The Kaya surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 1,455 people carried this name — #18,819 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 204,100 people counted. That is up 26% from 1,156 in 2000.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 2,682 people named Kaya live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Limburg.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
2,001 people named Kaya live in Switzerland.
They live in 23 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 345 people named Kaya.
Most of them — 277 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 32 départements, most often Loiret.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
100 people named Kaya have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 738 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 13 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in West Pomeranian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
1,821 people named Kaya are counted in Sweden, Norway and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0 · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Kaya in American newspapers,
1860–1934.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 8,227 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Kaya,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Şükrü Kaya 1883–1959 · politician -
Okinori Kaya 1889–1977 · politician -
Seiji Kaya 1898–1988 · physicist -
Kaya Toshiko 1903–1995 -
Fahri Kaya 1930–2020 · writer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 247 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Kaya.
- Kauss 212 · U.S. census
- Kautz 3,699 · U.S. census
- Kautzmann 149 · U.S. census
- Kawa 1,192 · U.S. census
- Kawecki 626 · U.S. census
- Kay 24,337 · U.S. census
- Kayser 3,454 · U.S. census
- Kazandjian 208 · U.S. census
- Kazmierczak 1,782 · U.S. census
- Kebe 437 · U.S. census
- Kechichian 142 · U.S. census
- Keck 11,186 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Kaya is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.