Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,667

Karatepe

Karatepe /kaɾateˈpe/

“black hill”1

Letters / syllables
8 / 4
Formation
Compound
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 Karatepe?

Karatepe

IPA /kaɾateˈpe/

The stress usually falls on syllable 4 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.

What does the surname Karatepe mean?

Kara joins tepe: “black hill”, a hill that looks dark from afar because of its rock or dense vegetation. It is a very common place name in Anatolia; many villages and neighbourhoods from Amasya to Kocaeli and from Çorum to Şanlıurfa are called Karatepe. The surname likewise recalls such a hill or place.1,2

Grammar Compound: kara (adjective) + tepe (noun).

What is Karatepe made of?

Karatepe is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: kara (kara: black, dark; great) + tepe (tepe: hill, summit).

Karatepe + root kara kara: black, dark; great TURKIC kara “black, dark;figuratively great” root tepe tepe: hill, summit TURKIC tepe “hill; top, summit” Karatepe kara root kara: black, dark; great kara TURKIC “black, dark; figuratively great” tepe root tepe: hill, summit tepe TURKIC “hill; top, summit”
Karatepe: parts and root words
  • kara Turkic — black, dark; figuratively great1
  • tepe Turkic — hill; top, summit2

How was the name Karatepe formed?

Karatepe was formed by joining kara (“kara: black, dark; great”) and tepe (“tepe: hill, summit”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.7

Which surnames are related to Karatepe?

Karatepe 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 Karatepe?

  1. Yalçın Karatepe economist 1964–
  2. Şükrü Karatepe lawyer 1949–
  3. Emrah Karatepe basketball player 1979–
  4. Engin Karatepe researcher
  5. Hasan Turan Karatepe researcher
  6. Mustafa Karatepe researcher
  7. Osman Karatepe researcher
  8. Recep Karatepe association football player 1977–

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: kara accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: tepe accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: tepe accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Wiktionary: tepe accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: Karatepe accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  8. 8 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Karatepe

Q1

What does the surname Karatepe mean?

Kara joins tepe: “black hill”, a hill that looks dark from afar because of its rock or dense vegetation. It is a very common place name in Anatolia; many villages and neighbourhoods from Amasya to Kocaeli and from Çorum to Şanlıurfa are called Karatepe. The surname likewise recalls such a hill or place.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Karatepe?

Karatepe is made up of two elements: kara “black, dark; figuratively great” (Turkic) and tepe “hill; top, summit” (Turkic).
Q3

How do you pronounce Karatepe?

Ka·ra·te·pe, 4 syllables; IPA: /kaɾateˈpe/.