Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 612

Başkaya

Başkaya /baʃkaˈja/ ASCII Baskaya

“the chief rock”1

Letters / syllables
7 / 3
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
B
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 Başkaya?

Başkaya

IPA /baʃkaˈja/

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

What does the surname Başkaya mean?

Başkaya combines baş ‘head, foremost’ with kaya ‘rock’: ‘the rock at the head, the chief rock’. Villages with this name exist in Kars, Malatya and Samsun, so the surname may also derive from a place name.1,2

Grammar baş + kaya: noun–noun compound.

That Başkaya goes back to baş and kaya is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

What is Başkaya made of?

Başkaya breaks into 2 parts: baş (head; first, chief) + kaya (rock).

Başkaya ++ root baş head; first, chief TURKIC baş “head; foremost” suffix kaya rock TURKIC kaya “rock” Başkaya baş root head; first, chief baş TURKIC “head; foremost” kaya suffix rock kaya TURKIC “rock”
Başkaya: parts and root words
  • baş Turkic — head; foremost1
  • kaya Turkic — rock2

How was the name Başkaya formed?

Başkaya belongs to the “compound” class of surnames (baş + kaya).

Which surnames are related to Başkaya?

Başkaya Kaya Akkaya Akbaş Baş Çetinkaya Karakaya Sarıkaya Subaşı Özkaya Yalçınkaya Başer Kocabaş
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Kaya same root 2 899,722
02 Akkaya same root – –
03 Akbaş same root – –
04 Baş same root – –
05 Çetinkaya same root – –
06 Karakaya same root – –
07 Sarıkaya same root – –
08 Subaşı same root – –
09 Özkaya same root – –
10 Yalçınkaya same root – –
11 Başer same root – –
12 Kocabaş same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Başkaya?

  1. Fikret Başkaya writer 1940–
  2. Yusuf Başkaya politician 1879–1947
  3. Özlem Başkaya actor 1975–
  4. Burak Başkaya association football player 2001–
  5. Gizem Başkaya association football player 1991–
  6. Mustafa Kemal Başkaya researcher
  7. Özlem Başkaya actor

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

How is Başkaya written and pronounced abroad?

Outside Turkey the name is often written Baskaya. In Turkish, ş is pronounced like English sh and y is a consonant, as in English “yes”.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: baş accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: kaya 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 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Başkaya

Q1

What does the surname Başkaya mean?

Başkaya combines baş ‘head, foremost’ with kaya ‘rock’: ‘the rock at the head, the chief rock’. Villages with this name exist in Kars, Malatya and Samsun, so the surname may also derive from a place name.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Başkaya?

The root word of Başkaya is baş (Turkic): “head; foremost”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Başkaya?

Baş·ka·ya, 3 syllables; IPA: /baʃkaˈja/.