Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,630

Gürsel

Gürsel /ɡyɾˈsel/ ASCII Gursel

“mighty torrent”1

Letters / syllables
6 / 2
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
front
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 Gürsel?

Gürsel

IPA /ɡyɾˈsel/

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

What does the surname Gürsel mean?

From gür “abundant, vigorous” and sel “torrent”: “a mighty torrent”, a surging flow of water. It carries the image of unstoppable force and plenty. A neighbourhood in the Nurhak district of Kahramanmaraş bears the name.1,4

Grammar Compound gür + sel; not a dictionary word.

That Gürsel goes back to gür and sel is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

What is Gürsel made of?

Gürsel breaks into 2 parts: gür (gür: abundant, vigorous) + sel (sel: torrent, flood).

Gürsel + root gür gür: abundant, vigorous TURKIC gür “gushing forth abundantly” root sel sel: torrent, flood ARABIC sel “torrent of rain or meltwater” Gürsel gür root gür: abundant, vigorous gür TURKIC “gushing forth abundantly” sel root sel: torrent, flood sel ARABIC “torrent of rain or melt water”
Gürsel: parts and root words
  • gür Turkic — gushing forth abundantly1
  • sel Arabic — torrent of rain or melt water4

How was the name Gürsel formed?

Gürsel belongs to the “compound” class of surnames (gür + sel).

Which surnames are related to Gürsel?

Gürsel Gürsoy Gürkan Gür Gürel Gürses Gürcan Gürler Gürpınar Tansel Gürer Gürkaynak Gürol
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Gürsoy same root – –
02 Gürkan same root – –
03 Gür same root – –
04 Gürel same root – –
05 Gürses same root – –
06 Gürcan same root – –
07 Gürler same root – –
08 Gürpınar same root – –
09 Tansel same root – –
10 Gürer same root – –
11 Gürkaynak same root – –
12 Gürol same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Gürsel?

  1. Cemal Gürsel politician 1895–1966
  2. Nedim Gürsel writer 1951–
  3. Melahat Gürsel politician 1900–1975
  4. Gaye Gürsel actor 1980–
  5. Kadri Gürsel journalist 1961–
  6. Gürcan Gürsel comics artist 1959–
  7. Mustafa Gürsel association football player 1974–
  8. Ece Gürsel model 1982–

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

Is Gürsel also a first name?

Yes. Gürsel is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “mighty torrent”.

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

How is Gürsel written and pronounced abroad?

English-language records usually print Gürsel as Gursel, dropping the diacritics.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: gür accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: Gürsel accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Vikipedi: Gürsel accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Wiktionary: sel 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 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026
  8. 8 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Gürsel

Q1

What does the surname Gürsel mean?

From gür “abundant, vigorous” and sel “torrent”: “a mighty torrent”, a surging flow of water. It carries the image of unstoppable force and plenty. A neighbourhood in the Nurhak district of Kahramanmaraş bears the name.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Gürsel?

The root word of Gürsel is gür (Arabic): “gushing forth abundantly”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Gürsel?

Gür·sel, 2 syllables; IPA: /ɡyɾˈsel/.