Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,372

Orbay

Orbay /oɾˈbaj/

“lord of the fortress”1

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
O
Contents§1–§10
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Notable people
  7. §7As a first name
  8. §8Sources
  9. §9Questions
  10. §10Related

How do you pronounce Orbay?

Orbay

IPA /oɾˈbaj/

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

What does the surname Orbay mean?

The name joins or and bay. According to Nişanyan Adlar the basic sense of or is ‘ditch, pit’, and Evliya Çelebi reports that among the Tatars it meant ‘fortress, defensive position’. Bay means ‘lord, man of means’; as a whole the name can be read as ‘lord of the fortress’.1,2

Grammar Noun-plus-noun compound: or + bay.

That Orbay goes back to or and bay is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

What is Orbay made of?

Orbay breaks into 2 parts: or (ditch; in Tatar fortress, defensive position) + bay (lord; rich).

Orbay + root or ditch; in Tatar fortress,defensive position TURKIC or “ditch, pit; in Tatarfortress” root bay lord; rich TURKIC bay “rich; lord” Orbay or root ditch; in Tatar fortress, defensiveposition or TURKIC “ditch, pit; in Tatar fortress” bay root lord; rich bay TURKIC “rich; lord”
Orbay: parts and root words
  • or Turkic — ditch, pit; in Tatar fortress1
  • bay Turkic — rich; lord2

How was the name Orbay formed?

Orbay belongs to the “compound” class of surnames (or + bay).

Nişanyan Adlar names Rauf Orbay (1881–1964), one of the founding figures of the Republic, among the well-known bearers of this surname.1

Which surnames are related to Orbay?

Orbay Baykara Özbay Akbay Erbay Baykal Baykan Bayhan Bayer Karabay Aybay Bozbay Atabay
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Baykara same root – –
02 Özbay same root – –
03 Akbay same root – –
04 Erbay same root – –
05 Baykal same root – –
06 Baykan same root – –
07 Bayhan same root – –
08 Bayer same root – –
09 Karabay same root – –
10 Aybay same root – –
11 Bozbay same root – –
12 Atabay same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Orbay?

  1. Rauf Orbay politician 1881–1964
  2. Kâzım Orbay military personnel 1886–1964
  3. Cafer Orbay association football player 1963–
  4. Rahmi Orbay association football player 1946–2023
  5. Ziya Orbay politician 1880–1948

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

Is Orbay also a first name?

Yes. Orbay is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “lord of the fortress”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 nisanyanadlar.com nisanyanadlar.com: Orbay accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Wiktionary: bay 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 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Orbay

Q1

What does the surname Orbay mean?

The name joins or and bay. According to Nişanyan Adlar the basic sense of or is ‘ditch, pit’, and Evliya Çelebi reports that among the Tatars it meant ‘fortress, defensive position’. Bay means ‘lord, man of means’; as a whole the name can be read as ‘lord of the fortress’.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Orbay?

The root word of Orbay is or (Turkic): “ditch, pit; in Tatar fortress”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Orbay?

Or·bay, 2 syllables; IPA: /oɾˈbaj/.