Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 4,505

Ülkü

Ülkü /ylˈcy/ ASCII Ulku

“ideal, high goal”1

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

How do you pronounce Ülkü?

Ülkü

IPA /ylˈcy/

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

What does the surname Ülkü mean?

Ülkü means “an ideal, a high goal one strives for”. The word was adopted during the language reform to replace Ottoman mefkûre, and is traced to Old Turkic ülgü “measure, model”. It is also a female given name.1

Ülkü is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Ülkü made of?

Ülkü is a single Turkic root: ülkü (ülkü: ideal, high goal).

Ülkü root ülkü ülkü: ideal, high goal TURKIC ülkü “ideal; goal one strivestowards” Ülkü ülkü root ülkü: ideal, high goal ülkü TURKIC “ideal; goal one strives towards”
Ülkü: parts and root words
  • ülkü Turkic — ideal; goal one strives towards1

How was the name Ülkü formed?

Ülkü is the word ülkü (“ülkü: ideal, high goal”), 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 Ülkü?

Ülkü Ülkümen Özülkü
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Ülkümen same root – –
02 Özülkü same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Ülkü?

  1. Gönül Ülkü Özcan actor 1929–2016
  2. Mehmet Ülkü politician 1877–1946
  3. Fethi Ülkü politician 1918–2001
  4. Nusret Dişo Ülkü writer 1937–2022
  5. Cevat Ülkü politician 1913–1998
  6. Elif Ülkü basketball player 2006–
  7. Hakkı Ülkü statesperson 1946–2026
  8. Hasan Hüseyin Ülkü politician 1894–1986

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

Is Ülkü also a first name?

Yes. Ülkü is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “ideal, high goal”.

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

How is Ülkü written and pronounced abroad?

Without Turkish letters the name is printed Ulku in English-language records.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: ülkü accessed 9 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
  4. 4 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Ülkü

Q1

What does the surname Ülkü mean?

Ülkü means “an ideal, a high goal one strives for”. The word was adopted during the language reform to replace Ottoman mefkûre, and is traced to Old Turkic ülgü “measure, model”. It is also a female given name.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Ülkü?

The root word of Ülkü is ülkü (Turkic): “ideal; goal one strives towards”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Ülkü?

Ül·kü, 2 syllables; IPA: /ylˈcy/.