Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 404

Atabey

Atabey /ataˈbej/

“Seljuk title: tutor-regent of princes”2

Letters / syllables
6 / 3
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
mixed
Initial
A
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 Atabey?

Atabey

IPA /ataˈbej/

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

What does the surname Atabey mean?

Atabey was the Seljuk title of the high officials who brought up and trained the princes; it means “father-lord”, a lord who stands in the place of a father. Some of these officials later founded states of their own, known as the Atabegates. A district of Isparta also bears the name Atabey.2

Grammar Compound of ata + bey.

What is Atabey made of?

Atabey breaks into 2 parts: ata (father, forefather) + bey (lord, chief).

Atabey ++ root ata father, forefather TURKIC atabey “Seljuk title of the highofficials who raised…” suffix bey lord, chief TURKIC Atabey “ata + bey” Atabey ata root father, forefather atabey TURKIC “Seljuk title of the highofficials who raised princes…” bey suffix lord, chief Atabey TURKIC “ata + bey”
Atabey: parts and root words
  • atabey Turkic — Seljuk title of the high officials who raised princes and in time founded states2
  • Atabey Turkic — ata + bey2

How was the name Atabey formed?

Atabey belongs to the “compound” class of surnames (ata + bey).

Which surnames are related to Atabey?

Atabey Atalay Atay Ataman Atasoy Ataç Ata Atakan Atalar Ataoğlu Atacan Ataseven Ayata
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Atalay same root – –
02 Atay same root – –
03 Ataman same root – –
04 Atasoy same root – –
05 Ataç same root – –
06 Ata same root – –
07 Atakan same root – –
08 Atalar same root – –
09 Ataoğlu same root – –
10 Atacan same root – –
11 Ataseven same root – –
12 Ayata same root – –

How else is Atabey spelled?

Atabayspelling
Atabekspelling

Who are some well-known people named Atabey?

  1. Birce Atabey figure skater 1993–
  2. Fahri Atabey politician 1913–1994
  3. Miraç Atabey playwright 1989–

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

Is Atabey also a first name?

Yes. Atabey is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “Seljuk title: tutor-regent of princes”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: atabey accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Wiktionary: Atabey 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
  6. 6 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Atabey

Q1

What does the surname Atabey mean?

Atabey was the Seljuk title of the high officials who brought up and trained the princes; it means “father-lord”, a lord who stands in the place of a father. Some of these officials later founded states of their own, known as the Atabegates. A district of Isparta also bears the name Atabey.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Atabey?

The root word of Atabey is atabey (Turkic): “Seljuk title of the high officials who raised princes and in time founded states”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Atabey?

A·ta·bey, 3 syllables; IPA: /ataˈbej/.