Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,940

Korkut

Korkut /ˈkoɾkut/

“name of Dede Korkut”1

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

How do you pronounce Korkut?

Korkut

IPA /ˈkoɾkut/

The stress usually falls on syllable 1 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.

What does the surname Korkut mean?

Korkut is the name of the wise elder, bard and counsellor of the Oghuz tales. The stories of Korkut Ata told in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries were gathered as the Book of Dede Korkut. The meaning of the name is not clear; a district of Muş also bears the name Korkut.1,3

Grammar Historical and epic personal name.

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. In form it matches the imperative of korkutmak ‘to frighten’ (“frighten!”), and the name can be explained from that verb.
  2. Nişanyan Adlar suggests reading it as a compound kor + kut, like Korhan or Korcan, rather than as a form of the verb ‘to frighten’.

What is Korkut made of?

Korkut is a single Turkic root: Korkut (name of the wise elder Korkut of Oghuz tradition).

Korkut + root Korkut name of the wise elderKorkut of Oghuz tradition TURKIC Korkut “name of the wise elderfigure in the Oghuz…” TURKIC korkutmak “to frighten” Korkut Korkut root name of the wise elder Korkut of Oghuztradition Korkut TURKIC “name of the wise elder figure inthe Oghuz tales” korkutmak TURKIC “to frighten”
Korkut: parts and root words
  • Korkut Turkic — name of the wise elder figure in the Oghuz tales1
  • korkutmak Turkic — to frighten3

How was the name Korkut formed?

Korkut is the word Korkut (“name of the wise elder Korkut of Oghuz tradition”), taken unchanged as a surname.

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

Who are some well-known people named Korkut?

  1. Tayfun Korkut association football player 1974–
  2. Efe Korkut association football player 2006–
  3. Ersin Korkut actor 1977–
  4. Hande Korkut volleyball player 1990–
  5. Hasan Korkut politician 1927–2018
  6. Şerif Korkut politician 1895–1957
  7. Aleyna Korkut badminton player 2008–
  8. Bora Korkut researcher

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

Is Korkut also a first name?

Yes. Korkut is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “name of Dede Korkut”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Adlar: Korkut accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: Korkut accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Wiktionary: korkutmak accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Wiktionary: Korkut 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 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Korkut

Q1

What does the surname Korkut mean?

Korkut is the name of the wise elder, bard and counsellor of the Oghuz tales. The stories of Korkut Ata told in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries were gathered as the Book of Dede Korkut. The meaning of the name is not clear; a district of Muş also bears the name Korkut.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Korkut?

The root word of Korkut is korkutmak (Turkic): “to frighten”. There are 3 competing views on where Korkut comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Korkut?

Kor·kut, 2 syllables; IPA: /ˈkoɾkut/.