Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,412

Önal

Önal /øˈnaɫ/ ASCII Onal

“‘take the lead’”2

Letters / syllables
4 / 2
Formation
From a verb
Vowel harmony
mixed
Initial
Ö
Contents§1–§11
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Notable people
  7. §7As a first name
  8. §8Abroad
  9. §9Sources
  10. §10Questions
  11. §11Related

How do you pronounce Önal?

Önal

IPA /øˈnaɫ/

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

What does the surname Önal mean?

Read as a wish name from ön “front” and the imperative of almak “to take”: “take the lead, get ahead”, be a forerunner. It follows the pattern of imperative surnames such as Ünal and Erol.1,2

Grammar Noun ön + second-person imperative of almak (al).

That Önal goes back to ön and almak is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

What is Önal made of?

Önal breaks into 2 parts: ön (ön: front) + al- (almak: to take).

Önal + root ön ön: front TURKIC ön “the front, the fore part” root al- almak: to take TURKIC almak “to take, to obtain” Önal ön root ön: front ön TURKIC “the front, the fore part” al- root almak: to take almak TURKIC “to take, to obtain”
Önal: parts and root words
  • ön Turkic — the front, the fore part2
  • almak Turkic — to take, to obtain1

How was the name Önal formed?

Önal belongs to the “from a verb” class of surnames (ön + al-).

Which surnames are related to Önal?

Önal Ünal Vural Öcal Algan Öcalan Şanal Önalan Yenel Ünaldı Ünalmış
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Ünal same root – –
02 Vural same root – –
03 Öcal same root – –
04 Algan same root – –
05 Öcalan same root – –
06 Şanal same root – –
07 Önalan same root – –
08 Yenel same root – –
09 Ünaldı same root – –
10 Ünalmış same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Önal?

  1. Ayşe Hatun Önal singer 1978–
  2. Bige Önal film actor 1990–
  3. Başar Önal association football player 2004–
  4. Erhan Önal association football player 1957–2021
  5. Güldeniz Önal volleyball player 1986–
  6. Tuba Önal singer 1974–
  7. Füsun Önal actor 1947–
  8. Alper Önal association football player 1996–

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

Is Önal also a first name?

Yes. Önal is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “take the lead”.

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

How is Önal written and pronounced abroad?

English-language records usually print Önal as Onal, dropping the diacritics.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: Önal accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: ön 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
  6. 6 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Önal

Q1

What does the surname Önal mean?

Read as a wish name from ön “front” and the imperative of almak “to take”: “take the lead, get ahead”, be a forerunner. It follows the pattern of imperative surnames such as Ünal and Erol.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Önal?

The root word of Önal is ön (Turkic): “the front, the fore part”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Önal?

Ö·nal, 2 syllables; IPA: /øˈnaɫ/.