Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,179

Büyükatalay

Büyükatalay /byjykataˈɫaj/ ASCII Buyukatalay

“great Atalay”1

Letters / syllables
11 / 5
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
mixed
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 Büyükatalay?

Büyükatalay

IPA /byjykataˈɫaj/

The stress usually falls on syllable 5 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.

What does the surname Büyükatalay mean?

The name Atalay with büyük, “great, senior”, in front. According to Nişanyan Adlar, Atalay was coined in the Turkish Hearths of the 1910s as a Turkish reading of the name of the Hun ruler Attila. Name dictionaries explain it as “one who readily dashes forward, a bold person”, while English Wiktionary gives “keeper of the ancestors”, built on ata “forefather”. Büyük also serves to tell apart families with the same name.1,3

Grammar compound büyük + Atalay

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. Nişanyan Adlar: coined in the 1910s as a Turkish reading of the name Attila.
  2. Name dictionaries: Atalay “one who dashes forward, bold”.
  3. English Wiktionary: “keeper of the ancestors”, with ata.

What is Büyükatalay made of?

Büyükatalay is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: büyük (büyük: great; senior) + Atalay (Atalay: male given name).

Büyükatalay + root büyük büyük: great; senior TURKIC bedük “big” root Atalay Atalay: male given name TURKIC ata “father, forefather” Büyükatalay büyük root büyük: great; senior bedük TURKIC “big” Atalay root Atalay: male given name ata TURKIC “father, forefather”
Büyükatalay: parts and root words
  • bedük Turkic — big1
  • ata Turkic — father, forefather3

How was the name Büyükatalay formed?

Büyükatalay was formed by joining büyük (“büyük: great; senior”) and Atalay (“Atalay: male given name”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.7

Which surnames are related to Büyükatalay?

Büyükatalay Atalay Atay Ataman Atasoy Ataç Ata Atakan Büyük Atabek Atalar Ataoğlu Atacan
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Atalay same root – –
02 Atay same root – –
03 Ataman same root – –
04 Atasoy same root – –
05 Ataç same root – –
06 Ata same root – –
07 Atakan same root – –
08 Büyük same root – –
09 Atabek same root – –
10 Atalar same root – –
11 Ataoğlu same root – –
12 Atacan same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Büyükatalay?

  1. Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay screenwriter 1987–

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

How is Büyükatalay written and pronounced abroad?

In passports and records without Turkish letters it usually appears as Buyukatalay.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Adlar: Atalay accessed 9 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: büyük accessed 9 November 2026
  3. 3 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: ata accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Wiktionary: Atalay accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: Atalay accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Büyükatalay

Q1

What does the surname Büyükatalay mean?

The name Atalay with büyük, “great, senior”, in front. According to Nişanyan Adlar, Atalay was coined in the Turkish Hearths of the 1910s as a Turkish reading of the name of the Hun ruler Attila. Name dictionaries explain it as “one who readily dashes forward, a bold person”, while English Wiktionary gives “keeper of the ancestors”, built on ata “forefather”. Büyük also serves to tell apart families with the same name.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Büyükatalay?

Büyükatalay is made up of two elements: bedük “big” (Turkic) and ata “father, forefather” (Turkic). There are 4 competing views on where Büyükatalay comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Büyükatalay?

Bü·yü·ka·ta·lay, 5 syllables; IPA: /byjykataˈɫaj/.