Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 4,205

Telek

Telek /teˈlec/

“quill feather”1

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

How do you pronounce Telek?

Telek

IPA /teˈlec/

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

What does the surname Telek mean?

A telek is a quill, the stiff-shafted flight or tail feather of a bird. Nişanyan notes that the older forms were yelek and çelek, and that the word may have taken the form telek in the 20th century under the influence of tel ‘wire, thread’.1

Telek is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Telek made of?

Telek is a single Turkic root: telek (quill, flight feather).

Telek root telek quill, flight feather TURKIC telek “quill, flight or tailfeather” Telek telek root quill, flight feather telek TURKIC “quill, flight or tail feather”
Telek: parts and root words
  • telek Turkic — quill, flight or tail feather1

How was the name Telek formed?

Telek is the word telek (“quill, flight feather”), 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 Telek?

  1. Nazif Telek writer 1957–2007
  2. Songül Telek sculptor 1973–

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: telek accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: telek 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

Common questions about Telek

Q1

What does the surname Telek mean?

A telek is a quill, the stiff-shafted flight or tail feather of a bird. Nişanyan notes that the older forms were yelek and çelek, and that the word may have taken the form telek in the 20th century under the influence of tel ‘wire, thread’.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Telek?

The root word of Telek is telek (Turkic): “quill, flight or tail feather”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Telek?

Te·lek, 2 syllables; IPA: /teˈlec/.