Surname index·Letter

Surnames beginning with Ö

174 of the dictionary’s 3,450 surnames begin with Ö (5.0%). 4 of them are in the national top 30; the most common is Öztürk, ranked 8th with 586,831 people (TÜİK ADNKS 2025). Next come Özdemir (10th) and Özkan (22nd).

Surnames: 174; in this index
In the national top 30: 4¹; ADNKS 2025
Most common: Öztürk; 586,831 people

174 surnames in Turkish alphabetical order

Öcal take revenge
Öcalan avenger
Öder one who pays his debts
Ödül prize, reward
Öğretir one who teaches
Öğün mealtime; take pride
Öğüt advice, counsel
Öğütçü counsellor, adviser
Ökmen wise, sage
Öksüz orphan, motherless
Öktem strong, proud, fearless
Ölçer who measures; measured, prudent
Ölçmen one who measures
Ölmez undying, immortal
Ömer Turkish form of Umar
Ömeroğlu son of Ömer
Ömür life, lifetime
Önal “take the lead”
Önalan one who takes the lead
Önay foremost moon
Öncel predecessor, forerunner
Öncü vanguard, pioneer
Önder leader, guide
Önen justice
Öner the man in front, leader
Öney one who goes ahead
Öngel first-comer, firstborn
Öngören far-sighted
Öngün the day before; front + day
Öniz the first trace
Önver name for a firstborn
Ören ruins, ruined site
Örge motif
Örkün the Orkhon river
Örnek example, role model
Örs anvil
Örter one who covers
Örücü knitter, darner
Öymen thinking man, intellectual
Öz essence; pure, genuine
Özacar truly daring
Özak pure at heart
Özakın true raid
Özakıncı true raider
Özakman öz + Akman (pure, clean)
Özal 1934 name from öz and al
Özalp true hero, noble hero
Özarı pure at heart
Özarslan true lion
Özaslan a true lion
Özat true name
Özata one’s true forefather
Özatay öz + Atay (ancestor + moon)
Özateş true fire
Özay pure moon
Özaydın truly bright
Özbakır pure copper
Özbal pure honey
Özbaş true leader
Özbay true gentleman
Özbayraktar true standard-bearer
Özbek Uzbek; one’s own lord
Özben the true self
Özberk truly strong, firm at heart
Özbey true lord, noble chief
Özbilen one who knows the essence
Özbilgin true scholar
Özbir one at heart; unique
Özbudak the tree’s own shoot
Özcan pure soul; dear to the heart #25
Özçelik pure steel
Özçimen pure meadow
Özçivit true indigo
Özçoban true shepherd
Özdağ true mountain
Özdağlar one’s own mountains
Özdal true branch
Özdamar of true stock
Özdaş true stone
Özdek matter, essence
Özdemir pure iron; firm as iron #10
Özdemiroğlu son of Özdemir
Özden sincere, genuine
Özdeş identical, of the same essence
Özdil pure language, own tongue
Özdilek heartfelt wish
Özdoğan true falcon; born true
Özek centre, core; cart pole
Özel special, distinctive
Özen care, diligence
Özenç wish, eager desire
Özensoy careful lineage
Özer true man, genuine hero
Özercan Özer + can ‘soul’
Özeren true saint, genuine hero
Özerk autonomous; own might
Özev one’s own home
Özgan true blood, pure lineage
Özge other, different, distinctive
Özgen free
Özgenç young at heart
Özgökçe pure sky-blue; lovely
Özgüç true strength
Özgül true rose; specific
Özgümüş pure silver
Özgün original, distinctive
Özgüner öz + the name Güner
Özgür free
Özgürgün free day
Özhan true khan
Özışık pure light
Özil one’s own homeland
Özince truly refined
Özipek pure silk
Öziş one’s own work, true deed
Özkal stay true to yourself
Özkan of pure blood, of good stock #22
Özkara pure black, dark
Özkasap true butcher
Özkaya true, solid rock
Özkazanç one’s own earnings
Özker free, autonomous
Özkılıçcı true swordsmith
Özkök true-rooted, deep-rooted
Özkul true, devoted servant
Özkurt a true wolf
Özlem longing
Özlen be longed for
Özler the true ones, the core family
Özlü substantial, pithy
Özmen genuine, true at heart
Özmert truly upright, man of his word
Özoğul own son, true son
Özoğuz true Oghuz
Özovalı a true plainsman
Özpetek pure honeycomb
Özpınar pure spring
Özpolat pure steel
Özseven sincerely loving
Özsever one who loves his own; sincere lover
Özsoy true, rooted lineage
Özşahin true falcon
Özşener Öz- + Şener: cheerful man
Öztan true dawn
Öztaş true, solid stone
Öztekin true prince
Öztoprak own soil, native land
Öztorun true grandchild, genuine descendant
Öztuna pure Danube
Öztunalı true Danubian
Öztunç pure bronze
Özturan true Turan
Öztürk true Turk, genuine Turk #8
Öztürkmen true Türkmen
Özüdoğru honest at heart
Özütok content, not greedy
Özvardar öz + the river Vardar
Özveren self-sacrificing
Özyağcılar the true Yağcıs (oil sellers)
Özyakup öz + Jacob
Özyaşar truly living
Özyavuz truly formidable
Özyazıcı true scribe
Özyeğin truly strong
Özyer one’s own land
Özyıldırım true thunderbolt
Özyıldız true star
Özyılmaz truly undaunted
Özyılmazel true, undaunted people
Özyiğit true hero
Özyol one’s own way, the true path
Özyurt own homeland
Özyüksel rising by one’s own strength
Özyürek true-hearted

The letter Ö in Turkish surnames

Ö is the front rounded vowel [œ]. Like o, it stands only in the first syllable of a native word, so an ö later in a name marks the start of a second word: Karagöz is kara ‘black’ + göz ‘eye’. At the start of a name, öz ‘self, essence; pure, genuine’ was one of the most productive first elements of 1934, giving Öztürk, Özdemir, Özkan and Özer. German spells the sound oe, so the same name may appear as Öztürk, Oeztuerk or plain Ozturk.

The surnames under this letter, in figures

The meanings are spread over 40 categories; the largest are “Built from Turkic name elements” (20), “Virtue and integrity” (17) and “Compounds coined in 1934” (14). Turkic roots dominate (154 surnames, 89.0%); the rest come from Persian (8), Arabic (6), other languages (2), Mongolic (1), Armenian (1), Greek (1). On average they have 5.9 letters, shorter than the dictionary average of 6.3. The longest are Özbayraktar and Özdemiroğlu (11 letters), the shortest Öz (2). In vowel harmony, names with only front vowels lead (94) over back-vowel names (0); 80 mix the two, usually a sign of a compound or a loan.

By number of letters

Sources

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