Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,349

Erenkaya

Erenkaya /eɾenkaˈja/

“rock of the saints”1

Letters / syllables
8 / 4
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. §7Abroad
  8. §8Sources
  9. §9Questions
  10. §10Related

How do you pronounce Erenkaya?

Erenkaya

IPA /eɾenkaˈja/

The stress usually falls on syllable 4 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.

What does the surname Erenkaya mean?

Erenkaya combines eren and kaya ‘rock’. Eren is used today for ‘saint, holy man’; according to Nişanyan it is originally the Old Turkic plural of er ‘man, warrior’. Kaya comes from Old Turkic kaya ‘steep bare mountain’. As a whole it can be read ‘rock of the saints’ or ‘brave rock’.1,2

Grammar eren + kaya.

That Erenkaya goes back to eren and kaya is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

What is Erenkaya made of?

Erenkaya breaks into 2 parts: eren (eren: saint; brave man) + kaya (kaya: rock).

Erenkaya + root eren eren: saint; brave man TURKIC eren “men, warriors; plural ofer” root kaya kaya: rock TURKIC kaya “steep bare mountain” Erenkaya eren root eren: saint; brave man eren TURKIC “men, warriors; plural of er” kaya root kaya: rock kaya TURKIC “steep bare mountain”
Erenkaya: parts and root words
  • eren Turkic — men, warriors; plural of er1
  • kaya Turkic — steep bare mountain2

How was the name Erenkaya formed?

Erenkaya belongs to the “compound” class of surnames (eren + kaya).

Which surnames are related to Erenkaya?

Erenkaya Kaya Eren Akkaya Çetinkaya Karakaya Sarıkaya Özkaya Yalçınkaya Kayalı Kızılkaya Şahinkaya Yerlikaya
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Kaya same root 2 899,722
02 Eren same root – –
03 Akkaya same root – –
04 Çetinkaya same root – –
05 Karakaya same root – –
06 Sarıkaya same root – –
07 Özkaya same root – –
08 Yalçınkaya same root – –
09 Kayalı same root – –
10 Kızılkaya same root – –
11 Şahinkaya same root – –
12 Yerlikaya same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Erenkaya?

  1. Hikmet Erenkaya politician 1953–
  2. Mehmet Erenkaya production designer

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

How is Erenkaya written and pronounced abroad?

The spelling Erenkaya is usually kept abroad.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: eren accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: kaya 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
  6. 6 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Erenkaya

Q1

What does the surname Erenkaya mean?

Erenkaya combines eren and kaya ‘rock’. Eren is used today for ‘saint, holy man’; according to Nişanyan it is originally the Old Turkic plural of er ‘man, warrior’. Kaya comes from Old Turkic kaya ‘steep bare mountain’. As a whole it can be read ‘rock of the saints’ or ‘brave rock’.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Erenkaya?

The root word of Erenkaya is eren (Turkic): “men, warriors; plural of er”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Erenkaya?

E·ren·ka·ya, 4 syllables; IPA: /eɾenkaˈja/.