Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,885

Kocabaş

Kocabaş /kodʒaˈbaʃ/ ASCII Kocabas

“big-headed; great man”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 Kocabaş?

Kocabaş

IPA /kodʒaˈbaʃ/

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

What does the surname Kocabaş mean?

Made of koca “big” and baş “head”, it literally means “big-headed”. As a nickname it can describe a person with a large head or, figuratively, “a great man, a chief”.1,2

Grammar koca + baş; adjective plus noun.

Kocabaş is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Kocabaş made of?

Kocabaş is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: koca (koca: big, great) + baş (baş: head; chief).

Kocabaş ++ first element koca koca: big, great TURKIC koca “large, big; old” suffix baş baş: head; chief TURKIC baş “head; chief” Kocabaş koca first element koca: big, great koca TURKIC “large, big; old” baş suffix baş: head; chief baş TURKIC “head; chief”
Kocabaş: parts and root words
  • koca Turkic — large, big; old1
  • baş Turkic — head; chief2

How was the name Kocabaş formed?

Kocabaş was formed by adding the suffix baş (“baş: head; chief”) to koca (“koca: big, great”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.6

Which surnames are related to Kocabaş?

Kocabaş Akbaş Baş Koca Subaşı Başer Kocatürk Erbaş Baştürk Demirbaş Başkan Kocaoğlu Kocaman
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Akbaş same root – –
02 Baş same root – –
03 Koca same root – –
04 Subaşı same root – –
05 Başer same root – –
06 Kocatürk same root – –
07 Erbaş same root – –
08 Baştürk same root – –
09 Demirbaş same root – –
10 Başkan same root – –
11 Kocaoğlu same root – –
12 Kocaman same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Kocabaş?

  1. Bertuğ Kocabaş association football player 1992–
  2. Fazlı Kocabaş association football player 1990–
  3. Almina Kocabaş basketball official
  4. Ufuk Kocabaş university teacher 1968–
  5. Şakir Kocabaş chemist 1945–2006
  6. Alperen Kocabaş association football player 1998–
  7. Aşkın Kocabaş researcher
  8. Banu Bayyurt Kocabaş researcher

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

How is Kocabaş written and pronounced abroad?

Passports and English-language documents often show it as Kocabas.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: koca accessed 9 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: baş accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Wiktionary: koca accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Wiktionary: baş accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Kocabaş

Q1

What does the surname Kocabaş mean?

Made of koca “big” and baş “head”, it literally means “big-headed”. As a nickname it can describe a person with a large head or, figuratively, “a great man, a chief”.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Kocabaş?

Kocabaş is made up of two elements: koca “large, big; old” (Turkic) and baş “head; chief” (Turkic).
Q3

How do you pronounce Kocabaş?

Ko·ca·baş, 3 syllables; IPA: /kodʒaˈbaʃ/.