Surname index·Letter

Surnames beginning with E

187 of the dictionary’s 3,450 surnames begin with E (5.4%). Only one of them is in the national top 30: Erdoğan, ranked 26th with 233,535 people (TÜİK ADNKS 2025).

Surnames
187
in this index
In the national top 30
11
ADNKS 2025
Most common
Erdoğan
233,535 people

187 surnames in Turkish alphabetical order

  1. Ebüzziya father of light
  2. Ece queen, lady; elder sister
  3. Ecevit name of the Ecevit Inn
  4. Eczacıbaşı chief pharmacist
  5. Ede elder brother
  6. Edgü good
  7. Edirne city and province in Thrace
  8. Efe zeybek leader, brave man
  9. Efes Ephesus
  10. Ege the Aegean
  11. Egeli from the Aegean
  12. Eğilmez unbending, unbowed
  13. Eğri crooked, bent
  14. Eğribayat a place name in Konya
  15. Eke elder, grown-up; precocious child
  16. Eken one who sows
  17. Eker one who sows
  18. Ekici sower
  19. Ekim sowing; October
  20. Ekin crop, standing grain
  21. Ekinci grain grower, farmer
  22. Ekiz twin
  23. Ekmekçi baker
  24. Ekmekçioğlu son of the baker
  25. Ekrem most generous, most noble
  26. Ekşi sour
  27. Ekşioğlu son of the one called Ekşi (sour)
  28. Elbir alliance, unity
  29. Elçi envoy, ambassador
  30. Elçin envoy, state official
  31. Eldem altruistic, gentle
  32. Eldeniz sea of the realm
  33. Elgin stranger, living far from home
  34. Elgün sun of the homeland
  35. Eliaçık open-handed, generous
  36. Elibol open-handed, generous
  37. Elma apple
  38. Elmaağaçlı with apple trees
  39. Elmacı apple grower or seller
  40. Elmalı from Elmalı, ‘place of apples’
  41. Elmas diamond
  42. Elmaz diamond
  43. Eloğlu stranger, someone else’s son
  44. Eltemur iron of the realm
  45. Elvan colours, many-coloured
  46. Emek labour, painstaking work
  47. Emekli laborious; retired
  48. Emeksiz effortless
  49. Emin trustworthy, safe
  50. Emir commander, prince (given name)
  51. Emiroğlu son of the emir
  52. Emirtekin emir and prince
  53. Emre companion or beloved
  54. Ender rare, exceptional
  55. Engin vast, boundless
  56. Engindeniz the vast open sea
  57. Enver more luminous, radiant
  58. Er man, hero; soldier
  59. Eralp valiant warrior
  60. Eraslan lion-hearted hero
  61. Erat enlisted men, soldiers
  62. Eray moon-bright hero
  63. Eraydın enlightened hero
  64. Erbakan the watchful brave man
  65. Erbaş non-commissioned officer
  66. Erbatur brave hero
  67. Erbay brave, honoured lord
  68. Erbek valiant lord
  69. Erberk a firm, strong hero
  70. Erbulak the hero’s spring
  71. Ercan spirited, fearless man
  72. Erciyes Mount Erciyes
  73. Ercümen valuable, esteemed
  74. Erçetin tough, unyielding man
  75. Erçin true man
  76. Erdan man of the dawn (form of Ertan)
  77. Erdem virtue
  78. Erdemir man strong as iron
  79. Erdemli virtuous
  80. Erdemoğlu son of Erdem
  81. Erden virgin, untouched
  82. Erdener a man among men
  83. Erdeniz a brave man vast as the sea
  84. Erdil man of his word, or brave-hearted
  85. Erdinç vigorous, hale man
  86. Erdoğan warrior falcon; born a hero #26
  87. Erdoğdu a brave man was born
  88. Erdoğmuş a hero is born
  89. Erdost brave friend
  90. Erdönmez the man who never turns back
  91. Erduran the warrior who stands firm
  92. Erel land of heroes
  93. Eren saintly one; heroes
  94. Erener saintly hero
  95. Erenerol saint + be brave
  96. Erenkaya rock of the saints
  97. Erenler saints, holy men
  98. Erenli of the erens (saints)
  99. Erenoğlu son of Eren
  100. Erez brave, determined
  101. Ergeç sooner or later
  102. Ergen youth, bachelor
  103. Ergenç young hero
  104. Ergene the Ergene river in Thrace
  105. Ergenekon a valley of epic legend
  106. Ergezen roaming hero
