Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,224

Gökyay

Gökyay /ɟøcˈjaj/ ASCII Gokyay

“sky bow”3

Probable origin Gökyay: root entries for gök + yay · How do we know?

Published: Last updated:

Letters / syllables
6 / 2
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
mixed
Initial
G
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How do you pronounce Gökyay?

Gökyay

IPA /ɟøcˈjaj/

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

What does the surname Gökyay mean?

Built from gök ‘sky’ and yay ‘bow’: ‘sky bow, a bow drawn against the heavens’. According to Nişanyan, yay comes from Old Turkic yā ‘bow’. In Turkish surnames gök evokes loftiness and the colour blue. Nişanyan Adlar glosses the name ‘sky archer’.2,3

Grammar gök + yay.

That Gökyay goes back to gök and yay is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

What is Gökyay made of?

Gökyay is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: gök (gök: sky; blue) + yay (yay: bow).

Gökyay + first element gök gök: sky; blue TURKIC gök “sky; blue” root yay yay: bow TURKIC yay “bow” Gökyay gök first element gök: sky; blue gök TURKIC “sky; blue” yay root yay: bow yay TURKIC “bow”
Gökyay: parts and root words

How was the name Gökyay formed?

Gökyay was formed by joining gök (“gök: sky; blue”) and yay (“yay: bow”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.5

Which surnames are related to Gökyay?

Gökyay Gökçe Gök Göksu Gökçen Gökmen Gökalp
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 Gök same root – –
03 Göksu same root – –
04 Gökçen same root – –
05 Gökmen same root – –
06 Gökalp same root – –
07 Göktaş same root – –
08 Gökçek same root – –
09 Göksel same root – –
10 Göktürk same root – –
11 Göker same root – –
12 Okyay same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Gökyay?

  1. Orhan Şaik Gökyay writer 1902–1994

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

Is Gökyay also a first name?

Yes. Gökyay is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “sky bow”.

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

How is Gökyay written and pronounced abroad?

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

Which surnames have a meaning similar to Gökyay?

Okyay and Yaycı share gloss keywords with Gökyay within the same primary category.

Which guides add context to Gökyay?

Read the root, formation and register information for Gökyay alongside these guides: How Turkish Surnames Are Formed: Roots and Suffixes and How to Pronounce and Spell Turkish Surnames.

Where do these facts come from?

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

Common questions about Gökyay

Q1

What does the surname Gökyay mean?

Built from gök ‘sky’ and yay ‘bow’: ‘sky bow, a bow drawn against the heavens’. According to Nişanyan, yay comes from Old Turkic yā ‘bow’. In Turkish surnames gök evokes loftiness and the colour blue. Nişanyan Adlar glosses the name ‘sky archer’.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Gökyay?

Gökyay is made up of two elements: gök “sky; blue” (Turkic) and yay “bow” (Turkic).
Q3

How do you pronounce Gökyay?

Gök·yay, 2 syllables; IPA: /ɟøcˈjaj/.