Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 4,532

Tekir

Tekir /teˈciɾ/

“tabby; red mullet”1

Probable origin Tekir: root entries for tekir · How do we know?

Published: Last updated:

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
Plain noun
Vowel harmony
front
Initial
T
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How do you pronounce Tekir?

Tekir

IPA /teˈciɾ/

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

What does the surname Tekir mean?

Tekir describes a grey cat with black stripes and spots, a tabby; it is also the name of a reddish fish resembling the red mullet. Wiktionary traces the word through Ottoman tekir to Greek tígri ‘tiger’. Tekir is also recorded as a male name in Türkiye.1

That Tekir goes back to tekir is probable rather than proven: the dictionary entry cited supports it.

Tekir is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Tekir made of?

Tekir is a single Greek root: tekir (tabby; red mullet).

Tekir root tekir tabby; red mullet GREEK tekir “tabby (cat); red mullet” Tekir tekir root tabby; red mullet tekir GREEK “tabby (cat); red mullet”
Tekir: parts and root words
  • tekir Greek — tabby (cat); red mullet1

How was the name Tekir formed?

Tekir is the word tekir (“tabby; red mullet”), taken unchanged as a surname.

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

Who are some well-known people named Tekir?

  1. Süleyman Tekir historian 1985–

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

Is Tekir also a first name?

Yes. Tekir is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “tabby; red mullet”.

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

How is Tekir written and pronounced abroad?

The name has no Turkish-specific letters and is written Tekir abroad as well.

Which surnames have a meaning similar to Tekir?

Akbalık, Bozatlı and Bozgeyik share gloss keywords with Tekir within the same primary category.

Which guides add context to Tekir?

Read the root, formation and register information for Tekir alongside this guide: How to research a Turkish surname and family tree.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: tekir accessed 9 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: tekir 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 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Tekir

Q1

What does the surname Tekir mean?

Tekir describes a grey cat with black stripes and spots, a tabby; it is also the name of a reddish fish resembling the red mullet. Wiktionary traces the word through Ottoman tekir to Greek tígri ‘tiger’. Tekir is also recorded as a male name in Türkiye.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Tekir?

The root word of Tekir is tekir (Greek): “tabby (cat); red mullet”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Tekir?

Te·kir, 2 syllables; IPA: /teˈciɾ/.