Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,394

Çelim

Çelim /tʃeˈlim/ ASCII Celim

“strength, vigour”1

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
Plain noun
Vowel harmony
front
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 Çelim?

Çelim

IPA /tʃeˈlim/

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

What does the surname Çelim mean?

Çelim is a word for “strength, vigour, sturdiness”, best known from its opposite çelimsiz, “puny, frail”. Nişanyan treats it as cognate with Turkish çalım.1

That Çelim goes back to çelim is probable rather than proven: the dictionary entry cited supports it.

Çelim is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Çelim made of?

Çelim is a single Turkic root: çelim (çelim: strength, vigour; build).

Çelim root çelim çelim: strength, vigour;build TURKIC çelim “strength” Çelim çelim root çelim: strength, vigour; build çelim TURKIC “strength”
Çelim: parts and root words
  • çelim Turkic — strength1

How was the name Çelim formed?

Çelim is the word çelim (“çelim: strength, vigour; build”), taken unchanged as a surname.

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.4

Who are some well-known people named Çelim?

  1. Necati Çelim physician 1909–1986

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

How is Çelim written and pronounced abroad?

In passports and records without Turkish letters it usually appears as Celim.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: çelim accessed 9 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: çelim accessed 9 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

Common questions about Çelim

Q1

What does the surname Çelim mean?

Çelim is a word for “strength, vigour, sturdiness”, best known from its opposite çelimsiz, “puny, frail”. Nişanyan treats it as cognate with Turkish çalım.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Çelim?

The root word of Çelim is çelim (Turkic): “strength”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Çelim?

Çe·lim, 2 syllables; IPA: /tʃeˈlim/.