Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 720

Berktay

Berktay /beɾcˈtaj/

“sturdy colt”1

Letters / syllables
7 / 2
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
mixed
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 Berktay?

Berktay

IPA /beɾcˈtaj/

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

What does the surname Berktay mean?

Built from berk ‘firm, strong’ and tay ‘foal, colt’, read as ‘sturdy colt’. Both elements are attested in Old Turkic. Nişanyan Adlar notes that berk fell out of use after the 16th century and entered the repertoire of New Turkish names in the 1930s.1,2

Grammar berk + tay.

That Berktay goes back to berk and tay is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

What is Berktay made of?

Berktay breaks into 2 parts: berk (berk: firm, strong) + tay (tay: foal, colt).

Berktay + root berk berk: firm, strong TURKIC berk “strong, firm” root tay tay: foal, colt TURKIC tay “foal, colt” Berktay berk root berk: firm, strong berk TURKIC “strong, firm” tay root tay: foal, colt tay TURKIC “foal, colt”
Berktay: parts and root words
  • berk Turkic — strong, firm1
  • tay Turkic — foal, colt2

How was the name Berktay formed?

Berktay belongs to the “compound” class of surnames (berk + tay).

Which surnames are related to Berktay?

Berktay Berk Karatay Berker Aktay Berköz Berksoy Özberk Berkin Berkman Erberk Berkay Canberk
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 Karatay same root – –
03 Berker same root – –
04 Aktay same root – –
05 Berköz same root – –
06 Berksoy same root – –
07 Özberk same root – –
08 Berkin same root – –
09 Berkman same root – –
10 Erberk same root – –
11 Berkay same root – –
12 Canberk same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Berktay?

  1. Halil Berktay author 1947–
  2. Ali Berktay translator 1960–
  3. Fatmagül Berktay writer 1950–

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 nisanyanadlar.com nisanyanadlar.com: Berk accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: tay 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

Common questions about Berktay

Q1

What does the surname Berktay mean?

Built from berk ‘firm, strong’ and tay ‘foal, colt’, read as ‘sturdy colt’. Both elements are attested in Old Turkic. Nişanyan Adlar notes that berk fell out of use after the 16th century and entered the repertoire of New Turkish names in the 1930s.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Berktay?

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

How do you pronounce Berktay?

Berk·tay, 2 syllables; IPA: /beɾcˈtaj/.