Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 3,272

Nur

/nuɾ/

“light, radiance”1

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

How do you pronounce Nur?

Nur

IPA /nuɾ/

What does the surname Nur mean?

Nur comes from Arabic nūr and means “light, radiance”; in religious language it also denotes a brightness believed to come from a divine source. It lives on in Turkish idioms such as yüzünden nur akmak, “his face shines with light”. On its own or in compounds such as Nurhan and Nurgül it is a very common given name for women and men.1

Nur is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Nur made of?

Nur is a single Arabic root: nur (light).

Nur root nur light ARABIC nur “light; divine radiance;Arabic nūr” Nur nur root light nur ARABIC “light; divine radiance; Arabicnūr”
Nur: parts and root words
  • nur Arabic — light; divine radiance; Arabic nūr1

How was the name Nur formed?

Nur is the word nur (“light”), taken unchanged as a surname.

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.5

Which surnames are related to Nur?

Nur Adanur Nurhan Nurten Yurdanur Akarnur
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Adanur same root – –
02 Nurhan same root – –
03 Nurten same root – –
04 Yurdanur same root – –
05 Akarnur same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Nur?

  1. Rıza Nur politician 1879–1942
  2. Muhterem Nur actor 1932–2020
  3. Serpil Nur actor 1958–
  4. Nurhan Nur actor 1930–2017
  5. Sevda Nur dancer 1944–2011
  6. Banu Nur researcher
  7. Nesrin Nur actor
  8. Ömer Nur researcher 2000–

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

Is Nur also a first name?

Yes. Nur is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “light, radiance”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: nur accessed 9 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: nur accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Wiktionary: nur accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Nur

Q1

What does the surname Nur mean?

Nur comes from Arabic nūr and means “light, radiance”; in religious language it also denotes a brightness believed to come from a divine source. It lives on in Turkish idioms such as yüzünden nur akmak, “his face shines with light”. On its own or in compounds such as Nurhan and Nurgül it is a very common given name for women and men.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Nur?

The root word of Nur is nur (Arabic): “light; divine radiance; Arabic nūr”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Nur?

Nur, 1 syllable; IPA: /nuɾ/.