Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 3,324

Yayla

Yayla /jajˈɫa/

“summer highland pasture”2

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
Plain noun
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. §7As a first name
  8. §8Sources
  9. §9Questions
  10. §10Related

How do you pronounce Yayla?

Yayla

IPA /jajˈɫa/

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

What does the surname Yayla mean?

A yayla is the cool, grassy mountain plateau to which flocks are driven in summer. The word comes from Old Turkic yaylaɣ, ‘the place where one spends the summer’, built on the old word yay ‘summer’. Moving between winter quarters and the yayla is the basic rhythm of Anatolian herding.2

Grammar Old Turkic yaylaɣ < yay ‘summer’ + -lAg; today a simple noun.

Yayla is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Yayla made of?

Yayla breaks into 2 parts: yay (summer (archaic)) + -la (old place-noun suffix (-lag)).

Yayla + root yay summer (archaic) TURKIC yayla “high summer pasture” suffix -la old place-noun suffix(-lag) Yayla yay root summer (archaic) yayla TURKIC “high summer pasture” -la suffix old place-noun suffix (-lag)
Yayla: parts and root words
  • yayla Turkic — high summer pasture2

How was the name Yayla formed?

Yayla belongs to the “plain noun” class of surnames (yay + -la).

Which surnames are related to Yayla?

#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Yaylacı same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Yayla?

  1. Atilla Yayla columnist 1957–
  2. Murat Can Yayla association football player 1999–
  3. Sinan Yayla soldier 1962–
  4. Yıldızhan Yayla jurist 1937–2022
  5. Ayşegül Yayla researcher
  6. Göktuğ Yayla association football player
  7. Muhammed Yayla researcher
  8. Müçteba Enes Yayla researcher

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

Is Yayla also a first name?

Yes. Yayla is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “summer highland pasture”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: yayla accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: Yayla accessed 8 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 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Yayla

Q1

What does the surname Yayla mean?

A yayla is the cool, grassy mountain plateau to which flocks are driven in summer. The word comes from Old Turkic yaylaɣ, ‘the place where one spends the summer’, built on the old word yay ‘summer’. Moving between winter quarters and the yayla is the basic rhythm of Anatolian herding.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Yayla?

The root word of Yayla is yayla (Turkic): “high summer pasture”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Yayla?

Yay·la, 2 syllables; IPA: /jajˈɫa/.