname Evliya mean?

Evliya comes from Arabic awliyāʾ, the plural of walī ‘one close to God’; in Turkish it is used as a singular meaning ‘saint’. It was also given as a personal name in Ottoman times.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Evliya?

The root word of Evliya is awliyāʾ (Arabic): “saints (plural of walī); in Turkish used as singular ‘saint’”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Evliya?

Ev·li·ya, 3 syllables; IPA: /evliˈja/.