Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 155

Akel

Akel /aˈcel/

“clean hand; bright land”1

Letters / syllables
4 / 2
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
mixed
Initial
A
Contents§1–§9
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Notable people
  6. §6As a first name
  7. §7Sources
  8. §8Questions
  9. §9Related

How do you pronounce Akel?

Akel

IPA /aˈcel/

The stress usually falls on syllable 2 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.

What does the surname Akel mean?

Ak, “white, clean”, joins el. Since el means both “hand” and “people, homeland”, the name can be read two ways: “white hand”, a clean, honest hand, or “bright land”, a pure homeland. Akel is used as a name for both men and women.1,2

Grammar Compound: ak + el.

That Akel goes back to ak and el is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

What is Akel made of?

Akel is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: ak (ak: white; clean, honest) + el (el: hand; people, land).

Akel + root ak ak: white; clean, honest TURKIC ak “white; figurativelyclean, honest” root el el: hand; people, land TURKIC el “hand; people; country” Akel ak root ak: white; clean, honest ak TURKIC “white; figuratively clean,honest” el root el: hand; people, land el TURKIC “hand; people; country”
Akel: parts and root words
  • ak Turkic — white; figuratively clean, honest1
  • el Turkic — hand; people; country2

How was the name Akel formed?

Akel was formed by joining ak (“ak: white; clean, honest”) and el (“el: hand; people, land”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.7

Who are some well-known people named Akel?

  1. Ebru Akel actor 1976–
  2. Selahattin Akel association football player 1909–1986
  3. Gülistan Akel politician

People surnamed Akel as recorded in Wikidata, ordered by the number of Wikipedia language editions.

Is Akel also a first name?

Yes. Akel is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “clean hand; bright land”.

Akel as a first name: meaning and statistics — turkiyenames.com →

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: ak accessed 9 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: el accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Adlar: Akel accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: el accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 Wikimedia Wiktionary: Akel accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  8. 8 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Akel

Q1

What does the surname Akel mean?

Ak, “white, clean”, joins el. Since el means both “hand” and “people, homeland”, the name can be read two ways: “white hand”, a clean, honest hand, or “bright land”, a pure homeland. Akel is used as a name for both men and women.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Akel?

Akel is made up of two elements: ak “white; figuratively clean, honest” (Turkic) and el “hand; people; country” (Turkic).
Q3

How do you pronounce Akel?

A·kel, 2 syllables; IPA: /aˈcel/.