Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 732

Baba

Baba /baˈba/

“father; head of a dervish lodge”1

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

How do you pronounce Baba?

Baba

IPA /baˈba/

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

What does the surname Baba mean?

Baba, one of the most basic kinship words, means “father”. It arose from children’s speech and has been written in Turkish since the 13th century; similar forms exist in many of the world’s languages. Figuratively it is used for a kind, good-natured man and for someone who has served a community, and in the language of dervish orders it is the title of a lodge’s spiritual head.1

Baba is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Baba made of?

Baba is a single Turkic root: baba (father; head of a dervish order).

Baba root baba father; head of a dervishorder TURKIC baba “father; kind,good-natured man; head…” Baba baba root father; head of a dervish order baba TURKIC “father; kind, good-natured man;head of a dervish lodge”
Baba: parts and root words
  • baba Turkic — father; kind, good-natured man; head of a dervish lodge1

How was the name Baba formed?

Baba is the word baba (“father; head of a dervish order”), taken unchanged as a surname.

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.6

Which surnames are related to Baba?

Baba Akbaba Babacan Babaoğlu Karababa Babadağ Babalık Ağbaba Aybaba Babaç Babaoğlan Babayiğit Fakıbaba
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Akbaba same root – –
02 Babacan same root – –
03 Babaoğlu same root – –
04 Karababa same root – –
05 Babadağ same root – –
06 Babalık same root – –
07 Ağbaba same root – –
08 Aybaba same root – –
09 Babaç same root – –
10 Babaoğlan same root – –
11 Babayiğit same root – –
12 Fakıbaba same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Baba?

  1. Manuş Baba singer 1986–
  2. Ali Baba professional wrestler 1901–1981
  3. Eda Baba singer 1989–
  4. Devran Baba writer 1942–2012
  5. Hacı Hulusi Baba poet 1871–1936
  6. Kafi Baba religious leader
  7. Köksal Baba YouTuber 1975–
  8. Yusuf Fahir Baba association football player 1891–1967

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: baba accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Adlar: Baba accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: baba accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Wiktionary: baba accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Baba

Q1

What does the surname Baba mean?

Baba, one of the most basic kinship words, means “father”. It arose from children’s speech and has been written in Turkish since the 13th century; similar forms exist in many of the world’s languages. Figuratively it is used for a kind, good-natured man and for someone who has served a community, and in the language of dervish orders it is the title of a lodge’s spiritual head.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Baba?

The root word of Baba is baba (Turkic): “father; kind, good-natured man; head of a dervish lodge”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Baba?

Ba·ba, 2 syllables; IPA: /baˈba/.