Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 4,664

Yenel

Yenel /jeˈnel/

“win and take”1

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
From a verb
Vowel harmony
front
Initial
Y
Contents§1–§11
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Spellings
  7. §7Notable people
  8. §8As a first name
  9. §9Sources
  10. §10Questions
  11. §11Related

How do you pronounce Yenel?

Yenel

IPA /jeˈnel/

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

What does the surname Yenel mean?

Nişanyan Adlar records Yenel as a form of the name Yenal and glosses it ‘win and take’: the verbs yen- ‘to defeat’ and al- ‘to take’. According to the same source, Yenal is also the name of a hero in Adyghe (Circassian) mythology, and Arabic has a separate name yenʾal ‘he attains, will attain’.1

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. Turkish yen- + al-: ‘win and take’ (Nişanyan Adlar).
  2. The Adyghe mythological hero name Yenal, or Arabic yenʾal ‘he attains’ (Nişanyan Adlar).

What is Yenel made of?

Yenel is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: yen- (yenmek: to defeat, win) + el / al- (al-: to take; or el ‘realm’).

Yenel + root yen- yenmek: to defeat, win TURKIC yenmek “to defeat, win” root el / al- al-: to take; or el‘realm’ TURKIC almak “to take” Yenel yen- root yenmek: to defeat, win yenmek TURKIC “to defeat, win” el / al- root al-: to take; or el ‘realm’ almak TURKIC “to take”
Yenel: parts and root words
  • yenmek Turkic — to defeat, win1
  • almak Turkic — to take1

How was the name Yenel formed?

Yenel was formed by joining yen- (“yenmek: to defeat, win”) and el / al- (“al-: to take; or el ‘realm’”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.3

Which surnames are related to Yenel?

Yenel Ünal Vural Önal Öcal Yener Algan Öcalan Yenen Şanal Önalan Yenilmez Özyener
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Ünal same root – –
02 Vural same root – –
03 Önal same root – –
04 Öcal same root – –
05 Yener same root – –
06 Algan same root – –
07 Öcalan same root – –
08 Yenen same root – –
09 Şanal same root – –
10 Önalan same root – –
11 Yenilmez same root – –
12 Özyener same root – –

How else is Yenel spelled?

Yenalspelling

Who are some well-known people named Yenel?

  1. Selim Yenel diplomat 1956–
  2. Erdağ Yenel actor 1986–

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

Is Yenel also a first name?

Yes. Yenel is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “win and take”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Adlar: Yenel accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Yenel

Q1

What does the surname Yenel mean?

Nişanyan Adlar records Yenel as a form of the name Yenal and glosses it ‘win and take’: the verbs yen- ‘to defeat’ and al- ‘to take’. According to the same source, Yenal is also the name of a hero in Adyghe (Circassian) mythology, and Arabic has a separate name yenʾal ‘he attains, will attain’.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Yenel?

Yenel is made up of two elements: yenmek “to defeat, win” (Turkic) and almak “to take” (Turkic). There are 3 competing views on where Yenel comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Yenel?

Ye·nel, 2 syllables; IPA: /jeˈnel/.