Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,947

Kayalar

Kayalar /kajaˈɫaɾ/

“rocks; the Kaya family”1

Letters / syllables
7 / 3
Formation
Suffixed
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
K
Contents§1–§9
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Notable people
  7. §7Sources
  8. §8Questions
  9. §9Related

How do you pronounce Kayalar?

Kayalar

IPA /kajaˈɫaɾ/

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

What does the surname Kayalar mean?

Kayalar is the plural of kaya “rock”. A kaya is a large, hard mass of stone, and in surnames it symbolises firmness and steadfastness. The plural suffix -lar sometimes refers to a whole family in surnames, so Kayalar can also mean “the Kaya family”.1

Grammar kaya + plural -lar

What is Kayalar made of?

Kayalar breaks into 2 parts: kaya (rock) + -lar (plural suffix).

Kayalar + root kaya rock TURKIC kaya “rock, large mass ofstone” suffix -lar plural suffix Kayalar kaya root rock kaya TURKIC “rock, large mass of stone” -lar suffix plural suffix
Kayalar: parts and root words
  • kaya Turkic — rock, large mass of stone1

How was the name Kayalar formed?

Kayalar belongs to the “suffixed” class of surnames (kaya + -lar).

Which surnames are related to Kayalar?

Kayalar Kaya Akkaya Çetinkaya Karakaya Sarıkaya Özkaya Yalçınkaya Kayalı Kızılkaya Şahinkaya Yerlikaya Kayacan
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 Çetinkaya same root – –
04 Karakaya same root – –
05 Sarıkaya same root – –
06 Özkaya same root – –
07 Yalçınkaya same root – –
08 Kayalı same root – –
09 Kızılkaya same root – –
10 Şahinkaya same root – –
11 Yerlikaya same root – –
12 Kayacan same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Kayalar?

  1. Gülden Kayalar volleyball player 1980–
  2. Defne Kayalar actor 1975–
  3. Lütfullah Kayalar politician 1952–
  4. Mazlum Kayalar politician 1911–1972
  5. Mehmed Kayalar statesperson 1914–1994
  6. Tuncer Kayalar politician 1952–
  7. Özge Kayalar film actor 1996–
  8. Emirhan Kayalar association football player 1999–

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: kaya accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) 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 Kayalar

Q1

What does the surname Kayalar mean?

Kayalar is the plural of kaya “rock”. A kaya is a large, hard mass of stone, and in surnames it symbolises firmness and steadfastness. The plural suffix -lar sometimes refers to a whole family in surnames, so Kayalar can also mean “the Kaya family”.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Kayalar?

The root word of Kayalar is kaya (Turkic): “rock, large mass of stone”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Kayalar?

Ka·ya·lar, 3 syllables; IPA: /kajaˈɫaɾ/.