Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,790

Keven

Keven /ceˈven/

“milk-vetch, a thorny steppe shrub”1

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

How do you pronounce Keven?

Keven

IPA /ceˈven/

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

What does the surname Keven mean?

Keven is another form of geven, the thorny, cushion-shaped milk-vetch shrub (Astragalus) of the Anatolian steppe and high pastures. Turkish Wiktionary glosses keven simply as geven.1

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. Geven from Persian gavan “milk-vetch” (en.Wiktionary).
  2. Geven may derive from the verb gevmek “to chew” (Nişanyan, as cited in en.Wiktionary).

Keven is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Keven made of?

Keven is a single Persian root: keven (keven: milk-vetch (geven), a thorny shrub).

Keven root keven keven: milk-vetch(geven), a thorny shrub PERSIAN geven “thorny cushion-shapedshrub of the steppe…” Keven keven root keven: milk-vetch (geven), a thornyshrub geven PERSIAN “thorny cushion-shaped shrub ofthe steppe (Astragalus)”
Keven: parts and root words
  • geven Persian — thorny cushion-shaped shrub of the steppe (Astragalus)1

How was the name Keven formed?

Keven is the word keven (“keven: milk-vetch (geven), a thorny shrub”), taken unchanged as a surname.

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

Who are some well-known people named Keven?

  1. Ali Keven politician 1951–

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

How is Keven written and pronounced abroad?

The name has no Turkish-specific letters and is written Keven abroad as well.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: geven accessed 9 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: keven 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 Keven

Q1

What does the surname Keven mean?

Keven is another form of geven, the thorny, cushion-shaped milk-vetch shrub (Astragalus) of the Anatolian steppe and high pastures. Turkish Wiktionary glosses keven simply as geven.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Keven?

The root word of Keven is geven (Persian): “thorny cushion-shaped shrub of the steppe (Astragalus)”. There are 3 competing views on where Keven comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Keven?

Ke·ven, 2 syllables; IPA: /ceˈven/.