Surname index·Letter
Surnames beginning with Y
159 of the dictionary’s 3,450 surnames begin with Y (4.6%). 4 of them are in the national top 30, among them Yılmaz, the most common surname in Türkiye with 1,177,896 people (TÜİK ADNKS 2025). Next come Yıldız (5th) and Yıldırım (7th).
- Surnames
- 159
- in this index
- Most common
- Yılmaz
- 1,177,896 people
159 surnames in Turkish alphabetical order
- Yağcı oil and butter seller
- Yağcıoğlu son of the oil merchant
- Yağız swarthy; brave young man
- Yağmur rain
- Yağmurdereli from Yağmurdere
- Yahya John the Baptist
- Yakan the one who kindles
- Yakar one who kindles
- Yakın near, close
- Yakış fitting, seemliness
- Yakupoğlu son of Yakup (Jacob)
- Yakut ruby
- Yalaz flame
- Yalçın sheer, steep, like a crag
- Yalçındağ steep mountain
- Yalçıner man firm as sheer rock
- Yalçınkaya sheer, steep rock
- Yalçıntaş sheer rock
- Yalın plain, unadorned; flame
- Yalman blade edge, sharp point
- Yalova city and province on the Marmara
- Yamaç hillside, slope
- Yamak helper; Janissary auxiliary
- Yaman formidable, capable, daring
- Yamantürk formidable Turk
- Yanar burning, blazing
- Yanardağ volcano
- Yandaş supporter, partisan
- Yanık sun-tanned; plaintive-voiced
- Yanıkömeroğlu son of Yanık Ömer
- Yanılmaz unerring
- Yankı echo
- Yanya the city of Ioannina
- Yapar one who makes, doer
- Yapıcı builder; constructive
- Yapıcıoğlu son of the builder
- Yaprak leaf
- Yâr beloved, friend
- Yaralı wounded
- Yarar useful; benefit
- Yardım help
- Yardımcı helper, assistant
- Yaren friend, companion
- Yarkın light, gleam
- Yaşa live!, long live
- Yaşar he who lives, long-lived
- Yaşargil Yaşar’s family
- Yaşaroğlu son of Yaşar
- Yaşın lightning
- Yavaş slow; calm, gentle
- Yavaşoğlu son of the gentle one
- Yavuz formidable, stern, resolute #23
- Yaya pedestrian, foot soldier
- Yaycıoğlu son of the bowyer
- Yayla summer highland pasture
- Yaylacı one who summers on the high pasture
- Yazar writer, author
- Yazğılı fated
- Yazıcı scribe, clerk
- Yazıcıoğlu son of the scribe
- Yazır an Oghuz tribe
- Yedek spare, reserve
- Yeğen nephew, niece
- Yeğenoğlu son of the nephew
- Yeğin tough, fierce
- Yeğinsu strong water
- Yelken sail
- Yelkenci sailmaker, sailor
- Yeltan dawn breeze
- Yen sleeve, or ‘conquer!’
- Yenal name of a Circassian hero; ‘he attains’
- Yenel win and take
- Yenen the victor
- Yener victor, one who prevails
- Yengi victory
- Yeni new
- Yenice place name; fairly new
- Yeniçeri Janissary
- Yenigün new day
- Yenilmez invincible, unbeaten
- Yerebakan looking at the ground
- Yerli native, local
- Yerlikaya native rock, rock that stays put
- Yeşil green
- Yeşilbaş mallard
- Yeşilçay green stream
- Yeşilgöz green-eyed
- Yeşilkaya green rock
- Yeşiltaş green stone
- Yeşiltepe green hill
- Yeşilyurt green homeland
- Yeten wish name meaning ‘enough’
- Yeter enough
- Yetim orphan
- Yetiş reach!, arrive in time
- Yetişkin mature, adult
- Yetkin accomplished, competent
- Yetkiner accomplished man
- Yıkılmaz unshakeable, indestructible
- Yılancı snake charmer
- Yıldıran one who daunts others
- Yıldırım thunderbolt; lightning-fast #7
- Yıldırımlı with lightning
- Yıldız star #5
- Yıldızhan star khan, shining ruler
- Yıldızoğlu son of Yıldız
- Yılmaz undaunted, one who never gives up #1
- Yılmazer undaunted man
- Yılmazkaya undaunted rock
- Yılmaztürk the undaunted Turk
- Yırcalı from Yırca
- Yiğit brave young man, hero
- Yiğitbaşı guild officer
- Yiğiter valiant man
- Yiğitoğlu son of the brave one
- Yoğurtçu yoghurt maker or seller
- Yokuşlu of the slope
- Yolcu traveller; formerly guide
- Yoldaş travelling companion
- Yorgancıoğlu son of the quilt-maker
- Yorulmaz tireless
- Yöntem method
- Yörük name of nomadic herders
- Yörükoğlu son of the Yörük nomad
- Yula lamp, lantern
- Yuluğ old Turkic name; great
- Yumuşak soft, gentle
- Yunt horse (Old Turkic)
- Yunus the prophet Jonah; dolphin
- Yurdakul servant to the homeland
- Yurdanur light of the homeland
- Yurdatapan devoted to the homeland
- Yurt homeland
- Yurtdaş compatriot, citizen
- Yurtseven one who loves the homeland
- Yurtsever patriot
- Yurttaş citizen, compatriot
- Yusuf the name Joseph: ‘may God add’
- Yusufoğlu son of Yusuf (Joseph)
- Yuvakuran nest-builder, home-maker
- Yüce lofty, exalted
- Yücedağ lofty mountain
- Yüceer exalted man
- Yücekök of exalted origin
- Yücel exalted realm; rise high
- Yücelen rising, ascending
- Yücesan of exalted name
- Yücesoy exalted lineage
- Yücetürk exalted Turk
- Yüksek high, lofty, eminent
- Yüksekdağ high mountain
- Yüksektepe high hill
- Yüksel rise, ascend
- Yükselen rising, ascending
- Yükselir rising, one who rises
- Yürekli brave, fearless
- Yürür one who walks on, advances
- Yüzbaşıoğlu son of the captain
- Yüzer a hundred each, or swims
The letter Y in Turkish surnames
Y is among the most frequent initials of Turkish surnames: Yılmaz, Yıldız, Yıldırım, Yavuz, Yalçın, Yücel, Yüksel, Yiğit. Turkish kept the Old Turkic initial y that several other Turkic languages changed: yol ‘road’ is jol in Kazakh and Kyrgyz. Many Y-names are verb forms: Yılmaz ‘undaunted’ is the negative aorist of yılmak, and Yücel and Yüksel are the verb stems yücel- ‘to be exalted’ and yüksel- ‘to rise’.
The surnames under this letter, in figures
The meanings are spread over 42 categories; the largest are “Mountains, rocks and stones” (15), “Courage and resilience” (13) and “Homeland, nation and ideals” (11). Turkic roots dominate (143 surnames, 91.1%); the rest come from Arabic (9), Persian (3), Greek (1), other languages (1). On average they have 6.8 letters, longer than the dictionary average of 6.3. The longest is Yanıkömeroğlu (13 letters), the shortest Yâr and Yen (3). In vowel harmony, names with only back vowels lead (86) over front-vowel names (44); 29 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)