Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 3,801

Say

/saj/

“effort, labour”1

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

How do you pronounce Say?

Say

IPA /saj/

What does the surname Say mean?

Say comes from Arabic saʿy and means “effort, labour, striving”; Ottoman Turkish used it often in the phrase sa'y ü gayret, “toil and endeavour”. The word also names the walk between the hills of Safa and Marwa during the hajj. Anatolian dialects have a separate word say, “flat, thin stone”.1

That Say goes back to say is probable rather than proven: the dictionary entry cited supports it.

Say is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Say made of?

Say combines Arabic and Turkic elements in 1 parts: say (say (saʿy): effort, labour).

Say + root say say (saʿy): effort,labour ARABIC say “effort, labour; the walkbetween Safa and Marwa…” TURKIC say “flat, thin stone(dialect)” Say say root say (saʿy): effort, labour say ARABIC “effort, labour; the walk betweenSafa and Marwa during the hajj” say TURKIC “flat, thin stone (dialect)”
Say: parts and root words
  • say Arabic — effort, labour; the walk between Safa and Marwa during the hajj1
  • say Turkic — flat, thin stone (dialect)1

How was the name Say formed?

Say is the word say (“say (saʿy): effort, labour”), taken unchanged as a surname.

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.3

Who are some well-known people named Say?

  1. Fazıl Say composer 1970–
  2. Zehra Say painter 1906–1990
  3. Emel Say painter 1927–2011
  4. Ahmet Say author 1935–2022
  5. Cem Say researcher 1966–
  6. Ali Say association football player 1993–
  7. Arif Nusret Say athlete 1933–1995
  8. Figen Say actor 1946–

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

Is Say also a first name?

Yes. Say is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “effort, labour”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: say 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 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Say

Q1

What does the surname Say mean?

Say comes from Arabic saʿy and means “effort, labour, striving”; Ottoman Turkish used it often in the phrase sa'y ü gayret, “toil and endeavour”. The word also names the walk between the hills of Safa and Marwa during the hajj. Anatolian dialects have a separate word say, “flat, thin stone”.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Say?

The root word of Say is say (Arabic): “effort, labour; the walk between Safa and Marwa during the hajj”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Say?

Say, 1 syllable; IPA: /saj/.