Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,888

Şenkal

Şenkal /ʃenˈkaɫ/ ASCII Senkal

“stay happy”2

Letters / syllables
6 / 2
Formation
From a verb
Vowel harmony
mixed
Initial
Ş
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 Şenkal?

Şenkal

IPA /ʃenˈkaɫ/

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

What does the surname Şenkal mean?

Şenkal is a wish name meaning ‘stay cheerful, stay happy’; Nişanyan Adlar glosses it ‘stay happy’. Kal is the imperative of Old Turkic kal- ‘to stay’. Şen, according to Nişanyan, is cognate with Armenian šēn ‘inhabited, prosperous’ and goes back to Middle Persian.1,2

Grammar şen + kal- (imperative).

What is Şenkal made of?

Şenkal breaks into 2 parts: şen (cheerful) + kal (imperative of kalmak).

Şenkal + root şen cheerful ARMENIAN şen “cheerful; cognate withArmenian šēn…” root kal imperative of kalmak TURKIC kalmak “to stay, to remain” Şenkal şen root cheerful şen ARMENIAN “cheerful; cognate with Armenianšēn ‘inhabited, prosperous’” kal root imperative of kalmak kalmak TURKIC “to stay, to remain”
Şenkal: parts and root words
  • şen Armenian — cheerful; cognate with Armenian šēn ‘inhabited, prosperous’2
  • kalmak Turkic — to stay, to remain1

How was the name Şenkal formed?

Şenkal belongs to the “from a verb” class of surnames (şen + kal).

Which surnames are related to Şenkal?

Şenkal Şen Şener Şentürk Şenol Şengül Şenel Şensoy Şenocak Şengün Şencan Erşen Pekşen
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Şen same root – –
02 Şener same root – –
03 Şentürk same root – –
04 Şenol same root – –
05 Şengül same root – –
06 Şenel same root – –
07 Şensoy same root – –
08 Şenocak same root – –
09 Şengün same root – –
10 Şencan same root – –
11 Erşen same root – –
12 Pekşen same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Şenkal?

  1. Emin Şükrü Şenkal politician 1972–
  2. Eylem Şenkal volleyball player 1976–
  3. Özgül Akın Şenkal researcher

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

Is Şenkal also a first name?

Yes. Şenkal is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “stay happy”.

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

How is Şenkal written and pronounced abroad?

Without Turkish letters the name is usually written Senkal.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 nisanyanadlar.com nisanyanadlar.com: Şenkal accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: şen accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: kal- 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 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Şenkal

Q1

What does the surname Şenkal mean?

Şenkal is a wish name meaning ‘stay cheerful, stay happy’; Nişanyan Adlar glosses it ‘stay happy’. Kal is the imperative of Old Turkic kal- ‘to stay’. Şen, according to Nişanyan, is cognate with Armenian šēn ‘inhabited, prosperous’ and goes back to Middle Persian.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Şenkal?

The root word of Şenkal is şen (Turkic): “cheerful; cognate with Armenian šēn ‘inhabited, prosperous’”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Şenkal?

Şen·kal, 2 syllables; IPA: /ʃenˈkaɫ/.