Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,833

Kantemir

Kantemir /kanteˈmiɾ/

“Khan Temir; iron-blooded”1

Letters / syllables
8 / 3
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
mixed
Initial
K
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 Kantemir?

Kantemir

IPA /kanteˈmiɾ/

The stress usually falls on syllable 3 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.

What does the surname Kantemir mean?

In Nişanyan Adlar, Kantemir is a form of the name Kandemir, ‘Khan Temir’, that is, Timur; Temir, the older form of demir ‘iron’, is a personal name. Popularly the name is analysed as kan ‘blood’ plus temir and read as ‘iron-blooded’.1,2

Grammar han + Temir (= demir); popularly kan + temir.

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. Nişanyan Adlar: Kandemir ‘Khan Temir’, referring to Timur.
  2. Popular reading: kan + temir, ‘iron-blooded’; not supported by the source.

What is Kantemir made of?

Kantemir breaks into 2 parts: kan (kan: han ‘ruler’ (Nişanyan Adlar); popularly ‘blood’) + temir (temir: older form of demir ‘iron’).

Kantemir + root kan kan: han ‘ruler’(Nişanyan Adlar);… TURKIC han “khan, ruler” root temir temir: older form ofdemir ‘iron’ TURKIC temir “iron (older and easternTurkic form); personal…” Kantemir kan root kan: han ‘ruler’ (Nişanyan Adlar);popularly ‘blood’ han TURKIC “khan, ruler” temir root temir: older form of demir ‘iron’ temir TURKIC “iron (older and eastern Turkicform); personal name”
Kantemir: parts and root words
  • han Turkic — khan, ruler1
  • temir Turkic — iron (older and eastern Turkic form); personal name2

How was the name Kantemir formed?

Kantemir belongs to the “compound” class of surnames (kan + temir).

Which surnames are related to Kantemir?

Kantemir Özkan Alkan Karahan Arıkan İlhan Gürkan Orhan Ayhan Kandemir Demirhan Atakan Türkkan
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Özkan same root 22 245,254
02 Alkan same root – –
03 Karahan same root – –
04 Arıkan same root – –
05 İlhan same root – –
06 Gürkan same root – –
07 Orhan same root – –
08 Ayhan same root – –
09 Kandemir same root – –
10 Demirhan same root – –
11 Atakan same root – –
12 Türkkan same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Kantemir?

  1. Antiochus Kantemir diplomat 1708–1744
  2. Nihat Kantemir actor 1975–2014
  3. İzzet Kantemir translator 1903–1988
  4. Alihan Kantemir politician 1886–1963

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

Is Kantemir also a first name?

Yes. Kantemir is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “Khan Temir; iron-blooded”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 nisanyanadlar.com nisanyanadlar.com: Kandemir accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Wiktionary: Temir accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Wiktionary: kan 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 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026
  8. 8 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Kantemir

Q1

What does the surname Kantemir mean?

In Nişanyan Adlar, Kantemir is a form of the name Kandemir, ‘Khan Temir’, that is, Timur; Temir, the older form of demir ‘iron’, is a personal name. Popularly the name is analysed as kan ‘blood’ plus temir and read as ‘iron-blooded’.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Kantemir?

The root word of Kantemir is han (Turkic): “khan, ruler”. There are 3 competing views on where Kantemir comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Kantemir?

Kan·te·mir, 3 syllables; IPA: /kanteˈmiɾ/.