Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,753

Sertel

Sertel /seɾˈtel/

“strong realm, or strong hand”1

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

How do you pronounce Sertel?

Sertel

IPA /seɾˈtel/

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

What does the surname Sertel mean?

Sertel is built from sert and el. Sert comes from Persian sard “cold, hard” and in Turkish means “hard, strong, unyielding”. El can be read either as “people, realm” or as “hand”, so the name means “strong realm” or “strong hand”.1

Grammar sert + el, where el may be “realm” or “hand”

That Sertel goes back to sert and el is probable rather than proven: the dictionary entry cited supports it.

What is Sertel made of?

Sertel breaks into 2 parts: sert (hard, tough, strong) + el (people, realm; or hand).

Sertel + root sert hard, tough, strong PERSIAN sert “hard, strong;unforgiving” root el people, realm; or hand TURKIC el “people, realm, country” Sertel sert root hard, tough, strong sert PERSIAN “hard, strong; unforgiving” el root people, realm; or hand el TURKIC “people, realm, country”
Sertel: parts and root words
  • sert Persian — hard, strong; unforgiving1
  • el Turkic — people, realm, country1

How was the name Sertel formed?

Sertel belongs to the “1934 coinage” class of surnames (sert + el).

Which surnames are related to Sertel?

Sertel Sert Sertoğlu Sertdemir Sertçelik Serter Sertbaş Sertkaya
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Sert same root – –
02 Sertoğlu same root – –
03 Sertdemir same root – –
04 Sertçelik same root – –
05 Serter same root – –
06 Sertbaş same root – –
07 Sertkaya same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Sertel?

  1. Sabiha Sertel journalist 1895–1968
  2. Zekeriya Sertel journalist 1890–1980
  3. Atilla Sertel politician 1956–
  4. Cemali̇ Sertel association football player 2000–
  5. Ezgi Sertel actor 1981–
  6. Elif Sertel researcher
  7. Murat Sertel economist 1942–2003
  8. Necla Sertel actor

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

Is Sertel also a first name?

Yes. Sertel is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “strong realm, or strong hand”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: sert accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: Sertel 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 Sertel

Q1

What does the surname Sertel mean?

Sertel is built from sert and el. Sert comes from Persian sard “cold, hard” and in Turkish means “hard, strong, unyielding”. El can be read either as “people, realm” or as “hand”, so the name means “strong realm” or “strong hand”.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Sertel?

The root word of Sertel is sert (Persian): “hard, strong; unforgiving”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Sertel?

Ser·tel, 2 syllables; IPA: /seɾˈtel/.