Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,449

Özay

Özay /øˈzaj/ ASCII Ozay

“pure moon”1

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

How do you pronounce Özay?

Özay

IPA /øˈzaj/

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

What does the surname Özay mean?

Öz ‘pure, genuine’ joins ay ‘moon’: ‘pure moon’. In Turkish names the moon stands for beauty and radiance. According to Nişanyan Adlar it is a male name in the Aegean region and a female name around Adana and Maraş.1,2

Grammar Compound of two name elements: öz + ay.

That Özay goes back to öz and ay is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

What is Özay made of?

Özay breaks into 2 parts: öz (own; pure) + ay (moon; radiant).

Özay ++ first element öz own; pure TURKIC öz “pure; own” suffix ay moon; radiant TURKIC ay “moon; as a name elementradiance” Özay öz first element own; pure öz TURKIC “pure; own” ay suffix moon; radiant ay TURKIC “moon; as a name element radiance”
Özay: parts and root words
  • öz Turkic — pure; own1
  • ay Turkic — moon; as a name element radiance2

How was the name Özay formed?

Özay belongs to the “compound” class of surnames (öz + ay).

Who are some well-known people named Özay?

  1. Gupse Özay actor 1984–
  2. Tuğba Özay volleyball player 1978–
  3. Hüseyin Özay actor 1959–2021
  4. Kamil Özay writer 1941–2021
  5. İsmail Özay politician 1953–
  6. Ali Cenk Özay researcher
  7. Burcu Özay researcher
  8. Cennet Özay researcher

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

Is Özay also a first name?

Yes. Özay is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “pure moon”.

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

How is Özay written and pronounced abroad?

Records outside Türkiye that lack Turkish characters normally show it as Ozay.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: öz accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Wiktionary: ay accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 nisanyanadlar.com nisanyanadlar.com: Özay accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Özay

Q1

What does the surname Özay mean?

Öz ‘pure, genuine’ joins ay ‘moon’: ‘pure moon’. In Turkish names the moon stands for beauty and radiance. According to Nişanyan Adlar it is a male name in the Aegean region and a female name around Adana and Maraş.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Özay?

The root word of Özay is öz (Turkic): “pure; own”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Özay?

Ö·zay, 2 syllables; IPA: /øˈzaj/.