SURNAMEEntry 1,530
Dede
“grandfather, elder”2
- CategoryKinship and family
- OriginTurkic
- FormPlain noun
- Letters / syllables
- 4 / 2
- Formation
- Plain noun
- Vowel harmony
- front
Contents§1–§11
How do you pronounce Dede?
The stress usually falls on syllable 2 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.
What does the surname Dede mean?
Dede is a grandfather, the father of one’s mother or father, and more broadly an ancestor. In the Mevlevi order it is the title of a dervish who has completed his novitiate, and in everyday use a respectful word for an elderly man. The surname often comes from an ancestor known in his community as dede.2
Dede is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.
What is Dede made of?
Dede is a single Turkic root: dede (grandfather; ancestor; dervish title).
- dede Turkic — grandfather; ancestor; Mevlevi dervish who completed his novitiate; address for old men2
How was the name Dede formed?
Dede is the word dede (“grandfather; ancestor; dervish title”), taken unchanged as a surname.
Where in Türkiye is Dede most common?
Dede is outside the national top 30, but it appears in the top-30 list of 1 province; its best rank is 28th in Çankırı.1
- In the province top 30 1
- Not listed
| # | Province | Rank | People |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Çankırı | 28 | 705 |
Who are some well-known people named Dede?
- Mercan Dede musician 1966–
- Çiğdem Dede powerlifter 1980–
- Abdülbaki Nasır Dede composer 1765–1820
- Celal Emi̇r Dede association football player 2001–
- Yunus Emre Dede amateur wrestler 1995–
- Emel Dede actor 1989–
- Esrar Dede writer 1749–
- Hüseyin Dede poet 1954–
People surnamed Dede as recorded in Wikidata, ordered by the number of Wikipedia language editions.
Is Dede also a first name?
Yes. Dede is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “grandfather, elder”.
Dede as a first name: meaning and statistics — turkiyenames.com →
Where do these facts come from?
- 1 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS)
- 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: dede
- 3 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: dede
- 4 Wikimedia Wiktionary: Dede
- 5 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name
- 6 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525)
- 7 Natural Earth Natural Earth: Admin-1 boundaries
- 8 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com)
Common questions about Dede
- Q1
What does the surname Dede mean?
- Dede is a grandfather, the father of one’s mother or father, and more broadly an ancestor. In the Mevlevi order it is the title of a dervish who has completed his novitiate, and in everyday use a respectful word for an elderly man. The surname often comes from an ancestor known in his community as dede.
- Q2
What is the origin of the surname Dede?
- The root word of Dede is dede (Turkic): “grandfather; ancestor; Mevlevi dervish who completed his novitiate; address for old men”.
- Q3
How do you pronounce Dede?
- De·de, 2 syllables; IPA: /deˈde/.