Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 4,686

Yeşilkaya

Yeşilkaya /jeʃiɫkaˈja/ ASCII Yesilkaya

“green rock”2

Letters / syllables
9 / 4
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
mixed
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 Yeşilkaya?

Yeşilkaya

IPA /jeʃiɫkaˈja/

The stress usually falls on syllable 4 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.

What does the surname Yeşilkaya mean?

Yeşilkaya joins yeşil ‘green’ and kaya ‘rock’: ‘green rock, a rock covered in moss and grass’. Villages in Adıyaman, Bartın, Erzurum, Giresun, Tokat and Tunceli carry the name, and the surname may rest on such a place.1,2

Grammar yeşil + kaya: adjective plus noun.

What is Yeşilkaya made of?

Yeşilkaya is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: yeşil (green) + kaya (rock).

Yeşilkaya + first element yeşil green TURKIC yeşil “green; Old Turkic yaşıl” root kaya rock TURKIC kaya “rock” Yeşilkaya yeşil first element green yeşil TURKIC “green; Old Turkic yaşıl” kaya root rock kaya TURKIC “rock”
Yeşilkaya: parts and root words
  • yeşil Turkic — green; Old Turkic yaşıl2
  • kaya Turkic — rock1

How was the name Yeşilkaya formed?

Yeşilkaya was formed by joining yeşil (“green”) and kaya (“rock”).

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

Which surnames are related to Yeşilkaya?

Yeşilkaya Kaya Akkaya Çetinkaya Karakaya Sarıkaya Özkaya Yalçınkaya Yeşil Kayalı Yeşilyurt Kızılkaya Şahinkaya
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 Yeşil same root – –
09 Kayalı same root – –
10 Yeşilyurt same root – –
11 Kızılkaya same root – –
12 Şahinkaya same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Yeşilkaya?

  1. Sedat Yeşilkaya association football player 1980–
  2. Erol Yeşilkaya screenwriter 1976–
  3. Akın Yeşilkaya researcher
  4. Ayşegül Yeşilkaya researcher
  5. Ceren Yeşilkaya researcher
  6. Vedat Yeşilkaya association football player 2000–

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

How is Yeşilkaya written and pronounced abroad?

Outside Türkiye the name is often written Yesilkaya.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: kaya accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Wiktionary: yeşil accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Wiktionary: kaya 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 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Yeşilkaya

Q1

What does the surname Yeşilkaya mean?

Yeşilkaya joins yeşil ‘green’ and kaya ‘rock’: ‘green rock, a rock covered in moss and grass’. Villages in Adıyaman, Bartın, Erzurum, Giresun, Tokat and Tunceli carry the name, and the surname may rest on such a place.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Yeşilkaya?

Yeşilkaya is made up of two elements: yeşil “green; Old Turkic yaşıl” (Turkic) and kaya “rock” (Turkic).
Q3

How do you pronounce Yeşilkaya?

Ye·şil·ka·ya, 4 syllables; IPA: /jeʃiɫkaˈja/.