# Turkel (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/turkel/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Yiddish |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 408 |
| US rank (2010) | 51,066 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 756,729 people |
| Change since 2000 | -8.9% (448 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Two main origins: * From a reduced form of the Old Norse personal name Þórketill, which is composed of the elements Þórr (“Thor”) and ketill (“cauldron”). * A Jewish Ashkenazi surname, possibly from Yiddish טערקלטויב (terkltoyb, “turtle dove”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Turkel in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 96% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.0% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Turkel in the United States.

## People named Turkel

- Joe Turkel, American actor (1927–2022)
- Ann Turkel, American actress and former model

## Similar surnames

Trujillo, Troxell, Trussell, Tressler, Trexler, Traxler, Troxel, Trosclair, Torkelson, Troxler, Trisler.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.