Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 639

Aybars

Aybars /ajˈbaɾs/

“moon-bright leopard”1

Letters / syllables
6 / 2
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. §7As a first name
  8. §8Sources
  9. §9Questions
  10. §10Related

How do you pronounce Aybars?

Aybars

IPA /ajˈbaɾs/

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

What does the surname Aybars mean?

Aybars is an old Turkic name built from ay ‘moon’ and pars/bars ‘leopard’, glossed in dictionaries as ‘bright as the moon, strong as a leopard’. According to Nişanyan Adlar, the name of the uncle of the Hun ruler Attila appears as Oybars in the chronicle of Priscus, and some Turkologists read the first element not as ay but as oy ‘grey, dun, lion-coloured’.1

Grammar ay + bars: noun–noun compound.

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. Common reading: ay ‘moon; bright’ + bars ‘leopard’, ‘moon-bright leopard’ (Wiktionary).
  2. According to W. Bang-Kaup and O. Pritsak the first element is Old Turkic oy ‘grey, dun, lion-coloured’; the name may also be a variant of Baybars (Nişanyan Adlar).

What is Aybars made of?

Aybars is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: ay (moon; bright, beautiful) + bars (leopard, panther).

Aybars + first element ay moon; bright, beautiful TURKIC Aybars “male name: ‘bright asthe moon, fierce as a…’” root bars leopard, panther Aybars ay first element moon; bright, beautiful Aybars TURKIC “male name: ‘bright as the moon,fierce as a leopard’” bars root leopard, panther
Aybars: parts and root words
  • Aybars Turkic — male name: ‘bright as the moon, fierce as a leopard’1

How was the name Aybars formed?

Aybars was formed by joining ay (“moon; bright, beautiful”) and bars (“leopard, panther”).

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

Which surnames are related to Aybars?

#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Baybars same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Aybars?

  1. Feridun Aybars swimmer 1952–
  2. Ateşan Aybars economist 1949–
  3. Aslı Aybars actor 1972–
  4. Can Aybars musician 1917–1999
  5. Ergün Aybars writer 1941–
  6. Nihat Aybars film director 1916–2005

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

Is Aybars also a first name?

Yes. Aybars is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “moon-bright leopard”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Adlar: Aybars accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikipedi: Aybars (isim) accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: Aybars 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 Aybars

Q1

What does the surname Aybars mean?

Aybars is an old Turkic name built from ay ‘moon’ and pars/bars ‘leopard’, glossed in dictionaries as ‘bright as the moon, strong as a leopard’. According to Nişanyan Adlar, the name of the uncle of the Hun ruler Attila appears as Oybars in the chronicle of Priscus, and some Turkologists read the first element not as ay but as oy ‘grey, dun, lion-coloured’.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Aybars?

Aybars is made up of two elements: ay “moon; bright, beautiful” (Turkic) and bars “leopard, panther” (Turkic). There are 3 competing views on where Aybars comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Aybars?

Ay·bars, 2 syllables; IPA: /ajˈbaɾs/.