Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,753

Karabağ

Karabağ /kaɾaˈbaː/ ASCII Karabag

“black garden; Karabakh”1

Probable origin Karabağ: root entries for kara + bağ · How do we know?

Published: Last updated:

Letters / syllables
7 / 3
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
K
Cite and share
Download card

How do you pronounce Karabağ?

Karabağ

IPA /kaɾaˈbaː/

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

What does the surname Karabağ mean?

Karabağ (Karabakh) is the name of a region in the South Caucasus, and villages of this name exist in Aydın, Izmir and Kars. It is made of Turkish kara “black” and Persian bāġ “garden, vineyard”: “black garden”.1,2

Grammar kara (Turkish) + bağ (Persian).

That Karabağ goes back to kara and bağ is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

What is Karabağ made of?

Karabağ combines Turkic and Persian elements in 2 parts: kara (kara: black; great) + bağ (bağ: vineyard, garden).

Karabağ + root kara kara: black; great TURKIC kara “black; great” root bağ bağ: vineyard, garden PERSIAN bağ “vineyard, garden” Karabağ kara root kara: black; great kara TURKIC “black; great” bağ root bağ: vineyard, garden bağ PERSIAN “vineyard, garden”
Karabağ: parts and root words

How was the name Karabağ formed?

Karabağ was formed by joining kara (“kara: black; great”) and bağ (“bağ: vineyard, garden”).

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

Which surnames are related to Karabağ?

Karabağ Kara Karataş Karahan Karaca Karakaş Karadağ
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Kara same root 16 290,024
02 Karataş same root – –
03 Karahan same root – –
04 Karaca same root – –
05 Karakaş same root – –
06 Karadağ same root – –
07 Karakaya same root – –
08 Karakoç same root – –
09 Bağcı same root – –
10 Karaaslan same root – –
11 Karagöz same root – –
12 Baykara same root – –

How is Karabağ written and pronounced abroad?

In foreign records the name often appears as Karabag: ğ is written g but is silent in Turkish, lengthening the preceding vowel.

Which surnames have a meaning similar to Karabağ?

Karadere, Karaköse and Karaören share gloss keywords with Karabağ within the same primary category.

Which guides add context to Karabağ?

Read the root, formation and register information for Karabağ 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 Sözlük: kara accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: bağ accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Wiktionary: Karabağ accessed 9 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 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Karabağ

Q1

What does the surname Karabağ mean?

Karabağ (Karabakh) is the name of a region in the South Caucasus, and villages of this name exist in Aydın, Izmir and Kars. It is made of Turkish kara “black” and Persian bāġ “garden, vineyard”: “black garden”.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Karabağ?

Karabağ is made up of two elements: kara “black; great” (Turkic) and bağ “vineyard, garden” (Persian).
Q3

How do you pronounce Karabağ?

Ka·ra·bağ, 3 syllables; IPA: /kaɾaˈbaː/.