Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,802

Kale

Kale /kaˈle/

“fortress”1

Letters / syllables
4 / 2
Formation
Plain noun
Vowel harmony
mixed
Initial
K
Contents§1–§9
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Notable people
  7. §7Sources
  8. §8Questions
  9. §9Related

How do you pronounce Kale?

Kale

IPA /kaˈle/

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

What does the surname Kale mean?

Kale is a fortress, a thick-walled defensive building with towers and battlements; it is also the rook in chess and the goal in football. The word comes, through Persian, from Arabic qalʕa ‘fort’. Districts named Kale exist in Antalya, Denizli and Malatya.1

Kale is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Kale made of?

Kale is a single root: kale (kale: fortress, castle).

Kale root kale kale: fortress, castle ARABIC kale “fortress, castle; rook;goal” Kale kale root kale: fortress, castle kale ARABIC “fortress, castle; rook; goal”
Kale: parts and root words
  • kale Arabic — fortress, castle; rook; goal1

How was the name Kale formed?

Kale belongs to the “plain noun” class of surnames.

Which surnames are related to Kale?

Kale Kaleli Kalelioğlu Akkale
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Kaleli same root – –
02 Kalelioğlu same root – –
03 Akkale same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Kale?

  1. Isa Kale amateur wrestler
  2. Nihat Kale politician 1932–2015
  3. Tvrtko Kale association football player 1974–
  4. Anasuyabai Kale politician 1896–1958
  5. Jonathan Kale basketball player 1985–
  6. Jim Kale musician 1943–
  7. Karsh Kale composer 1974–

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: kale accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Kale

Q1

What does the surname Kale mean?

Kale is a fortress, a thick-walled defensive building with towers and battlements; it is also the rook in chess and the goal in football. The word comes, through Persian, from Arabic qalʕa ‘fort’. Districts named Kale exist in Antalya, Denizli and Malatya.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Kale?

The root word of Kale is kale (Arabic): “fortress, castle; rook; goal”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Kale?

Ka·le, 2 syllables; IPA: /kaˈle/.