Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,089

Gökçay

Gökçay /ɟøcˈt͡ʃaj/ ASCII Gokcay

“blue stream”1

Letters / syllables
6 / 2
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
mixed
Initial
G
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 Gökçay?

Gökçay

IPA /ɟøcˈt͡ʃaj/

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

What does the surname Gökçay mean?

Built from gök ‘blue’ and çay ‘stream’: ‘blue stream’. This çay is, according to Nişanyan, Middle Turkic çay ‘dry stream bed, valley’; çay ‘tea’ is a different word. Gökçay is also the name of a village in Adıyaman and of a town in Azerbaijan.1

Grammar gök + çay.

That Gökçay goes back to gök and çay is probable rather than proven: the dictionary entry cited supports it.

What is Gökçay made of?

Gökçay is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: gök (gök: sky; blue) + çay (çay: stream).

Gökçay + first element gök gök: sky; blue TURKIC gök “sky; blue” root çay çay: stream TURKIC çay “stream, valley” Gökçay gök first element gök: sky; blue gök TURKIC “sky; blue” çay root çay: stream çay TURKIC “stream, valley”
Gökçay: parts and root words
  • gök Turkic — sky; blue1
  • çay Turkic — stream, valley1

How was the name Gökçay formed?

Gökçay was formed by joining gök (“gök: sky; blue”) and çay (“çay: stream”).

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

Which surnames are related to Gökçay?

Gökçay Gökçe Akçay Gök Göksu Gökçen Gökmen Gökalp Göktaş Gökçek Göksel Göktürk Göker
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Gökçe same root – –
02 Akçay same root – –
03 Gök same root – –
04 Göksu same root – –
05 Gökçen same root – –
06 Gökmen same root – –
07 Gökalp same root – –
08 Göktaş same root – –
09 Gökçek same root – –
10 Göksel same root – –
11 Göktürk same root – –
12 Göker same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Gökçay?

  1. Mualla Gökçay film actor 1913–1991
  2. Sibel Gökçay-Bek researcher

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

Is Gökçay also a first name?

Yes. Gökçay is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “blue stream”.

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

How is Gökçay written and pronounced abroad?

In English-language and other foreign records the name is usually written Gokcay.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: çay2 accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: Gökçay 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 Gökçay

Q1

What does the surname Gökçay mean?

Built from gök ‘blue’ and çay ‘stream’: ‘blue stream’. This çay is, according to Nişanyan, Middle Turkic çay ‘dry stream bed, valley’; çay ‘tea’ is a different word. Gökçay is also the name of a village in Adıyaman and of a town in Azerbaijan.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Gökçay?

Gökçay is made up of two elements: gök “sky; blue” (Turkic) and çay “stream, valley” (Turkic).
Q3

How do you pronounce Gökçay?

Gök·çay, 2 syllables; IPA: /ɟøcˈt͡ʃaj/.