Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 713

Berkay

Berkay /beɾˈkaj/

“strong moon”2

Letters / syllables
6 / 2
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
mixed
Initial
B
Contents§1–§11
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Notable people
  7. §7As a first name
  8. §8Abroad
  9. §9Sources
  10. §10Questions
  11. §11Related

How do you pronounce Berkay?

Berkay

IPA /beɾˈkaj/

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

What does the surname Berkay mean?

Berkay is a male name built from berk ‘firm, strong’ and ay ‘moon’; Nişanyan Adlar glosses it ‘strong moon’. According to Nişanyan, berk is Old Turkic bek/berk ‘strong, firm’, a word that had fallen out of use and was revived during the Language Reform.1,2

Grammar berk + ay.

What is Berkay made of?

Berkay breaks into 2 parts: berk (firm, strong) + ay (moon).

Berkay + root berk firm, strong TURKIC berk “strong, firm” root ay moon TURKIC ay “moon” Berkay berk root firm, strong berk TURKIC “strong, firm” ay root moon ay TURKIC “moon”
Berkay: parts and root words
  • berk Turkic — strong, firm2
  • ay Turkic — moon1

How was the name Berkay formed?

Berkay belongs to the “compound” class of surnames (berk + ay).

Which surnames are related to Berkay?

Berkay Berk Berker Berköz Berksoy Özberk Berkin Berkman Berktay Erberk Canberk Gökberk Berkan
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Berk same root – –
02 Berker same root – –
03 Berköz same root – –
04 Berksoy same root – –
05 Özberk same root – –
06 Berkin same root – –
07 Berkman same root – –
08 Berktay same root – –
09 Erberk same root – –
10 Canberk same root – –
11 Gökberk same root – –
12 Berkan same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Berkay?

  1. Cahit Berkay actor 1946–
  2. Feyyaz Berkay physician 1913–1991

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

Is Berkay also a first name?

Yes. Berkay is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “strong moon”.

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

How is Berkay written and pronounced abroad?

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 nisanyanadlar.com nisanyanadlar.com: Berkay accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: berk 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 Berkay

Q1

What does the surname Berkay mean?

Berkay is a male name built from berk ‘firm, strong’ and ay ‘moon’; Nişanyan Adlar glosses it ‘strong moon’. According to Nişanyan, berk is Old Turkic bek/berk ‘strong, firm’, a word that had fallen out of use and was revived during the Language Reform.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Berkay?

The root word of Berkay is berk (Turkic): “strong, firm”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Berkay?

Ber·kay, 2 syllables; IPA: /beɾˈkaj/.