Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 4,734

Yörük

Yörük /jøˈɾyk/ ASCII Yoruk

“name of nomadic herders”2

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
Plain noun
Vowel harmony
front
Initial
Y
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 Yörük?

Yörük

IPA /jøˈɾyk/

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

What does the surname Yörük mean?

Yörük is the historical name of the nomadic herding groups of Anatolia and Rumelia who moved with their flocks between summer and winter pastures. The word is linked to yürümek ‘to walk’ and comes from the sense ‘those who move on’. Ottoman records list the Yörüks as a distinct administrative group. The surname comes from this historical name.1,2

Yörük is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Yörük made of?

Yörük is a single Turkic root: yörük (name of nomadic pastoral Turkmen groups; one who walks).

Yörük + root yörük name of nomadic pastoralTurkmen groups; one who… TURKIC yörük “nomadic pastoral Turkicgroups; fast-walking” TURKIC yürümek “to walk” Yörük yörük root name of nomadic pastoral Turkmengroups; one who walks yörük TURKIC “nomadic pastoral Turkic groups;fast-walking” yürümek TURKIC “to walk”
Yörük: parts and root words
  • yörük Turkic — nomadic pastoral Turkic groups; fast-walking2
  • yürümek Turkic — to walk1

How was the name Yörük formed?

Yörük is the word yörük (“name of nomadic pastoral Turkmen groups; one who walks”), 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 Yörük?

Yörük Yörükoğlu Yürür Yörüker
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Yörükoğlu same root – –
02 Yürür same root – –
03 Yörüker same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Yörük?

  1. Burak Yörük actor 1995–
  2. Yener Yörük university teacher 1963–
  3. Yörük Ali Efe partisan 1895–1951
  4. Talât Yörük association football player 1941–
  5. Mustafa Asım Yörük statesperson 1859–1942
  6. Servet Yörük soldier 1950–2021
  7. Abdülhak Kemal Yörük politician 1898–1974
  8. Cengiz Yörük short story writer 1928–2008

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

Is Yörük also a first name?

Yes. Yörük is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “name of nomadic herders”.

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

How is Yörük written and pronounced abroad?

Outside Türkiye the name is often written Yoruk in passports and registers that lack Turkish letters.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Vikipedi: Yörük (anlam ayrımı) accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: yörük accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Wiktionary: Yörük 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 Yörük

Q1

What does the surname Yörük mean?

Yörük is the historical name of the nomadic herding groups of Anatolia and Rumelia who moved with their flocks between summer and winter pastures. The word is linked to yürümek ‘to walk’ and comes from the sense ‘those who move on’. Ottoman records list the Yörüks as a distinct administrative group. The surname comes from this historical name.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Yörük?

The root word of Yörük is yörük (Turkic): “nomadic pastoral Turkic groups; fast-walking”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Yörük?

Yö·rük, 2 syllables; IPA: /jøˈɾyk/.