Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,991

Tekeli

Tekeli /tekeˈli/

“with goats; an old Turkish name”1

Letters / syllables
6 / 3
Formation
Suffixed
Vowel harmony
front
Initial
T
Contents§1–§9
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Notable people
  7. §7Sources
  8. §8Questions
  9. §9Related

How do you pronounce Tekeli?

Tekeli

IPA /tekeˈli/

The stress usually falls on syllable 3 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.

What does the surname Tekeli mean?

On the surface Tekeli consists of teke ‘billy goat’ and the suffix -li. Nişanyan Adlar, however, citing the History of Beyhaki, says it was one of the Turkish names used in the tenth and eleventh centuries and that its meaning remains obscure; it sees a link with the Teke region of Antalya as remote. There are villages called Tekeli in Aydın and Erzurum.1,3

Grammar Can be analysed as teke + -li.

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. Structurally it is teke ‘billy goat’ plus the possessive suffix -li: ‘one who has goats’.
  2. Nişanyan Adlar treats it as a Turkish name known from the 10th–11th centuries whose meaning is obscure.

What is Tekeli made of?

Tekeli breaks into 2 parts: teke (billy goat) + -li (suffix of possession or origin).

Tekeli ++ root teke billy goat TURKIC teke “billy goat” suffix -li suffix of possession ororigin TURKIC Tekeli “Turkish name in use inthe 10th–11th centuries” Tekeli teke root billy goat teke TURKIC “billy goat” -li suffix suffix of possession or origin Tekeli TURKIC “Turkish name in use in the10th–11th centuries”
Tekeli: parts and root words
  • teke Turkic — billy goat1
  • Tekeli Turkic — Turkish name in use in the 10th–11th centuries3

How was the name Tekeli formed?

Tekeli belongs to the “suffixed” class of surnames (teke + -li).

Which surnames are related to Tekeli?

Tekeli Tekelioğlu Teke
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Tekelioğlu same root – –
02 Teke same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Tekeli?

  1. Şirin Tekeli writer 1944–2017
  2. Sevim Tekeli historian 1924–2019
  3. Resul Tekeli volleyball player 1986–
  4. Osman Nuri Tekeli bureaucrat 1893–1976
  5. İlhan Tekeli civil engineer 1937–
  6. Bekir Tekeli musical instrument maker 1932–2013
  7. Doğan Tekeli architect 1929–
  8. Esat Tekeli politician 1896–1967

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: teke accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 nisanyanadlar.com nisanyanadlar.com: Tekeli accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: Tekeli 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

Common questions about Tekeli

Q1

What does the surname Tekeli mean?

On the surface Tekeli consists of teke ‘billy goat’ and the suffix -li. Nişanyan Adlar, however, citing the History of Beyhaki, says it was one of the Turkish names used in the tenth and eleventh centuries and that its meaning remains obscure; it sees a link with the Teke region of Antalya as remote. There are villages called Tekeli in Aydın and Erzurum.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Tekeli?

The root word of Tekeli is teke (Turkic): “billy goat”. There are 3 competing views on where Tekeli comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Tekeli?

Te·ke·li, 3 syllables; IPA: /tekeˈli/.