Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,735

İmre

İmre /imˈɾe/ ASCII Imre

“friend, companion; form of Emre”1

Letters / syllables
4 / 2
Formation
Plain noun
Vowel harmony
front
Initial
İ
Contents§1–§11
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Notable people
  7. §7As a first name
  8. §8Abroad
  9. §9Sources
  10. §10Questions
  11. §11Related

How do you pronounce İmre?

İmre

IPA /imˈɾe/

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

What does the surname İmre mean?

İmre is a form of the name Emre. Its origin is disputed. As Nişanyan’s dictionary of names reports, Köprülü proposed ‘elder brother’ and Timurtaş and Gölpınarlı ‘beloved, friend’, while Tietze and Tezcan argued with evidence for Persian hem-râh ‘travelling companion’, a view Nişanyan finds convincing. Wiktionary instead links the name to the verb imrenmek and glosses it ‘bard, friend, lover’.1

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. According to Tietze and Tezcan it comes from Persian hem-râh ‘companion’ (Nişanyan Adlar).
  2. Wiktionary links it to imrenmek, related to Old Turkic amran- ‘to love’.

What is İmre made of?

İmre is a single root: İmre (a form of the name Emre).

İmre root İmre a form of the name Emre PERSIAN Emre “male given name;explained from Persian…” İmre İmre root a form of the name Emre Emre PERSIAN “male given name; explained fromPersian hem-râh ‘companion’”
İmre: parts and root words
  • Emre Persian — male given name; explained from Persian hem-râh ‘companion’1

How was the name İmre formed?

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

Which surnames are related to İmre?

#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Emre same root – –

Who are some well-known people named İmre?

  1. Erdi İmre researcher
  2. Géza Imre fencer 1974–
  3. Bence Imre handball player 2002–
  4. Sándor Imre politician 1877–1945

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

Is İmre also a first name?

Yes. İmre is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “friend, companion; form of Emre”.

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

How is İmre written and pronounced abroad?

Without Turkish letters the name is usually written Imre in English-language records.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: İmre accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 nisanyanadlar.com nisanyanadlar.com: İmre 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 İmre

Q1

What does the surname İmre mean?

İmre is a form of the name Emre. Its origin is disputed. As Nişanyan’s dictionary of names reports, Köprülü proposed ‘elder brother’ and Timurtaş and Gölpınarlı ‘beloved, friend’, while Tietze and Tezcan argued with evidence for Persian hem-râh ‘travelling companion’, a view Nişanyan finds convincing. Wiktionary instead links the name to the verb imrenmek and glosses it ‘bard, friend, lover’.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname İmre?

The root word of İmre is Emre (Persian): “male given name; explained from Persian hem-râh ‘companion’”. There are 3 competing views on where İmre comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce İmre?

İm·re, 2 syllables; IPA: /imˈɾe/.