Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,835

Erbay

Erbay /eɾˈbaj/

“brave, honoured lord”1

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

How do you pronounce Erbay?

Erbay

IPA /eɾˈbaj/

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

What does the surname Erbay mean?

Erbay is a boy’s name made of er ‘hero’ and bay ‘rich, respected man’, understood as ‘a brave and honoured lord’. Bay meant ‘rich’ in Old Turkic.1,2

Grammar er + bay: noun compound.

That Erbay goes back to er and bay is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

What is Erbay made of?

Erbay is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: er (man, hero) + bay (rich; respected man).

Erbay + first element er man, hero TURKIC er “man; hero” root bay rich; respected man TURKIC bay “rich; ‘Mr’” Erbay er first element man, hero er TURKIC “man; hero” bay root rich; respected man bay TURKIC “rich; ‘Mr’”
Erbay: parts and root words
  • er Turkic — man; hero1
  • bay Turkic — rich; ‘Mr’2

How was the name Erbay formed?

Erbay was formed by joining er (“man, hero”) and bay (“rich; respected man”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.8

Which surnames are related to Erbay?

Erbay Baykara Özbay Akbay Baykal Baykan Bayhan Bayer Karabay Aybay Bozbay Orbay Atabay
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Baykara same root – –
02 Özbay same root – –
03 Akbay same root – –
04 Baykal same root – –
05 Baykan same root – –
06 Bayhan same root – –
07 Bayer same root – –
08 Karabay same root – –
09 Aybay same root – –
10 Bozbay same root – –
11 Orbay same root – –
12 Atabay same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Erbay?

  1. Sabiha Gökçül Erbay politician 1908–1998
  2. İlker Erbay association football player 1984–
  3. Burak Erbay politician 1978–
  4. Celal Erbay statesperson 1952–
  5. Hakkı Erbay statesperson 1889–
  6. Yusuf Erbay writer 1961–
  7. Zeki Erbay military officer 1911–1989
  8. Ahmet Buğra Erbay association football player

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

Is Erbay also a first name?

Yes. Erbay is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “brave, honoured lord”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: er accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: bay accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Vikipedi: Erbay accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: er accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: bay accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 Wikimedia Wiktionary: Erbay accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  8. 8 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  9. 9 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Erbay

Q1

What does the surname Erbay mean?

Erbay is a boy’s name made of er ‘hero’ and bay ‘rich, respected man’, understood as ‘a brave and honoured lord’. Bay meant ‘rich’ in Old Turkic.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Erbay?

Erbay is made up of two elements: er “man; hero” (Turkic) and bay “rich; ‘Mr’” (Turkic).
Q3

How do you pronounce Erbay?

Er·bay, 2 syllables; IPA: /eɾˈbaj/.