In Turkey, following the Surname Law imposed in 1934 in context of Ataturk’s Reforms, every family living in Turkey were given a family name. The surname was generally selected by the elderly people of the family and could be any Turkish word (or a permitted word for families belonging to minority groups).

The most common family names in Turkey are ‘Yılmaz’ (means “undaunted”), ‘Doğan’ (falcon), ‘Şahin’ (hawk), ‘Yıldırım’ (thunderbolt), ‘Şimşek’ (Lightning), Öztürk (means “genuinely Turkish”).