Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 977

Çatal

Çatal /tʃaˈtaɫ/ ASCII Catal

“fork”2

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
Plain noun
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
Ç
Contents§1–§9
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Notable people
  6. §6Abroad
  7. §7Sources
  8. §8Questions
  9. §9Related

How do you pronounce Çatal?

Çatal

IPA /tʃaˈtaɫ/

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

What does the surname Çatal mean?

Çatal is a fork for eating, and also a fork in a road or branch. Nişanyan traces it to Middle Turkic çatal ‘Y-shaped object, pronged farm tool’, possibly a compound of çat- and al-, though this is uncertain. Nişanyan Adlar also records Çatal as a Turkish name.2

Çatal is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Çatal made of?

Çatal is a single root: çatal (fork; something forked).

Çatal root çatal fork; something forked TURKIC çatal “Y-shaped object; prongedfarm tool” Çatal çatal root fork; something forked çatal TURKIC “Y-shaped object; pronged farmtool”
Çatal: parts and root words
  • çatal Turkic — Y-shaped object; pronged farm tool2

How was the name Çatal formed?

Çatal belongs to the “plain noun” class of surnames.

Who are some well-known people named Çatal?

  1. Mürsel Çatal researcher
  2. Tunç Çatal researcher
  3. Çağatay Çatal researcher 1981–

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

How is Çatal written and pronounced abroad?

In records outside Turkey the name usually appears as Catal: ç becomes c (German tsch, English ch).

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: çatal accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 nisanyanadlar.com nisanyanadlar.com: Çatal accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Çatal

Q1

What does the surname Çatal mean?

Çatal is a fork for eating, and also a fork in a road or branch. Nişanyan traces it to Middle Turkic çatal ‘Y-shaped object, pronged farm tool’, possibly a compound of çat- and al-, though this is uncertain. Nişanyan Adlar also records Çatal as a Turkish name.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Çatal?

The root word of Çatal is çatal (Turkic): “Y-shaped object; pronged farm tool”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Çatal?

Ça·tal, 2 syllables; IPA: /tʃaˈtaɫ/.