Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,760

Kelle

Kelle /celˈle/

“head; ear of grain”1

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
Plain noun
Vowel harmony
front
Initial
K
Contents§1–§10
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Notable people
  7. §7Abroad
  8. §8Sources
  9. §9Questions
  10. §10Related

How do you pronounce Kelle?

Kelle

IPA /celˈle/

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

What does the surname Kelle mean?

Kelle is the word for a cooked sheep’s, lamb’s or goat’s head, for an ear of grain, for a sugarloaf and, colloquially, for a human head. It comes from Persian kalla “head”. A village in Van also bears the name.1

That Kelle goes back to kelle is probable rather than proven: the dictionary entry cited supports it.

Kelle is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Kelle made of?

Kelle is a single Persian root: kelle (kelle: head of a sheep; ear of grain; colloquially head).

Kelle root kelle kelle: head of a sheep;ear of grain;… PERSIAN kelle “head (of sheep, goats);ear of grain; head” Kelle kelle root kelle: head of a sheep; ear of grain;colloquially head kelle PERSIAN “head (of sheep, goats); ear ofgrain; head”
Kelle: parts and root words
  • kelle Persian — head (of sheep, goats); ear of grain; head1

How was the name Kelle formed?

Kelle is the word kelle (“kelle: head of a sheep; ear of grain; colloquially head”), taken unchanged as a surname.

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.4

Which surnames are related to Kelle?

#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Kelleci same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Kelle?

  1. İbrahim Kelle association football coach 1897–1965

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

How is Kelle written and pronounced abroad?

The name contains no Turkish-specific letters and is written Kelle in foreign records too.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: kelle accessed 9 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: kelle accessed 9 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

Common questions about Kelle

Q1

What does the surname Kelle mean?

Kelle is the word for a cooked sheep’s, lamb’s or goat’s head, for an ear of grain, for a sugarloaf and, colloquially, for a human head. It comes from Persian kalla “head”. A village in Van also bears the name.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Kelle?

The root word of Kelle is kelle (Persian): “head (of sheep, goats); ear of grain; head”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Kelle?

Kel·le, 2 syllables; IPA: /celˈle/.