Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,895

Karasu

Karasu /kaɾaˈsu/

“black water; stream and place name”1

Letters / syllables
6 / 3
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
back
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 Karasu?

Karasu

IPA /kaɾaˈsu/

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

What does the surname Karasu mean?

Karasu means ‘black water’, water that looks dark and deep. Many streams, rivers and settlements in Anatolia bear the name, among them the Karasu district of Sakarya and the Karasu, a headwater of the Euphrates. The surname usually comes from such a place name or a home by the water.1,2

Grammar kara + su: adjective–noun compound, mostly fixed as a place name.

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

What is Karasu made of?

Karasu breaks into 2 parts: kara (black, dark) + su (water; stream).

Karasu + first element kara black, dark TURKIC kara “black, dark” root su water; stream TURKIC su “water; river, stream” Karasu kara first element black, dark kara TURKIC “black, dark” su root water; stream su TURKIC “water; river, stream”
Karasu: parts and root words
  • kara Turkic — black, dark1
  • su Turkic — water; river, stream2

How was the name Karasu formed?

Karasu belongs to the “compound” class of surnames (kara + su).

Which surnames are related to Karasu?

Karasu Kara Karataş Karahan Karaca Karakaş Karadağ Karakaya Karakoç Karaaslan Karagöz Baykara Karabulut
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Kara same root 16 290,024
02 Karataş same root – –
03 Karahan same root – –
04 Karaca same root – –
05 Karakaş same root – –
06 Karadağ same root – –
07 Karakaya same root – –
08 Karakoç same root – –
09 Karaaslan same root – –
10 Karagöz same root – –
11 Baykara same root – –
12 Karabulut same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Karasu?

  1. Bilge Karasu writer 1930–1995
  2. Albert Karasu journalist 1885–1982
  3. Mustafa Karasu politician 1950–
  4. Oğuzhan Karasu volleyball player 1995–
  5. Ulaş Karasu politician 1980–
  6. Raşit Karasu association football player 1950–2020
  7. Selâhattin Karasu association football player 1954–
  8. Murat Karasu actor 1961–

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: kara accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: su accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Karasu

Q1

What does the surname Karasu mean?

Karasu means ‘black water’, water that looks dark and deep. Many streams, rivers and settlements in Anatolia bear the name, among them the Karasu district of Sakarya and the Karasu, a headwater of the Euphrates. The surname usually comes from such a place name or a home by the water.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Karasu?

The root word of Karasu is kara (Turkic): “black, dark”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Karasu?

Ka·ra·su, 3 syllables; IPA: /kaɾaˈsu/.