Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 4,127

Tansel

Tansel /tanˈsel/

“flood of dawn; of the dawn”1

Letters / syllables
6 / 2
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
mixed
Initial
T
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 Tansel?

Tansel

IPA /tanˈsel/

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

What does the surname Tansel mean?

Tansel is a given name for women and men and carries the element tan “dawn, daybreak”. The second part is read either as sel “flood, torrent”, giving “flood of dawn, the overflowing light of morning”, or as the adjective suffix -sel, giving “of the dawn, dawn-like”. Dictionaries give no explanation.1,2

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. tan + sel “flood”: “flood of dawn”.
  2. tan + adjective suffix -sel: “of the dawn”.

What is Tansel made of?

Tansel combines Turkic and Arabic elements in 2 parts: tan (dawn) + sel (flood; or adjective suffix -sel).

Tansel + root tan dawn TURKIC tan “dawn” root sel flood; or adjectivesuffix -sel ARABIC sel “flood, torrent” Tansel tan root dawn tan TURKIC “dawn” sel root flood; or adjective suffix -sel sel ARABIC “flood, torrent”
Tansel: parts and root words
  • tan Turkic — dawn1
  • sel Arabic — flood, torrent2

How was the name Tansel formed?

Tansel was formed by joining tan (“dawn”) and sel (“flood; or adjective suffix -sel”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.7

Which surnames are related to Tansel?

Tansel Tan Altan Taner Ertan Gürsel Aktan Tanyeri Kızıltan Tandoğan Göktan Öztan Tanyeli
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Tan same root – –
02 Altan same root – –
03 Taner same root – –
04 Ertan same root – –
05 Gürsel same root – –
06 Aktan same root – –
07 Tanyeri same root – –
08 Kızıltan same root – –
09 Tandoğan same root – –
10 Göktan same root – –
11 Öztan same root – –
12 Tanyeli same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Tansel?

  1. Oğuz Tansel writer 1915–1994
  2. Aydın Tansel musician 1945–2016
  3. Aysıt Tansel economist
  4. Fevziye Abdullah Tansel literary critic 1912–1988
  5. Kerim Tansel association football player
  6. Muharrem Tansel politician 1913–1985
  7. Selahattin Tansel writer 1908–1980
  8. İrfan Tansel diplomat 1909–1999

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

Is Tansel also a first name?

Yes. Tansel is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “flood of dawn; of the dawn”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: tan accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: sel accessed 9 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Wiktionary: Tansel accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: tan accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 Wikimedia Wiktionary: sel accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  8. 8 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Tansel

Q1

What does the surname Tansel mean?

Tansel is a given name for women and men and carries the element tan “dawn, daybreak”. The second part is read either as sel “flood, torrent”, giving “flood of dawn, the overflowing light of morning”, or as the adjective suffix -sel, giving “of the dawn, dawn-like”. Dictionaries give no explanation.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Tansel?

Tansel is made up of two elements: tan “dawn” (Turkic) and sel “flood, torrent” (Arabic). There are 3 competing views on where Tansel comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Tansel?

Tan·sel, 2 syllables; IPA: /tanˈsel/.