Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,771

Kent

/cent/

“city”1

Letters / syllables
4 / 1
Formation
Plain noun
Vowel harmony
front
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 Kent?

Kent

IPA /cent/

What does the surname Kent mean?

Kent means “city”. The word entered Old Turkic from Sogdian and survives in names such as Tashkent and Samarkand. In Anatolian dialects it mostly meant “village”, but during the Turkish language reform it was revived in the sense “city” found in other Turkic languages.1

Kent is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Kent made of?

Kent is a single root: kent (kent: city).

Kent root kent kent: city OTHER kent “city; Old Turkic kend,from Sogdian knδ ‘town’” Kent kent root kent: city kent OTHER “city; Old Turkic kend, fromSogdian knδ ‘town’”
Kent: parts and root words
  • kent Other — city; Old Turkic kend, from Sogdian knδ “town”1

How was the name Kent formed?

Kent is the word kent (“kent: city”), 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 Kent?

Kent Taşkent Kenter Başkent Baykent Bolkent Kentmen
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Taşkent same root – –
02 Kenter same root – –
03 Başkent same root – –
04 Baykent same root – –
05 Bolkent same root – –
06 Kentmen same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Kent?

  1. Muhtar Kent businessperson 1952–
  2. Necdet Kent diplomat 1911–2002
  3. Baykal Kent actor 1943–2012
  4. Fuat Kent musician 1945–

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: kent accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Wiktionary: kent 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 Kent

Q1

What does the surname Kent mean?

Kent means “city”. The word entered Old Turkic from Sogdian and survives in names such as Tashkent and Samarkand. In Anatolian dialects it mostly meant “village”, but during the Turkish language reform it was revived in the sense “city” found in other Turkic languages.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Kent?

The root word of Kent is kent (another language): ‘city; Old Turkic kend, from Sogdian knδ “town”’.
Q3

How do you pronounce Kent?

Kent, 1 syllable; IPA: /cent/.