Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 3,322

Yaya

Yaya /jaˈja/

“pedestrian, foot soldier”1

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

How do you pronounce Yaya?

Yaya

IPA /jaˈja/

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

What does the surname Yaya mean?

Yaya means ‘pedestrian’ and formerly ‘foot soldier, infantryman’. Nişanyan traces it to Old Turkic yadaġ ‘walker, foot soldier’, derived from yad- ‘to spread out’.1

Yaya is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Yaya made of?

Yaya is a single root: yaya (yaya: pedestrian; foot soldier).

Yaya root yaya yaya: pedestrian; footsoldier TURKIC yaya “walker, foot soldier” Yaya yaya root yaya: pedestrian; foot soldier yaya TURKIC “walker, foot soldier”
Yaya: parts and root words
  • yaya Turkic — walker, foot soldier1

How was the name Yaya formed?

Yaya belongs to the “plain noun” class of surnames.

Who are some well-known people named Yaya?

  1. Derin Yaya basketball player 1997–
  2. Alfa Yaya of Labé politician 1830–1912
  3. Sani Yaya politician 1963–

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: yaya 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 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Yaya

Q1

What does the surname Yaya mean?

Yaya means ‘pedestrian’ and formerly ‘foot soldier, infantryman’. Nişanyan traces it to Old Turkic yadaġ ‘walker, foot soldier’, derived from yad- ‘to spread out’.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Yaya?

The root word of Yaya is yaya (Turkic): “walker, foot soldier”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Yaya?

Ya·ya, 2 syllables; IPA: /jaˈja/.