Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,980

Köktürk

Köktürk /cøcˈtyɾc/ ASCII Kokturk

“Göktürk, the Kök Türks”1

Letters / syllables
7 / 2
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
front
Initial
K
Contents§1–§12
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Spellings
  7. §7Notable people
  8. §8As a first name
  9. §9Abroad
  10. §10Sources
  11. §11Questions
  12. §12Related

How do you pronounce Köktürk?

Köktürk

IPA /cøcˈtyɾc/

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

What does the surname Köktürk mean?

Köktürk reflects the spelling Kök Türk of the Orkhon inscriptions, better known today as Göktürk: the name of the Turkic people who founded a state in Mongolia and Central Asia in the 6th–8th centuries. Kök is Old Turkic for ‘sky, blue’; some interpretations read it instead as ‘root, origin’.1,2

Grammar kök + Türk.

That Köktürk goes back to kök and Türk is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

What is Köktürk made of?

Köktürk is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: kök (kök: Old Turkic ‘sky; blue’) + türk (Türk: Turk, Turkish).

Köktürk + root kök kök: Old Turkic ‘sky;blue’ TURKIC kök “Old Turkic sky, blue;today also ‘root’” root türk Türk: Turk, Turkish TURKIC Türk “Turk; Turkish” Köktürk kök root kök: Old Turkic ‘sky; blue’ kök TURKIC “Old Turkic sky, blue; today also‘root’” türk root Türk: Turk, Turkish Türk TURKIC “Turk; Turkish”
Köktürk: parts and root words
  • kök Turkic — Old Turkic sky, blue; today also ‘root’1
  • Türk Turkic — Turk; Turkish2

How was the name Köktürk formed?

Köktürk was formed by joining kök (“kök: Old Turkic ‘sky; blue’”) and türk (“Türk: Turk, Turkish”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.6

Which surnames are related to Köktürk?

Köktürk Öztürk Köksal Türkmen Şentürk Türkoğlu Ertürk Türk Türker Aktürk Kök Kocatürk Türkyılmaz
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Öztürk same root 8 586,831
02 Köksal same root – –
03 Türkmen same root – –
04 Şentürk same root – –
05 Türkoğlu same root – –
06 Ertürk same root – –
07 Türk same root – –
08 Türker same root – –
09 Aktürk same root – –
10 Kök same root – –
11 Kocatürk same root – –
12 Türkyılmaz same root – –

How else is Köktürk spelled?

Göktürkspelling

Who are some well-known people named Köktürk?

  1. Ali İhsan Köktürk politician 1963–
  2. Kutay Köktürk actor 1948–
  3. Kemal Köktürk author
  4. Sibel Köktürk researcher

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

Is Köktürk also a first name?

Yes. Köktürk is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “Göktürk, the Kök Türks”.

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

How is Köktürk written and pronounced abroad?

Outside Türkiye the name is usually written Kokturk.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: kök accessed 9 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: Türk accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: göktürk accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: köktürk accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026
  8. 8 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Köktürk

Q1

What does the surname Köktürk mean?

Köktürk reflects the spelling Kök Türk of the Orkhon inscriptions, better known today as Göktürk: the name of the Turkic people who founded a state in Mongolia and Central Asia in the 6th–8th centuries. Kök is Old Turkic for ‘sky, blue’; some interpretations read it instead as ‘root, origin’.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Köktürk?

Köktürk is made up of two elements: kök “Old Turkic sky, blue; today also ‘root’” (Turkic) and Türk “Turk; Turkish” (Turkic).
Q3

How do you pronounce Köktürk?

Kök·türk, 2 syllables; IPA: /cøcˈtyɾc/.