Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 4,115

Tankurt

Tankurt /tanˈkuɾt/

“wolf of the dawn”1

Letters / syllables
7 / 2
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
T
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 Tankurt?

Tankurt

IPA /tanˈkuɾt/

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

What does the surname Tankurt mean?

From tan ‘dawn’ and kurt ‘wolf’, the name reads ‘wolf of the dawn’. Tan comes from Old Turkic taŋ ‘daybreak’; the wolf stands for strength and freedom in Turkish names.1,2

Grammar tan + kurt.

That Tankurt goes back to tan and kurt is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

What is Tankurt made of?

Tankurt is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: tan (tan: dawn) + kurt (kurt: wolf).

Tankurt ++ root tan tan: dawn TURKIC tan “dawn” suffix kurt kurt: wolf TURKIC kurt “wolf” Tankurt tan root tan: dawn tan TURKIC “dawn” kurt suffix kurt: wolf kurt TURKIC “wolf”
Tankurt: parts and root words
  • tan Turkic — dawn1
  • kurt Turkic — wolf2

How was the name Tankurt formed?

Tankurt was formed by adding the suffix kurt (“kurt: wolf”) to tan (“tan: dawn”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.4

Which surnames are related to Tankurt?

Tankurt Kurt Bozkurt Tan Altan Taner Ertan Karakurt Aktan Kurtoğlu Tanyeri Akkurt Kurdoğlu
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Kurt same root 17 289,723
02 Bozkurt same root – –
03 Tan same root – –
04 Altan same root – –
05 Taner same root – –
06 Ertan same root – –
07 Karakurt same root – –
08 Aktan same root – –
09 Kurtoğlu same root – –
10 Tanyeri same root – –
11 Akkurt same root – –
12 Kurdoğlu same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Tankurt?

  1. Ethem Tankurt physician 1958–

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

Is Tankurt also a first name?

Yes. Tankurt is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “wolf of the dawn”.

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

How is Tankurt written and pronounced abroad?

The spelling Tankurt is unchanged in foreign records.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: tan accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: kurt accessed 9 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 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Tankurt

Q1

What does the surname Tankurt mean?

From tan ‘dawn’ and kurt ‘wolf’, the name reads ‘wolf of the dawn’. Tan comes from Old Turkic taŋ ‘daybreak’; the wolf stands for strength and freedom in Turkish names.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Tankurt?

Tankurt is made up of two elements: tan “dawn” (Turkic) and kurt “wolf” (Turkic).
Q3

How do you pronounce Tankurt?

Tan·kurt, 2 syllables; IPA: /tanˈkuɾt/.