SURNAMENo. 29
ADNKS 2025Güneş
“sun”3
- CategorySky, sun, moon and stars
- OriginTurkic
- FormPlain noun
#29 The 29th most common surname in Türkiye 227,203 peopleTÜİK ADNKS 20251
- Letters / syllables
- 5 / 2
- Formation
- Plain noun
Contents§1–§17
How do you pronounce Güneş?
The stress usually falls on syllable 2 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.
What does the surname Güneş mean?
Güneş is the sun, the star that gives the earth light and warmth. The word goes back to Old Turkic küneş, “sunshine, a sunny place”. As a name it stands for light, warmth and life, and it is given to girls and boys.3
Güneş is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.
What is Güneş made of?
Güneş is a single Turkic root: güneş (sun).
- güneş Turkic — sun; sunlight3
How was the name Güneş formed?
Güneş is the word güneş (“sun”), taken unchanged as a surname.
Which surnames are related to Güneş?
| # | Surname | Relation | Rank | People |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Aygüneş | same root | – | – |
How many people in Türkiye are called Güneş?
In TÜİK’s ADNKS 2025 figures, 227,203 people in Türkiye carry the surname Güneş, ranking it 29th in the top 30. That is 1,183 behind Acar and 4,492 ahead of Aktaş.1
Bearers by year
| 2018 | 213,985 |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 216,622 |
| 2020 | 218,952 |
| 2021 | 221,112 |
| 2022 | 223,118 |
| 2023 | 224,456 |
| 2024 | 225,819 |
| 2025 | 227,203 |
Güneş is growing faster than Türkiye’s population: up 13,218 people (6.2%) since 2018, against 5.0% for the population as a whole. It has held 29th place every year since 2018.1,2
How has Güneş ranked over the years?
| Year | Rank | People | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 29 | 227,203 | +1,384 | [1] |
| 2024 | 29 | 225,819 | +1,363 | [1] |
| 2023 | 29 | 224,456 | +1,338 | [1] |
| 2022 | 29 | 223,118 | +2,006 | [1] |
| 2021 | 29 | 221,112 | +2,160 | [1] |
| 2020 | 29 | 218,952 | +2,330 | [1] |
| 2019 | 29 | 216,622 | +2,637 | [1] |
| 2018 | 29 | 213,985 | – | [1] |
Where in Türkiye is Güneş most common?
Güneş is outside the national top 30, but it appears in the top-30 lists of 22 provinces; its best rank is 7th in Iğdır.1
- In the province top 30 22
- Not listed
| # | Province | Rank | People |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Istanbul | 30 | 39,584 |
| 02 | Şanlıurfa | 14 | 12,223 |
| 03 | Gaziantep | 19 | 10,818 |
| 04 | Bursa | 26 | 9,836 |
| 05 | Diyarbakır | 17 | 8,640 |
| 06 | Kahramanmaraş | 17 | 5,049 |
How often would you meet a Güneş?
About one person in 379 in Türkiye is a Güneş; a town of 10,000 would have around 26.
227,203 ÷ 86,092,168 × 1,000 ≈ 2.6 1,2
The calculation divides bearers by the 2025 ADNKS population; a real school or class will differ by region.
How does Güneş compare with similar surnames?
Surnames in the “Sky, sun, moon and stars” category and the Güneş family:
Güneş and Acar are carried by almost exactly as many people.
How many people are called Mehmet Güneş?
These are estimates that assume given names and surnames are independent. In reality, families and regions do not choose names independently, so read them as orders of magnitude.
| # | Full name | Estimated people |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Mehmet Güneş | ≈3,357estimate |
| 02 | Fatma Güneş | ≈3,041estimate |
| 03 | Mustafa Güneş | ≈2,791estimate |
| 04 | Ayşe Güneş | ≈2,393estimate |
| 05 | Ahmet Güneş | ≈2,262estimate |
Who are some well-known people named Güneş?
- Şenol Güneş association football player 1952–
- Zehra Güneş volleyball player 1999–
- Victoria Zeynep Güneş swimmer 1998–
- Umut Güneş association football player 2000–
- Uğur Güneş actor 1987–
- Ali Güneş association football player 1978–
- Burcu Güneş singer 1975–
- Turan Güneş politician 1921–1982
People surnamed Güneş as recorded in Wikidata, ordered by the number of Wikipedia language editions.
Is Güneş also a first name?
Yes. Güneş is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “sun”.
Güneş as a first name: meaning and statistics — turkiyenames.com →
How is Güneş written and pronounced abroad?
In passports and records outside Turkey Güneş is usually written Gunes or Guenes.
Where do these facts come from?
- 1 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS)
- 2 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK ADNKS: Cinsiyete göre nüfus, Türkiye ve 81 il
- 3 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: güneş
- 4 Wikimedia Wiktionary: güneş
- 5 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name
- 6 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı — En çok kullanılan isimler (ADNKS)
- 7 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525)
- 8 Natural Earth Natural Earth: Admin-1 boundaries
- 9 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com)
Common questions about Güneş
- Q1
What does the surname Güneş mean?
- Güneş is the sun, the star that gives the earth light and warmth. The word goes back to Old Turkic küneş, “sunshine, a sunny place”. As a name it stands for light, warmth and life, and it is given to girls and boys.
- Q2
How many people in Türkiye have the surname Güneş?
- 227,203 people, according to TÜİK ADNKS 2025, which places it at number 29 in Türkiye.
- Q3
What is the origin of the surname Güneş?
- The root word of Güneş is güneş (Turkic): “sun; sunlight”.
- Q4
How do you pronounce Güneş?
- Gü·neş, 2 syllables; IPA: /ɟyˈneʃ/.