Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 48

Aday

Aday /aˈdaj/

“candidate”1

Letters / syllables
4 / 2
Formation
Suffixed
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
A
Contents§1–§9
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Notable people
  6. §6As a first name
  7. §7Sources
  8. §8Questions
  9. §9Related

How do you pronounce Aday?

Aday

IPA /aˈdaj/

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

What does the surname Aday mean?

An aday is a candidate, someone put forward, by himself or by others, for a post or task. According to Wiktionary the word was coined in 1935 as ad, “name”, plus -ay, modelled on French nominé. As a personal name, however, Nişanyan Adlar links about half of the male examples around Nusaybin and Midyat to Addai, a name in the Syriac tradition, and considers the sense “candidate” likely for only one or two examples.1

Grammar ad + -ay.

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. New Turkish aday, “candidate”, ad + -ay, 1935 (Wiktionary, Nişanyan).
  2. The Syriac name Addai; Nişanyan Adlar considers the sense “candidate” likely for only one or two examples of the personal name.

Aday is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Aday made of?

Aday is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: ad (name) + -ay (New Turkish derivational suffix).

Aday ++ root ad name TURKIC aday “candidate” suffix -ay New Turkish derivationalsuffix TURKIC ad “name” Aday ad root name aday TURKIC “candidate” -ay suffix New Turkish derivational suffix ad TURKIC “name”
Aday: parts and root words
  • aday Turkic — candidate1
  • ad Turkic — name1

How was the name Aday formed?

Aday was formed by adding the suffix -ay (“New Turkish derivational suffix”) to ad (“name”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.5

Who are some well-known people named Aday?

  1. Batıcan Aday association football player 1995–
  2. Gürcan Aday association football player 1958–
  3. Mehmet Seçkin Aday researcher
  4. Sezin Aday researcher

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

Is Aday also a first name?

Yes. Aday is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “candidate”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: aday accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Adlar: Aday accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Wiktionary: aday 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 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Aday

Q1

What does the surname Aday mean?

An aday is a candidate, someone put forward, by himself or by others, for a post or task. According to Wiktionary the word was coined in 1935 as ad, “name”, plus -ay, modelled on French nominé. As a personal name, however, Nişanyan Adlar links about half of the male examples around Nusaybin and Midyat to Addai, a name in the Syriac tradition, and considers the sense “candidate” likely for only one or two examples.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Aday?

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

How do you pronounce Aday?

A·day, 2 syllables; IPA: /aˈdaj/.