Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,942

Kayabaş

Kayabaş /kajaˈbaʃ/ ASCII Kayabas

“top of the rock”1

Letters / syllables
7 / 3
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
K
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 Kayabaş?

Kayabaş

IPA /kajaˈbaʃ/

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

What does the surname Kayabaş mean?

Kayabaş is formed from kaya ‘rock’ and baş ‘head’. Here baş means the top of something, so the name reads ‘top of the rock, crag summit’. Place names of the form Kayabaşı are found in Anatolia.1,2

Grammar kaya + baş.

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

What is Kayabaş made of?

Kayabaş breaks into 2 parts: kaya (kaya: rock) + baş (baş: head; top).

Kayabaş + root kaya kaya: rock TURKIC kaya “rock” root baş baş: head; top TURKIC baş “head; top, upper end” Kayabaş kaya root kaya: rock kaya TURKIC “rock” baş root baş: head; top baş TURKIC “head; top, upper end”
Kayabaş: parts and root words
  • kaya Turkic — rock1
  • baş Turkic — head; top, upper end2

How was the name Kayabaş formed?

Kayabaş belongs to the “compound” class of surnames (kaya + baş).

Which surnames are related to Kayabaş?

Kayabaş Kaya Akkaya Akbaş Baş Çetinkaya Karakaya Sarıkaya Subaşı Özkaya Yalçınkaya Başer Kocabaş
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 Akkaya same root – –
03 Akbaş same root – –
04 Baş same root – –
05 Çetinkaya same root – –
06 Karakaya same root – –
07 Sarıkaya same root – –
08 Subaşı same root – –
09 Özkaya same root – –
10 Yalçınkaya same root – –
11 Başer same root – –
12 Kocabaş same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Kayabaş?

  1. Bülent Kayabaş actor 1945–2017
  2. Mehmet Kayabaş cinematographer
  3. Mesih Kayabaş association football player 2003–

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

How is Kayabaş written and pronounced abroad?

Outside Türkiye the name is usually written Kayabas.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: kaya accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Wiktionary: baş 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 Kayabaş

Q1

What does the surname Kayabaş mean?

Kayabaş is formed from kaya ‘rock’ and baş ‘head’. Here baş means the top of something, so the name reads ‘top of the rock, crag summit’. Place names of the form Kayabaşı are found in Anatolia.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Kayabaş?

The root word of Kayabaş is kaya (Turkic): “rock”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Kayabaş?

Ka·ya·baş, 3 syllables; IPA: /kajaˈbaʃ/.