Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,974

Kemal

Kemal /ceˈmaɫ/

“perfection, maturity”1

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
Plain noun
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 Kemal?

Kemal

IPA /ceˈmaɫ/

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

What does the surname Kemal mean?

Kemal comes from Arabic kamāl and means “perfection, maturity, completeness”. In Ottoman Turkish kemal bulmak meant “to reach maturity”. It is a common male given name, and as a surname it derives from an ancestor’s name.1

Kemal is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Kemal made of?

Kemal is a single root: Kemal (kemal: perfection, maturity (Arabic kamāl)).

Kemal root Kemal kemal: perfection,maturity (Arabic kamāl) ARABIC kemal “perfection, maturity;Arabic kamāl” Kemal Kemal root kemal: perfection, maturity (Arabickamāl) kemal ARABIC “perfection, maturity; Arabickamāl”
Kemal: parts and root words
  • kemal Arabic — perfection, maturity; Arabic kamāl1

How was the name Kemal formed?

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

Which surnames are related to Kemal?

#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Kemaloğlu same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Kemal?

  1. Yaşar Kemal writer 1923–2015
  2. Orhan Kemal writer 1914–1970
  3. Kara Kemal politician 1868–1926
  4. İbnülemin Mahmut Kemal İnal writer 1870–1957
  5. Muhabbet Kemal entomologist 1965–
  6. Saruca Kemal writer 1500–1600
  7. Cango Kemal actor
  8. Hatice Kemal researcher

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

Is Kemal also a first name?

Yes. Kemal is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “perfection, maturity”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: kemal 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
  5. 5 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Kemal

Q1

What does the surname Kemal mean?

Kemal comes from Arabic kamāl and means “perfection, maturity, completeness”. In Ottoman Turkish kemal bulmak meant “to reach maturity”. It is a common male given name, and as a surname it derives from an ancestor’s name.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Kemal?

The root word of Kemal is kemal (Arabic): “perfection, maturity; Arabic kamāl”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Kemal?

Ke·mal, 2 syllables; IPA: /ceˈmaɫ/.