Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,109

Göksu

Göksu /ɟøcˈsu/ ASCII Goksu

“blue water; the Göksu river”1

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
Place name
Vowel harmony
mixed
Initial
G
Contents§1–§11
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Notable people
  7. §7As a first name
  8. §8Abroad
  9. §9Sources
  10. §10Questions
  11. §11Related

How do you pronounce Göksu?

Göksu

IPA /ɟøcˈsu/

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

What does the surname Göksu mean?

Göksu means “blue water”: in Old Turkic gök denotes the colour blue as well as the sky. Many Anatolian rivers bear the name; the best known are the Göksu that reaches the sea at Silifke and the Göksu stream that joins the Bosporus at Anadoluhisarı in Istanbul. It is also a given name for girls and boys.1,2

Grammar gök + su; colour adjective and noun fixed as a name.

That Göksu goes back to gök and su is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

What is Göksu made of?

Göksu is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: gök (gök: sky; blue) + su (su: water, stream).

Göksu + first element gök gök: sky; blue TURKIC gök “sky; blue” root su su: water, stream TURKIC su “water; river, stream” Göksu gök first element gök: sky; blue gök TURKIC “sky; blue” su root su: water, stream su TURKIC “water; river, stream”
Göksu: parts and root words
  • gök Turkic — sky; blue1
  • su Turkic — water; river, stream2

How was the name Göksu formed?

Göksu was formed by joining gök (“gök: sky; blue”) and su (“su: water, stream”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.6

Which surnames are related to Göksu?

Göksu Gökçe Gök Gökçen Gökmen Gökalp Göktaş Gökçek Göksel Göktürk Göker Göktepe Gökdemir
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Gökçe same root – –
02 Gök same root – –
03 Gökçen same root – –
04 Gökmen same root – –
05 Gökalp same root – –
06 Göktaş same root – –
07 Gökçek same root – –
08 Göksel same root – –
09 Göktürk same root – –
10 Göker same root – –
11 Göktepe same root – –
12 Gökdemir same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Göksu?

  1. Yaşam Göksu association football player 1995–
  2. Serkan Göksu association football player 1993–
  3. Göksel Göksu journalist 1961–
  4. Mehmet Tevfik Göksu politician 1966–
  5. Hulûsi Göksu politician 1873–1946
  6. Ali Rıza Göksu statesperson 1903–1987
  7. Emel Göksu actor 1945–
  8. Erkan Göksu historian 1976–

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

Is Göksu also a first name?

Yes. Göksu is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “blue water; the Göksu river”.

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

How is Göksu written and pronounced abroad?

Without Turkish letters the name is printed Goksu in English-language records.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: gök accessed 9 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: su accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Wiktionary: gök accessed 9 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Wiktionary: su accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Göksu

Q1

What does the surname Göksu mean?

Göksu means “blue water”: in Old Turkic gök denotes the colour blue as well as the sky. Many Anatolian rivers bear the name; the best known are the Göksu that reaches the sea at Silifke and the Göksu stream that joins the Bosporus at Anadoluhisarı in Istanbul. It is also a given name for girls and boys.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Göksu?

Göksu is made up of two elements: gök “sky; blue” (Turkic) and su “water; river, stream” (Turkic).
Q3

How do you pronounce Göksu?

Gök·su, 2 syllables; IPA: /ɟøcˈsu/.