SURNAMENo. 21
ADNKS 2025Korkmaz
“fearless”3
- CategoryCourage and resilience
- OriginTurkic
- FormFrom a verb
#21 The 21st most common surname in Türkiye 250,142 peopleTÜİK ADNKS 20251
- Letters / syllables
- 7 / 2
- Formation
- From a verb
Contents§1–§16
How do you pronounce Korkmaz?
The stress usually falls on syllable 2 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.
What does the surname Korkmaz mean?
Formed from the verb korkmak, “to fear”, with the negative suffix -maz: “one who does not fear, fearless”. It describes a bold, stout-hearted person. Like Yılmaz, it follows an old Turkish pattern of making names directly from verb forms.3
Grammar Negative aorist participle of korkmak (kork- + -maz).
What is Korkmaz made of?
Korkmaz is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: kork- (korkmak: to fear) + -maz (negative aorist participle).
- korkmak Turkic — to be afraid, to fear3
How was the name Korkmaz formed?
Korkmaz was formed by adding the suffix -maz (“negative aorist participle”) to the verb stem kork- (“korkmak: to fear”).
Which surnames are related to Korkmaz?
| # | Surname | Relation | Rank | People |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Korkmazer | same root | – | – |
| 02 | Korkusuz | same root | – | – |
| 03 | Korkmazyürek | same root | – | – |
How many people in Türkiye are called Korkmaz?
In TÜİK’s ADNKS 2025 figures, 250,142 people in Türkiye carry the surname Korkmaz, ranking it 21st in the top 30. That is 3,401 behind Şimşek and 4,888 ahead of Özkan.1
Bearers by year
| 2018 | 238,804 |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 241,314 |
| 2020 | 243,209 |
| 2021 | 245,077 |
| 2022 | 246,808 |
| 2023 | 247,708 |
| 2024 | 248,915 |
| 2025 | 250,142 |
Korkmaz gained 11,338 bearers between 2018 and 2025, yet its share slipped from 2.91 to 2.91 per 1,000 people, because the population grew faster. It has held 21st place every year since 2018.1,2
How has Korkmaz ranked over the years?
| Year | Rank | People | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 21 | 250,142 | +1,227 | [1] |
| 2024 | 21 | 248,915 | +1,207 | [1] |
| 2023 | 21 | 247,708 | +900 | [1] |
| 2022 | 21 | 246,808 | +1,731 | [1] |
| 2021 | 21 | 245,077 | +1,868 | [1] |
| 2020 | 21 | 243,209 | +1,895 | [1] |
| 2019 | 21 | 241,314 | +2,510 | [1] |
| 2018 | 21 | 238,804 | – | [1] |
Where in Türkiye is Korkmaz most common?
Korkmaz is outside the national top 30, but it appears in the top-30 lists of 36 provinces; its best rank is 7th in Kilis.1
- In the province top 30 36
- Not listed
| # | Province | Rank | People |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Istanbul | 22 | 42,971 |
| 02 | Gaziantep | 17 | 14,661 |
| 03 | Izmir | 22 | 12,534 |
| 04 | Bursa | 20 | 11,840 |
| 05 | Şanlıurfa | 25 | 8,086 |
| 06 | Antalya | 29 | 7,701 |
How often would you meet a Korkmaz?
About one person in 344 in Türkiye is a Korkmaz; a town of 10,000 would have around 29.
250,142 ÷ 86,092,168 × 1,000 ≈ 2.9 1,2
The calculation divides bearers by the 2025 ADNKS population; a real school or class will differ by region.
How does Korkmaz compare with similar surnames?
Surnames in the “Courage and resilience” category and the Korkmaz family:
For every Yavuz there are about 1.1 Korkmazs.
How many people are called Mehmet Korkmaz?
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 Korkmaz | ≈3,696estimate |
| 02 | Fatma Korkmaz | ≈3,348estimate |
| 03 | Mustafa Korkmaz | ≈3,073estimate |
| 04 | Ayşe Korkmaz | ≈2,635estimate |
| 05 | Ahmet Korkmaz | ≈2,490estimate |
Who are some well-known people named Korkmaz?
- Bülent Korkmaz association football player 1968–
- Ümit Korkmaz association football player 1985–
- Furkan Korkmaz basketball player 1997–
- Mahsum Korkmaz politician 1956–1986
- Egemen Korkmaz association football player 1982–
- Ali İsmail Korkmaz activist 1994–2013
- Mert Korkmaz association football player 1971–
- Salih Korkmaz athletics competitor 1997–
People surnamed Korkmaz as recorded in Wikidata, ordered by the number of Wikipedia language editions.
Is Korkmaz also a first name?
Yes. Korkmaz is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “fearless”.
Korkmaz as a first name: meaning and statistics — turkiyenames.com →
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 Wikimedia Wiktionary: korkmak
- 4 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: korkmak
- 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 Korkmaz
- Q1
What does the surname Korkmaz mean?
- Formed from the verb korkmak, “to fear”, with the negative suffix -maz: “one who does not fear, fearless”. It describes a bold, stout-hearted person. Like Yılmaz, it follows an old Turkish pattern of making names directly from verb forms.
- Q2
How many people in Türkiye have the surname Korkmaz?
- 250,142 people, according to TÜİK ADNKS 2025, which places it at number 21 in Türkiye.
- Q3
What is the origin of the surname Korkmaz?
- The root word of Korkmaz is korkmak (Turkic): “to be afraid, to fear”.
- Q4
How do you pronounce Korkmaz?
- Kork·maz, 2 syllables; IPA: /koɾkˈmaz/.