Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 3,661

Pir

/piɾ/

“elder, master, founder”1

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

How do you pronounce Pir?

Pir

IPA /piɾ/

What does the surname Pir mean?

Pir comes from Persian ‘old man’. In Turkish it is the founder of a Sufi order, the patron master of a craft, and anyone who has mastered a trade, as in işinin piri ‘a past master at his work’. As an adverb it also means ‘thoroughly’.1

Pir is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Pir made of?

Pir is a single Persian root: pir (elder; founder of an order or craft; master).

Pir root pir elder; founder of anorder or craft; master PERSIAN pir “elder; founder of a Sufiorder or a craft;…” Pir pir root elder; founder of an order or craft;master pir PERSIAN “elder; founder of a Sufi orderor a craft; seasoned expert”
Pir: parts and root words
  • pir Persian — elder; founder of a Sufi order or a craft; seasoned expert1

How was the name Pir formed?

Pir is the word pir (“elder; founder of an order or craft; master”), taken unchanged as a surname.

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.3

Which surnames are related to Pir?

Pir Pirhasan Pirali Piroğlu
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Pirhasan same root – –
02 Pirali same root – –
03 Piroğlu same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Pir?

  1. Kemal Pir activist 1952–1982
  2. Ziya Pir politician 1970–
  3. Celal Pir television presenter 1961–
  4. Pelinsu Pir actor 1971–
  5. Pınar Pir researcher
  6. Ömer Pir rugby league player
  7. İnci Pir researcher

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: pir accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Pir

Q1

What does the surname Pir mean?

Pir comes from Persian ‘old man’. In Turkish it is the founder of a Sufi order, the patron master of a craft, and anyone who has mastered a trade, as in işinin piri ‘a past master at his work’. As an adverb it also means ‘thoroughly’.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Pir?

The root word of Pir is pir (Persian): “elder; founder of a Sufi order or a craft; seasoned expert”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Pir?

Pir, 1 syllable; IPA: /piɾ/.