Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,529

Dayi

Dayi /daˈji/

“maternal uncle”1

Letters / syllables
4 / 2
Formation
Plain noun
Vowel harmony
mixed
Initial
D
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 Dayi?

Dayi

IPA /daˈji/

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

What does the surname Dayi mean?

Dayi is dayı written without the Turkish dotless ı. A dayı is a maternal uncle, the mother’s brother; colloquially the word is also a respectful address for an older, influential man. Nişanyan traces it to Old Turkic taġay ‘mother’s brother’.1

That Dayi goes back to dayı is probable rather than proven: the dictionary entry cited supports it.

What is Dayi made of?

Dayi is a single Turkic root: dayı (maternal uncle).

Dayi root dayı maternal uncle TURKIC dayı “mother’s brother” Dayi dayı root maternal uncle dayı TURKIC “mother’s brother”
Dayi: parts and root words
  • dayı Turkic — mother’s brother1

How was the name Dayi formed?

Dayi is the word dayı (“maternal uncle”), taken unchanged as a surname.

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.4

Which surnames are related to Dayi?

Dayi Dayıoğlu Karadayı İncedayı
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Dayıoğlu same root – –
02 Karadayı same root – –
03 İncedayı same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Dayi?

  1. Gökçe Dayı sports executive

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

Is Dayi also a first name?

Yes. Dayi is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “maternal uncle”.

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

How is Dayi written and pronounced abroad?

The name has no Turkish-specific letters and is written Dayi abroad as well.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: dayı accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Wikidata: Q83345761 accessed 9 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 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Dayi

Q1

What does the surname Dayi mean?

Dayi is dayı written without the Turkish dotless ı. A dayı is a maternal uncle, the mother’s brother; colloquially the word is also a respectful address for an older, influential man. Nişanyan traces it to Old Turkic taġay ‘mother’s brother’.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Dayi?

The root word of Dayi is dayı (Turkic): “mother’s brother”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Dayi?

Da·yi, 2 syllables; IPA: /daˈji/.