Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 929

Çağatay

Çağatay /tʃaaˈtaj/ ASCII Cagatay

“Chaghatai, son of Genghis Khan”1

Letters / syllables
7 / 3
Formation
Plain noun
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
Ç
Contents§1–§10
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Notable people
  6. §6As a first name
  7. §7Abroad
  8. §8Sources
  9. §9Questions
  10. §10Related

How do you pronounce Çağatay?

Çağatay

IPA /tʃaaˈtaj/

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

What does the surname Çağatay mean?

Çağatay is the name of Genghis Khan’s second son; the Central Asian lands he received became the Chaghatai Khanate. The literary Turkic language that flourished there is called Chaghatai; Ali Shir Nava’i is its greatest poet. In Turkey the name is common as a male given name.1

What is Çağatay made of?

Çağatay is a single root: Çağatay (Çağatay: son of Genghis Khan; his realm and its language).

Çağatay root Çağatay Çağatay: son of GenghisKhan; his realm and its… MONGOLIC Çağatay “Chaghatai, son ofGenghis Khan; male…” Çağatay Çağatay root Çağatay: son of Genghis Khan; hisrealm and its language Çağatay MONGOLIC “Chaghatai, son of Genghis Khan;male given name”
Çağatay: parts and root words
  • Çağatay Mongolic — Chaghatai, son of Genghis Khan; male given name1

How was the name Çağatay formed?

Çağatay belongs to the “plain noun” class of surnames.

Who are some well-known people named Çağatay?

  1. Cafer Çağatay association football player 1899–1991
  2. Saadet Çağatay writer 1907–1989
  3. Ali Rıfat Çağatay composer 1867–1935
  4. Mustafa Çağatay politician 1937–1984
  5. Tahir Çağatay university teacher 1902–1984
  6. Cengiz Çağatay film producer 1973–
  7. Ergün Çağatay photojournalist 1937–2018
  8. Mehmet Nazif Çağatay politician 1906–1976

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

Is Çağatay also a first name?

Yes. Çağatay is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “Chaghatai, son of Genghis Khan”.

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

How is Çağatay written and pronounced abroad?

In databases without Turkish characters it usually appears as Cagatay.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: Çağatay accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Çağatay

Q1

What does the surname Çağatay mean?

Çağatay is the name of Genghis Khan’s second son; the Central Asian lands he received became the Chaghatai Khanate. The literary Turkic language that flourished there is called Chaghatai; Ali Shir Nava’i is its greatest poet. In Turkey the name is common as a male given name.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Çağatay?

The root word of Çağatay is Çağatay (Mongolic): “Chaghatai, son of Genghis Khan; male given name”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Çağatay?

Ça·ğa·tay, 3 syllables; IPA: /tʃaaˈtaj/.