Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

Surname index·Length

3-letter surnames

125 of the dictionary’s 4,813 surnames have exactly 3 letters (2.6%), the eighth most common length. 2 of them are in the national top 30; the most common is Koç, ranked 18th with 286,207 people (TÜİK ADNKS 2025). The other is Can (27th).

Surnames
125
in this index
In the national top 30
21
ADNKS 2025
Most common
Koç
286,207 people

125 surnames in Turkish alphabetical order

  1. Aba coarse woollen cloak
  2. Ada island
  3. Ağa agha; elder brother, man of standing
  4. Aka elder brother
  5. Akı elder brother (dialect); given name
  6. Ala excellent, superior
  7. Ali exalted; male name
  8. Alp hero, valiant
  9. Arı bee; pure, clean
  10. Ark irrigation ditch
  11. Ata father, ancestor
  12. Bağ vineyard; or bond
  13. Bal honey
  14. Baş head; leader
  15. Bay rich; gentleman, Mr
  16. Bek firm, solid; lord
  17. Bel waist; mountain pass
  18. Bey bey, lord, chief
  19. Bir one, single
  20. Bor Bor, a town in Niğde
  21. Boz grey, dun
  22. Buz ice
  23. Can soul, life; dear one #27
  24. Cem Jamshid, the legendary king
  25. Çağ era, age
  26. Çam pine
  27. Çay stream, small river
  28. Çığ avalanche
  29. Çil freckle; speckled
  30. Çim grass, turf
  31. Dağ mountain
  32. Dal branch
  33. Daş stone
  34. Dik upright; steep
  35. Dur stay, remain
  36. Düz flat, level; straight
  37. Ece queen, lady; elder sister
  38. Ede elder brother
  39. Efe zeybek leader, brave man
  40. Ege the Aegean
  41. Eke elder, grown-up; precocious child
  42. Enç happiness, peace
  43. Erk power, might
  44. Gen wide; fallow field
  45. Gök sky; blue
  46. Göl lake
  47. Gör see!, the seeing eye
  48. Güç strength, power
  49. Gül rose
  50. Gün sun; day
  51. Gür abundant, vigorous
  52. Han khan, ruler
  53. Has pure, genuine; special
  54. Hız speed
  55. Hoş pleasant, nice
  56. Ilk first
  57. Irk lineage, stock
  58. Kan blood, lineage; khan
  59. Kar snow
  60. Kaş eyebrow; edge, cliff
  61. Kav tinder
  62. Kır open country; grizzled grey
  63. Kip mould, form; well-fitting
  64. Koç ram; sturdy, brave #18
  65. Kol arm; column, troop
  66. Kök root, origin; or sky
  67. Kör blind
  68. Köz ember
  69. Kul servant (of God)
  70. Kum sand
  71. Kuş bird
  72. Kut fortune, blessing
  73. Kür brave, unyielding; stubborn
  74. Lav lava
  75. Mor purple
  76. Muz banana
  77. Nar pomegranate
  78. Nas explicit ruling, clear text
  79. Naz coyness, coquetry
  80. Nur light, radiance
  81. Oya needle lace
  82. Öğe element, component
  83. Örs anvil
  84. Pak pure, clean
  85. Pek firm, sturdy
  86. Pir elder, master, founder
  87. Rey opinion, vote
  88. Sağ alive, healthy, sound
  89. Sak watchful, alert
  90. Sam Shem (son of Noah); desert wind
  91. Sav thesis; word
  92. Say effort, labour
  93. Saz saz (lute); reed
  94. Ses sound, voice
  95. Şal shawl
  96. Şan glory, renown
  97. Şap alum
  98. Şar sound of running water
  99. Şaş bewildered
  100. Şen cheerful, merry
  101. Şık chic, elegant
  102. Şit the name Şit (Seth); Azerbaijani “unsalted”
  103. Taç crown
  104. Tağ mountain
  105. Tan dawn
  106. Taş stone
  107. Tek single, unique, one and only
  108. Tez quick, swift
  109. Tığ crochet hook; formerly sword
  110. Tin soul, spirit
  111. Tok sated, contented
  112. Top ball; cannon
  113. Toy green, inexperienced; bustard; feast
  114. Tör seat of honour
  115. Tuğ horsetail standard, banner
  116. Tut hold! or mulberry
  117. Tüm whole, complete
  118. Tür kind, sort
  119. Ulu great, lofty
  120. Yağ fat, oil, butter
  121. Yâr beloved, friend
  122. Yaz summer
  123. Yel wind
  124. Yen sleeve, or ‘conquer!’
  125. Zor strength, force; hard

What does a 3-letter surname look like?

Three letters usually make one syllable of the shape consonant–vowel–consonant: Taş ‘stone’, Koç ‘ram’, Gök ‘sky’, Kuş ‘bird’, Tan ‘dawn’. Many basic Turkish roots have exactly this shape, and in 1934 a family could take such a root unchanged as its surname. Some begin with a vowel, like Alp ‘hero’, and a few consist of two open syllables: Arı ‘bee’, Ali, Efe.

Surnames of this length, in figures

The meanings are spread over 37 categories; the largest are “Appearance, body and strength” (13), “Heart, joy and hope” (8) and “Water, sea and rivers” (5). Turkic roots dominate (87 surnames, 69.6%); the rest come from Persian (18), Arabic (13), Greek (3), French (2), Armenian (2). By syllables, most have one syllable (108); 17 have 2 syllables. The most frequent initials are K (16), T (16) and A (11). In vowel harmony, names with only back vowels lead (79) over front-vowel names (45); 1 mix the two, usually a sign of a compound or a loan.

By number of letters

Sources

  1. 1Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK) · ADNKS, TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS)