Turkish names: our top 20 for girls and boys

Turkish First Names: Top 20 for Girls

First names in Turkish often have a special meaning. Many also have Arabic or Persian origins. Unlike in German, adjectives and nouns or whole sentences are often used for a name. Our favorites for newborn girls are:

1. Aleyna has an Arabic origin and means translated “God’s gift” or “beautiful”.
2. Ayla  can be translated into Turkish and Hebrew. In Turkish, the first name means “with the moonlight”, in Hebrew “the oak”.
3. Bahira means “the sparkling one”, or “the sea”.
4. Bera means “pure” and “free from sin”.
5. Betül comes from Arabic and means “the innocent”, “the virgin”.
6. Cana means “what comes from the heart”.
7. Ceren stands for “deer eyes, fawn”.
8. Dila comes from Persian and means “my heart” or “the hearty one”.
9. Dua is Muslim and means “the prayer”, “the request”.
10. Ecem means “my queen”.
11. Ela is a very popular first name in Turkey and means “the divine” or “the hazelnut”.
12. Elin is a pet form of “Helene” and means “the radiant”, “the shining”.
13. Emina was the name of the mother of the Prophet Mohammed.
14. Enisa is the feminine form of “Enis” and comes from Arabic. The first name for girls means “the faithful companion” and “the unique”.
15. Esma  also comes from Arabic and means “the most beautiful in the world”.
16. Fatma is derived from Fatima, the youngest daughter of Mohammed, and means “the abstemious”.
17. Gamze means “the dimple”.
18. Gülin means “the rose”.
19. Leyla stands for “the night” or “in love with Allah/God”.
20. Nazan comes from Persian and means “the beauty that is lovely and sweet”.

Turkish First Names: Top 20 For Boys

There are also many beautiful and sonorous first names for boys that have a Turkish origin.

1. Acun means “the universe” in Turkish.
2. Adnan comes from Arabic and means something like “he settles down”. A grandson of Abraham is said to have borne the name Adnan.
3. Akin is a given name in Turkey, but it is also a surname. It means “the attack” and “the flood”.
4. Arcan stands for “clean living”.
5. Bahri comes from Arabic and means “the one coming from the sea”.
6. Bedir means “the full moon”.
7. Berkan is composed of the Turkish words “berk” (= strong) and “kan” (= the blood). This is where the meaning “strong blood” comes from.
8. Burak means “the lightning”. According to Islamic tradition, Burak was a horse with wings that rode to heaven with Muhammad.
9. Cem comes from Arabic and means “the ruler”, “the king”.
10. Dalyan means “the noble”, “the tall”. In addition, the name goes back to a river in Turkey.
11. Efe means “honorable man” or “big brother” in Turkish.
12. Fatih means “the conqueror” and is of Arabic origin.
13. Hasan means “beautiful” in Turkish.
14. Ismail was a prophet and heir to today’s Muslim people. The name stands for “the warrior” or “the hunter”.
15. Kamil means “perfect” in Turkish.
16. Nuri means “God’s Light” in Turkish.
17. Salman means “the peaceful” and “the independent”.
18. Selim means “the peaceful one”.
19. Tarik means “the night star”.
20. Translated, Zeki means “the clever one” and “the witty one”.