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Kemal Atatürk's Real Name: Mustafa
Kemal Atatürk's real name was Mustafa; "Kemal" was a name added by a teacher, and "Atatürk" was a surname granted in 1934.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey (1923–1938), was born in 1881 in Salonika (now Thessaloniki, Greece), then part of the Ottoman Empire, and was given the single name Mustafa. Ottoman Turks did not use surnames.
In 1893, at the military middle school in Salonika, his mathematics teacher, who was also named Mustafa, added "Kemal" to the top student's name, according to Turkey's Ministry of National Education. He was known as Mustafa Kemal, and later Mustafa Kemal Pasha, from then on.
Turkey's Surname Law of June 21, 1934, required every citizen to take a family name. On November 24, 1934, the Grand National Assembly passed Law No. 2587 granting him the surname Atatürk, "Father of the Turks," proposed by Prime Minister İsmet İnönü. Atatürk modernized Turkey's legal and education systems, introduced a Latin-based alphabet and died in Istanbul on November 10, 1938.
FAQ
What does Atatürk mean?
"Father of the Turks." Parliament granted the surname by law on November 24, 1934.
Who gave Mustafa the name Kemal?
His mathematics teacher at military school in Salonika, in 1893.