  107. Ergin mature, fully grown
  108. Ergüder the man who keeps to his goal
  109. Ergül rose among heroes
  110. Ergün early-rising sun
  111. Ergüner sun-like hero
  112. Ergüney brave one + south
  113. Ergüven trustworthy man
  114. Erhan brave khan, just ruler
  115. Erik plum, plum tree
  116. Erim reach, range
  117. Erinç peace of mind, contentment
  118. Eriş attainment, reaching
  119. Erişmiş one who has attained
  120. Erk power, might
  121. Erkal stay brave; gain strength
  122. Erkan pillars; dignitaries
  123. Erkanlı well-mannered; of Erkan
  124. Erkaya man of rock
  125. Erke energy, power
  126. Erkek manly, true to his word
  127. Erkekli having a man
  128. Erken early
  129. Erkin free, independent
  130. Erkmen powerful, mighty
  131. Erkoç brave as a ram
  132. Erköse beardless man
  133. Erksan powerful and renowned
  134. Erkul brave, faithful servant
  135. Erkut blessed man
  136. Erler men, heroes
  137. Erman a real man, hero
  138. Ermiş saint, one who has attained
  139. Eroğlu son of the warrior
  140. Erol be brave, be a man
  141. Eronat proper, sensible man
  142. Erozan hero bard
  143. Ersin may he attain
  144. Ersoy line of heroes
  145. Ersöz man of his word
  146. Ersun er (man) + wish ending -sun
  147. Erşahin valiant hawk
  148. Erşan glorious man
  149. Erşen cheerful brave man
  150. Ertan man of the dawn
  151. Ertaş hero firm as stone
  152. Ertegün the next day, morning
  153. Ertekin heroic prince
  154. Ertem virtue (archaic form of erdem)
  155. Erten morning, early hour
  156. Ertok contented man
  157. Ertuğ standard-bearing hero
  158. Ertuğrul hero-falcon; name of Ertuğrul Gazi
  159. Ertuğruloğlu son of Ertuğrul
  160. Ertunç man strong as bronze
  161. Ertürk valiant Turk
  162. Eryılmaz undaunted hero
  163. Eryiğit a true hero, brave man
  164. Eryurt homeland of the brave
  165. Eryüksel rise, brave one!
  166. Erzincan a province in eastern Anatolia
  167. Esen healthy, safe and sound
  168. Esendağlı from Esendağ
  169. Esener hale and sound man
  170. Esensoy sound, healthy lineage
  171. Esentürk sound and well Turk
  172. Eser trace; work
  173. Esin inspiration; morning breeze
  174. Eskici second-hand dealer; cobbler
  175. Esmer dark-complexioned
  176. Evgin swift, urgent
  177. Evin love; kernel, essence
  178. Evirgen one who turns
  179. Evliya saint
  180. Evliyaoğlu son of the saint
  181. Evren universe, cosmos
  182. Eygi good
  183. Eyice quite good, thoroughly
  184. Eyüboğlu son of Eyüp (Job)
  185. Eyüpoğlu son of Eyüp (Job)
  186. Ezer Azer: fire; short for Eliezer
  187. Ezgi melody

The letter E in Turkish surnames

E is the front unrounded vowel. Spelling uses one letter for two sounds, a closer [e] and a more open [æ], so a name is not always pronounced the way its letters suggest. Native E-words that recur in surnames include er ‘man, soldier’, el ‘hand; people, land’, eren ‘saint, holy man’ and ekin ‘crop’: Eren, Ekinci, Erdoğan and Ertürk show them. Arabic names such as Emin and Ekrem also begin with E.

The surnames under this letter, in figures

The meanings are spread over 39 categories; the largest are “Built from Turkic name elements” (43), “Virtue and integrity” (18) and “Names of mountains, rivers and places” (9). Turkic roots dominate (147 surnames, 79.5%); the rest come from Arabic (19), Persian (9), Greek (5), Mongolic (3), Armenian (1), Kurdish (1). On average they have 5.8 letters, shorter than the dictionary average of 6.3. The longest is Ertuğruloğlu (12 letters), the shortest Er (2). In vowel harmony, names with only front vowels lead (114) over back-vowel names (0); 73 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)