Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,166

Kurnaz

Kurnaz /kuɾˈnaz/

“shrewd, sly”2

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

How do you pronounce Kurnaz?

Kurnaz

IPA /kuɾˈnaz/

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

What does the surname Kurnaz mean?

A kurnaz person is shrewd and hard to fool, someone who gets what he wants with small tricks, ‘sly as a fox’ as the saying goes. Nişanyan traces the word to Persian ḳurnās ‘trickster’. There is also a village called Kurnaz in Suluova, Amasya.1,2

Grammar Adjective borrowed from Persian.

Kurnaz is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Kurnaz made of?

Kurnaz is a single root: kurnaz (sly, shrewd).

Kurnaz + root kurnaz sly, shrewd PERSIAN kurnaz “sly, cunning, hard tofool” PERSIAN ḳurnās “trickster” Kurnaz kurnaz root sly, shrewd kurnaz PERSIAN “sly, cunning, hard to fool” ḳurnās PERSIAN “trickster”
Kurnaz: parts and root words
  • kurnaz Persian — sly, cunning, hard to fool2
  • ḳurnās Persian — trickster1

How was the name Kurnaz formed?

Kurnaz belongs to the “adjective” class of surnames.

Who are some well-known people named Kurnaz?

  1. Murat Kurnaz writer 1982–
  2. Mehtap Kurnaz weightlifter 1995–
  3. Prof. Dr. M. Levent Kurnaz climatologist 1965–
  4. Hakan Şükrü Kurnaz weightlifter 2004–
  5. Şükrü Kurnaz statesperson 1956–2015
  6. Alperen Kurnaz basketball player 1999–
  7. Erdal Kurnaz researcher
  8. Fatih Kurnaz association football player

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: kurnaz accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: kurnaz accessed 8 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
  5. 5 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Kurnaz

Q1

What does the surname Kurnaz mean?

A kurnaz person is shrewd and hard to fool, someone who gets what he wants with small tricks, ‘sly as a fox’ as the saying goes. Nişanyan traces the word to Persian ḳurnās ‘trickster’. There is also a village called Kurnaz in Suluova, Amasya.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Kurnaz?

The root word of Kurnaz is kurnaz (Persian): “sly, cunning, hard to fool”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Kurnaz?

Kur·naz, 2 syllables; IPA: /kuɾˈnaz/.