Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,976

Esmeray

Esmeray /esmeˈɾaj/

“dark moon; female name”1

Letters / syllables
7 / 3
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 Esmeray?

Esmeray

IPA /esmeˈɾaj/

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

What does the surname Esmeray mean?

Esmer “dark-complexioned” joins ay “moon”: “dark moon, dark beauty”. It is used as a female given name. Esmer comes from Arabic asmar “dark-coloured”; the head ay is Turkic.1,2

That Esmeray goes back to esmer and ay is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

What is Esmeray made of?

Esmeray combines Arabic and Turkic elements in 2 parts: esmer (esmer: dark-complexioned) + ay (ay: moon; beautiful).

Esmeray + root esmer esmer: dark-complexioned ARABIC esmer “dark, brunette (Arabicasmar)” root ay ay: moon; beautiful TURKIC ay “moon; image of beauty” Esmeray esmer root esmer: dark-complexioned esmer ARABIC “dark, brunette (Arabic asmar)” ay root ay: moon; beautiful ay TURKIC “moon; image of beauty”
Esmeray: parts and root words
  • esmer Arabic — dark, brunette (Arabic asmar)1
  • ay Turkic — moon; image of beauty2

How was the name Esmeray formed?

Esmeray was formed by joining esmer (“esmer: dark-complexioned”) and ay (“ay: moon; beautiful”).

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

Which surnames are related to Esmeray?

#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Esmer same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Esmeray?

  1. Esra Esmeray researcher

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

Is Esmeray also a first name?

Yes. Esmeray is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “dark moon; female name”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: esmer accessed 9 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: ay 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 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Esmeray

Q1

What does the surname Esmeray mean?

Esmer “dark-complexioned” joins ay “moon”: “dark moon, dark beauty”. It is used as a female given name. Esmer comes from Arabic asmar “dark-coloured”; the head ay is Turkic.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Esmeray?

Esmeray is made up of two elements: esmer “dark, brunette (Arabic asmar)” (Arabic) and ay “moon; image of beauty” (Turkic).
Q3

How do you pronounce Esmeray?

Es·me·ray, 3 syllables; IPA: /esmeˈɾaj/.