How Do Turkish People Name A Child?

Naming children in Turkey might be considered as a special event for families. The Turkish names have specific meanings for families and children. People think that the name of a child forms his/her character. As a result, more people start to give meaningful names to their children.

The time of birth is an important factor on naming children in Turkey. Though this is not that common in the western cities, it is still common in the eastern provinces of Turkey. You may hear names suhc as Bayram (Feast), Bahar (Spring), Bulut (cloud), and Kurban (Sacrifice feast).

Sometimes parents name their children to express their own feelings about them. Berfin (immaculate like snow), Nazlı (coy), Han (King) and Meyra (Shining light) are only some of them. In mostly the western provinces, families use more “modern” names, like Aytun (Illuminating the night), Belda (Noble), and Kayla (far from evil).

People use some specific names in the eastern region of the country. In Turkish society, people usually think that the ones living in the eastern provinces are using as a result of their ethnicity. However we do see those names in all regions. Some of them are Amed (a Kurdish city), Azad (free), Baran (rain), Havin (Summer), and Helin (bird’s-nest). Parents also give the name of their elder people to their children as a way of respect.

Naming children in Turkey is Special

Mostly the religious people prefer the name of the baby to be read by an imam (religious leader) into his/her ears holding him/her in the direction of Mecca. They usually do it if parents want their child to be a good person following the rules of Islam and also be a good member of his/her society.