Explore the Family Name Kaya

The meaning of Kaya

1. Turkish: ornamental name or nickname from kaya ‘rock’, as a nickname applied to a man as strong as a rock. This is the second most frequent surname in Turkey. 2. Americanized form of Polish Kaja. 3. Japanese: written 茅 ‘miscanthus reed’; it can also be written several ways phonetically. It is rare in Japan. In North America, the name may be the result of shortening any of several other names beginning with Kaya-, such as Kayashima, none of which is common by itself. Some characteristic forenames: Arabic/Muslim Azmi, Huseyin, Ismail, Salih, Ahmet, Ali, Aydin, Bedri, Esin, Ibrahim, Mustafa, Muzaffer. Japanese Hideo, Kazumasa, Asami, Chikara, Fumie, Hisao, Iwao, Kimiyo, Kiyoshi, Masayoshi, Setsuo, Shingo. Armenian Agavni, Alpaslan, Avedis, Bedros, Hagop.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Kaya in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Kaya has shown a notable increase in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Kaya was ranked 21,156th in terms of frequency, but by 2010 it had climbed to 18,819th place – an upswing of more than 11%. This rise in popularity is also reflected in the count of individuals with this surname, which grew by approximately 26% over the same period. This resulted in a proportion per 100k people rising from 0.43 in 2000 to 0.49 in 2010, marking an increase of nearly 14%.

20002010Change
Rank#21,156#18,81911.05%
Count1,1561,45525.87%
Proportion per 100k0.430.4913.95%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kaya

When looking into the ethnic identity associated with the surname Kaya, again based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, some shifts can be observed between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander dropped around 32%, while there was a significant increase of about 34% among those classified as White. Those identifying as Black also saw a substantial growth of approximately 118%. However, the proportions of those affiliating themselves with two or more races, Hispanic, and American Indian and Alaskan Native categories decreased by roughly 30%, 12%, and 8% respectively.

20002010Change
White42.21%56.49%33.83%
Asian/Pacific Islander37.37%25.57%-31.58%
Hispanic9.26%8.11%-12.42%
Two or More Races8.04%5.64%-29.85%
Black1.04%2.27%118.27%
American Indian and Alaskan Native2.08%1.92%-7.69%

Kaya ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Kaya is Anatolian, which comprises 37.6% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are Iranian, Caucasian & Mesopotamian (31.8%) and Japanese (8.0%). Additional ancestries include Greek & Balkan, British & Irish, Eastern European, French & German, and Filipino & Austronesian.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
Anatolian37.6%
Iranian, Caucasian & Mesopotamian31.8%
Japanese8.0%
Other22.7%
Kaya

Possible origins of the surname Kaya

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Kaya have recent ancestry locations in Turkey and Iran.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Sivas, Turkey48.90%
Istanbul, Turkey46.70%
Malatya, Turkey39.10%
Konya, Turkey35.90%
Erzincan, Turkey34.80%

What Kaya haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Kaya is R-L23, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-L23 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include J-L26 and E-L29, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Yilmaz, Levenson, Abramov, Keen, Giordano, Weisberg, Papadopoulos, Elias, Grossman, Kantor.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Kaya surname are: N, U2_3_4_7_8_9, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

kayaPaternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to Niall of the Nine Hostages

The spread of haplogroup R-M269 in northern Ireland and Scotland was likely aided by men like Niall of the Nine Hostages. Perhaps more myth than man, Niall of the Nine Hostages is said to have been a King of Tara in northwestern Ireland in the late 4th century C.E. His name comes from a tale of nine hostages that he held from the regions he ruled over. Though the legendary stories of his life may have been invented hundreds of years after he died, genetic evidence suggests that the Uí Néill dynasty, whose name means "descendants of Niall," did in fact trace back to just one man who bore a branch of haplogroup R-M269.The Uí Néill ruled to various degrees as kings of Ireland from the 7th to the 11th century C.E. In the highly patriarchal society of medieval Ireland, their status allowed them to have outsized numbers of children and spread their paternal lineage each generation. In fact, researchers have estimated that between 2 and 3 million men with roots in north-west Ireland are paternal-line descendants of Niall.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Kaya have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Kaya

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Kaya" Surname 29.4%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Kaya

Cheek Dimples

Small indentations that appear on the cheeks when a person smiles.

"Kaya" Surname 42.9%

23andMe Users 37.6%

Habits

Kaya

Vitamin Use

Takes vitamins on a regular basis.

"Kaya" Surname 53.3%

23andMe Users 45.5%

Wellness

Kaya

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Kaya" Surname 10.9%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Kaya?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Kaya are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Anatolian 60.0%

23andMe Users 57.2%