Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 4,357

Turgay

Turgay /tuɾˈɡaj/

“lark”1

Letters / syllables
6 / 2
Formation
Plain noun
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
T
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 Turgay?

Turgay

IPA /tuɾˈɡaj/

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

What does the surname Turgay mean?

Dictionaries equate Turgay with toygar, the lark; Nişanyan Sözlük traces it to Old Turkic turıġa ‘a bird larger than a sparrow, lark’. Nişanyan Adlar, however, notes that in Chagatai the name originally meant ‘will stand, may it stand’, from the verb turmak, although all sources interpret it as a form of the bird name toygar. Turgay was also the name of Timur’s father.1

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. Bird name: Old Turkic turıġa, modern toygar ‘lark’ (Nişanyan Sözlük).
  2. Chagatai future or optative of turmak ‘to stand’: ‘will stand, may it stand’ (Nişanyan Adlar).

Turgay is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Turgay made of?

Turgay is a single Turkic root: turgay (lark).

Turgay root turgay lark TURKIC turgay “lark” Turgay turgay root lark turgay TURKIC “lark”
Turgay: parts and root words
  • turgay Turkic — lark1

How was the name Turgay formed?

Turgay is the word turgay (“lark”), taken unchanged as a surname.

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.5

Who are some well-known people named Turgay?

  1. Halit Turgay musician 1967–
  2. Salih Turgay politician 1896–1962
  3. Ayşegül Turgay researcher
  4. Batuhan Turgay researcher
  5. Berk Turgay researcher
  6. Emre Turgay researcher
  7. Hamdiye Bilek Turgay politician
  8. Tahsin Turgay researcher

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

Is Turgay also a first name?

Yes. Turgay is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “lark”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: turgay accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Adlar: Turgay accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: turgay 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 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Turgay

Q1

What does the surname Turgay mean?

Dictionaries equate Turgay with toygar, the lark; Nişanyan Sözlük traces it to Old Turkic turıġa ‘a bird larger than a sparrow, lark’. Nişanyan Adlar, however, notes that in Chagatai the name originally meant ‘will stand, may it stand’, from the verb turmak, although all sources interpret it as a form of the bird name toygar. Turgay was also the name of Timur’s father.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Turgay?

The root word of Turgay is turgay (Turkic): “lark”. There are 3 competing views on where Turgay comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Turgay?

Tur·gay, 2 syllables; IPA: /tuɾˈɡaj/.