Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 290

Altunbay

Altunbay /aɫtunˈbaj/

“rich in gold”1

Letters / syllables
8 / 3
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
A
Contents§1–§10
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Notable people
  7. §7Abroad
  8. §8Sources
  9. §9Questions
  10. §10Related

How do you pronounce Altunbay?

Altunbay

IPA /aɫtunˈbaj/

The stress usually falls on syllable 3 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.

What does the surname Altunbay mean?

Altunbay combines altun ‘gold’ and bay ‘rich’: ‘rich in gold’. According to Nişanyan Adlar the name of the precious metal has long been written both Altın and Altun. Bay meant ‘rich, man of property’ in Old Turkic; Nişanyan notes that in 1934 it was adopted as a form of address in place of bey.1,2

Grammar altun + bay.

That Altunbay goes back to altın and bay is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

What is Altunbay made of?

Altunbay breaks into 2 parts: altun (gold) + bay (rich).

Altunbay + root altun gold TURKIC altın “gold” root bay rich TURKIC bay “rich” Altunbay altun root gold altın TURKIC “gold” bay root rich bay TURKIC “rich”
Altunbay: parts and root words
  • altın Turkic — gold1
  • bay Turkic — rich2

How was the name Altunbay formed?

Altunbay belongs to the “compound” class of surnames (altun + bay).

Which surnames are related to Altunbay?

Altunbay Altun Altın Altıntaş Baykara Özbay Akbay Erbay Baykal Altınok Altuntaş Baykan Altınel
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Altun same root – –
02 Altın same root – –
03 Altıntaş same root – –
04 Baykara same root – –
05 Özbay same root – –
06 Akbay same root – –
07 Erbay same root – –
08 Baykal same root – –
09 Altınok same root – –
10 Altuntaş same root – –
11 Baykan same root – –
12 Altınel same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Altunbay?

  1. Mehmet Altunbay politician 1911–1987
  2. Erol Altunbay film producer 1973–

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

How is Altunbay written and pronounced abroad?

The spelling Altunbay is kept abroad; y is the consonant of English yes.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 nisanyanadlar.com nisanyanadlar.com: Altunbay accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: bay 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
  5. 5 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Altunbay

Q1

What does the surname Altunbay mean?

Altunbay combines altun ‘gold’ and bay ‘rich’: ‘rich in gold’. According to Nişanyan Adlar the name of the precious metal has long been written both Altın and Altun. Bay meant ‘rich, man of property’ in Old Turkic; Nişanyan notes that in 1934 it was adopted as a form of address in place of bey.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Altunbay?

The root word of Altunbay is altın (Turkic): “gold”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Altunbay?

Al·tun·bay, 3 syllables; IPA: /aɫtunˈbaj/.