Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,374

Erkal

Erkal /eɾˈkaɫ/

“stay brave; gain strength”1

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
From a verb
Vowel harmony
mixed
Initial
E
Contents§1–§10
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Notable people
  7. §7As a first name
  8. §8Sources
  9. §9Questions
  10. §10Related

How do you pronounce Erkal?

Erkal

IPA /eɾˈkaɫ/

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

What does the surname Erkal mean?

Nişanyan Adlar offers two readings of Erkal: er kal ‘stay a brave man, remain a man’ and erk al ‘gain strength’. In both, the name is an imperative voicing a wish. Both forms use elements favoured in the 1934 surnames.1

Grammar er + kal- (imperative) or erk + al- (imperative).

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. “Er kal”: er ‘brave man’ and the imperative of kalmak ‘to remain’ (Nişanyan Adlar).
  2. “Erk al”: erk ‘power’ and the imperative of almak ‘to take’ (Nişanyan Adlar).

What is Erkal made of?

Erkal breaks into 2 parts: er / erk (er: brave man; erk: power) + kal- / al- (kalmak ‘to remain’ or almak ‘to take’).

Erkal + root er / erk er: brave man; erk: power TURKIC er “brave man” root kal- / al- kalmak ‘to remain’ oralmak ‘to take’ TURKIC erk “power, authority” Erkal er / erk root er: brave man; erk: power er TURKIC “brave man” kal- / al- root kalmak ‘to remain’ or almak ‘to take’ erk TURKIC “power, authority”
Erkal: parts and root words
  • er Turkic — brave man1
  • erk Turkic — power, authority1

How was the name Erkal formed?

Erkal belongs to the “from a verb” class of surnames (er / erk + kal- / al-).

Which surnames are related to Erkal?

Erkal Erkmen Erkin Erk Erke Erksan Özerk
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Erkmen same root – –
02 Erkin same root – –
03 Erk same root – –
04 Erke same root – –
05 Erksan same root – –
06 Özerk same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Erkal?

  1. Genco Erkal actor 1938–2024
  2. İbrahim Erkal film actor 1966–2017
  3. Rebii Erkal association football player 1911–1985
  4. Nilay Erkal swimmer 1999–
  5. Nisvan Erkal researcher
  6. Ahmet Münir Erkal statesperson 1954–
  7. Emre Erkal professional wrestler 1991–
  8. İsmail Erkal professional wrestler 1989–

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

Is Erkal also a first name?

Yes. Erkal is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “stay brave; gain strength”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: er accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Wiktionary: erkin accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 nisanyanadlar.com nisanyanadlar.com: Erkal accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Erkal

Q1

What does the surname Erkal mean?

Nişanyan Adlar offers two readings of Erkal: er kal ‘stay a brave man, remain a man’ and erk al ‘gain strength’. In both, the name is an imperative voicing a wish. Both forms use elements favoured in the 1934 surnames.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Erkal?

The root word of Erkal is er (Turkic): “brave man”. There are 3 competing views on where Erkal comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Erkal?

Er·kal, 2 syllables; IPA: /eɾˈkaɫ/.