Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 4,603

Yankaya

Yankaya /jankaˈja/

“rock on the slope”2

Letters / syllables
7 / 3
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
Y
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 Yankaya?

Yankaya

IPA /jankaˈja/

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

What does the surname Yankaya mean?

Formed from yan “side, slope” and kaya “rock”, it reads “the rock at the side, the rock on the slope”. Kaya goes back to Old Turkic kaya “steep, bare mountain”. A reading with the verb yan- “to burn” is possible in form but not supported by the sources.1,2

Grammar yan + kaya

That Yankaya goes back to yan and kaya is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

What is Yankaya made of?

Yankaya is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: yan (yan: side, flank) + kaya (kaya: rock).

Yankaya + root yan yan: side, flank TURKIC yan “side, flank” root kaya kaya: rock TURKIC kaya “rock, crag” Yankaya yan root yan: side, flank yan TURKIC “side, flank” kaya root kaya: rock kaya TURKIC “rock, crag”
Yankaya: parts and root words
  • yan Turkic — side, flank2
  • kaya Turkic — rock, crag1

How was the name Yankaya formed?

Yankaya was formed by joining yan (“yan: side, flank”) and kaya (“kaya: rock”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.4

Which surnames are related to Yankaya?

Yankaya Kaya Akkaya Çetinkaya Karakaya Sarıkaya Özkaya Yalçınkaya Kayalı Kızılkaya Şahinkaya Yerlikaya Kayacan
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Kaya same root 2 899,722
02 Akkaya same root – –
03 Çetinkaya same root – –
04 Karakaya same root – –
05 Sarıkaya same root – –
06 Özkaya same root – –
07 Yalçınkaya same root – –
08 Kayalı same root – –
09 Kızılkaya same root – –
10 Şahinkaya same root – –
11 Yerlikaya same root – –
12 Kayacan same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Yankaya?

  1. Özgür Yankaya association football referee 1978–

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

How is Yankaya written and pronounced abroad?

The name contains no Turkish-specific letters and is written Yankaya in foreign records too.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: kaya accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: yan accessed 9 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 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Yankaya

Q1

What does the surname Yankaya mean?

Formed from yan “side, slope” and kaya “rock”, it reads “the rock at the side, the rock on the slope”. Kaya goes back to Old Turkic kaya “steep, bare mountain”. A reading with the verb yan- “to burn” is possible in form but not supported by the sources.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Yankaya?

Yankaya is made up of two elements: yan “side, flank” (Turkic) and kaya “rock, crag” (Turkic).
Q3

How do you pronounce Yankaya?

Yan·ka·ya, 3 syllables; IPA: /jankaˈja/.