Turkish Names
Across 2 pages
of 2
Elif
Turkish and Arabic
"first letter in the alphabet, slender"
This is the Turkish form of Alif, the name of the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. Actor Natalie Portman gave another spelling to her son, Aleph. Elif can also mean "slender", from the Turkish…
Devrim
Turkish
"revolution"
This unusual, in the US at least, Turkish name has an attractive sound and a modern meaning. We can imagine it becoming much more widely known and used, the way the Irish Declan has over the past…
Evrim
Turkish
"evolution"
The Turkish girls' name Evrim is virtually unknown in the English-speaking world, but can translate easily....and be shortened to the familiar Evie (with a short initial e as in eh-vee) if you want…
Emre
Turkish
"friend"
This Turkish name meaning "friend" should be very useable outside Turkey, given that it is pronounced just as it is spelled. Famous men named Emre include Emre Can, a chess grandmaster, and Emre…
Sema
Turkish
"sky"
Sema may have hit its peak in its native Turkey in the 1980s, but this simple distinctive name is new in the English-speaking world. Arabic variation Sama ranks in the British Top 1000.
Alya
Arabic
"heavens, highborn, exalted"
Alya is most familiar in the US in its much-more-complicated form Aaliyah, the spelling used by the later singer. The traditional name of the star system Theta Serpentis, Alya is also an established…
Derya
Turkish
"sea"
Derya is a unisex name in its native Turkey, though even there it is far more popular for women than for men. It is related to the Persian name Daria, which also means sea.
Fairuza
Arabic
"turquoise"
Instead of the more obvious Aqua, Turquoise, or Blue, consider this offbeat Arabic name, brought into the American name pool by actress Fairuza Balk (named by her father for the color of her eyes).…