Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 890

Celal

Celal /dʒeˈɫaɫ/

“majesty, grandeur”1

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
Plain noun
Vowel harmony
mixed
Initial
C
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 Celal?

Celal

IPA /dʒeˈɫaɫ/

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

What does the surname Celal mean?

Celal, a male given name, comes from Arabic jalāl ‘majesty, grandeur’, the verbal noun of jalla ‘to be great’. According to Nişanyan Adlar it is one of the names of God and in Sufism denotes God's awe-inspiring wrath. In current Turkish the common word celal has shifted towards ‘anger’.1

Celal is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Celal made of?

Celal is a single root: Celal (Celal: majesty, grandeur).

Celal root Celal Celal: majesty, grandeur ARABIC jalāl “majesty, grandeur” Celal Celal root Celal: majesty, grandeur jalāl ARABIC “majesty, grandeur”
Celal: parts and root words
  • jalāl Arabic — majesty, grandeur1

How was the name Celal formed?

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

Who are some well-known people named Celal?

  1. Peride Celal writer 1916–2013
  2. Musahipzade Celal writer 1868–1959
  3. Kambur Celal musician 1895–1962

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

Is Celal also a first name?

Yes. Celal is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “majesty, grandeur”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: celal accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 nisanyanadlar.com nisanyanadlar.com: Celal 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
  6. 6 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Celal

Q1

What does the surname Celal mean?

Celal, a male given name, comes from Arabic jalāl ‘majesty, grandeur’, the verbal noun of jalla ‘to be great’. According to Nişanyan Adlar it is one of the names of God and in Sufism denotes God's awe-inspiring wrath. In current Turkish the common word celal has shifted towards ‘anger’.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Celal?

The root word of Celal is jalāl (Arabic): “majesty, grandeur”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Celal?

Ce·lal, 2 syllables; IPA: /dʒeˈɫaɫ/.