Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 3,821

Sedef

Sedef /seˈdef/

“mother-of-pearl”1

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

How do you pronounce Sedef?

Sedef

IPA /seˈdef/

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

What does the surname Sedef mean?

Sedef is mother-of-pearl, the lustrous white substance lining the shells of mussels and oysters and used in inlay work. According to Nişanyan it is borrowed from Arabic ṣadaf ‘oyster, seashell’. It is also a female given name.1

Sedef is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Sedef made of?

Sedef is a single Arabic root: sedef (sedef: mother-of-pearl).

Sedef root sedef sedef: mother-of-pearl ARABIC ṣadaf “oyster, seashell” Sedef sedef root sedef: mother-of-pearl ṣadaf ARABIC “oyster, seashell”
Sedef: parts and root words
  • ṣadaf Arabic — oyster, seashell1

How was the name Sedef formed?

Sedef is the word sedef (“sedef: mother-of-pearl”), taken unchanged as a surname.

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.5

Who are some well-known people named Sedef?

  1. Mehmet Sedef association football player 1987–
  2. İbrahim Ethem Sedef politician 1980–

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

Is Sedef also a first name?

Yes. Sedef is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “mother-of-pearl”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: sedef accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Adlar: Sedef accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: sedef accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Sedef

Q1

What does the surname Sedef mean?

Sedef is mother-of-pearl, the lustrous white substance lining the shells of mussels and oysters and used in inlay work. According to Nişanyan it is borrowed from Arabic ṣadaf ‘oyster, seashell’. It is also a female given name.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Sedef?

The root word of Sedef is ṣadaf (Arabic): “oyster, seashell”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Sedef?

Se·def, 2 syllables; IPA: /seˈdef/.