Turkish Baby Names: 37 Ideas for Girls and Boys, with Meanings and Pronunciation

The closing credits have just rolled, and the heroine’s name is still going round in your head. You are not alone: back in 2022, the Moroccan magazine La Vie éco was already noting the influence of Turkish and Syrian TV series on the names parents choose in Morocco. But a Turkish baby name heard on television does not always mean what you imagine, or sound the way you think.

We picked 37 Turkish names for girls and boys, checking their meaning in two references: the etymology database Behind the Name and Wikipedia’s list of Turkish names. For names of Arabic origin, we also give the Arabic spelling of the original name, which you will need for a Moroccan birth certificate.

Why do so many Turkish names look like Arabic names?

Because a large share of them come from Arabic. Over the centuries, Turkey adopted many Arabic names linked to Islam and adapted them to Turkish pronunciation: Zaynab became Zeynep, Khadija became Hatice, Amir became Emir. Behind the Name lists dozens of Turkish names as the “Turkish form” of an Arabic name.

The other big family is made up of Turkish words: the sea, the laurel, peace, the lion. They have no Arabic equivalent. According to the statistical bulletin of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), the most popular girl names in Turkey in 2025 were Alya, Defne and Gökçe, and for boys Alparslan, Göktuğ and Metehan. So these Turkish words are far from marginal.

Turkish girl names of Arabic origin

For a Moroccan family they have a double advantage: a well-known meaning, and a ready-made Arabic spelling.

Elif is said “eh-LEEF” and is written with a dotted İ in capitals (ELİF). Behind the Name explains its second meaning through the Turkish expression elif gibi, “straight as an alif”. For more names from this family, see our Arabic girl names and their meanings.

Turkish girl names inspired by nature

From the shop

Keepsakes to go with the name

Once the name is chosen, it is time for keepsakes: imprint boxes and frames, from the simple model to the double frame with a photo.

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Products sold by La Maison du Bébé, publisher of this magazine. Prices as of 12 October 2026; please check the product page.

Turkish boy names

For boys you find the same two families: adapted Arabic names, and Turkish words that evoke strength or nature.

For Arabic boy names and their meanings, our article on Arabic and Muslim boy names covers several dozen.

Two names for a girl or a boy

Deniz (the sea) and Umut (hope) are given to both girls and boys in Turkey. If you like the idea, our selection of Arabic and international gender-neutral names offers more.

Names from Turkish TV series

Turkish series have popularised names far beyond Turkey. In 2022, La Vie éco listed Souhaib, Mouhanad, Lamiss, Roumayssa, Sabae and Ritaj among the names inspired by Turkish and Syrian series: most of them are Arabic, which shows that the influence often comes through the dubbed version.

The historical series Diriliş: Ertuğrul, launched in 2014 on the Turkish channel TRT 1, made Ertuğrul, Halime and Osman widely known. Ertuğrul is the name of the father of Osman I; in Pakistan, where the series was a huge success, Wikipedia reports that parents gave the name to their children. Its exact meaning is still debated, and we could not confirm it in two sources. Halime Hatun, his wife in the series, is a figure from Ottoman tradition: historians have not found her in any Ottoman text.

How to pronounce a Turkish name

The Turkish alphabet uses letters that are not read the way English speakers expect. Knowing them saves a lot of disappointment.

In Morocco, these letters raise a practical question: the Latin spelling on the certificate. Ask the civil registrar how the name will be written, and if necessary choose a simple spelling that you will then use everywhere.

Will the Moroccan civil registry accept a Turkish name?

Yes, in principle. Article 34 of Law 36-21 on civil status, published in the Official Bulletin on 22 July 2021, no longer includes the requirement for a name of “Moroccan character” found in the former Law 37-99. It prohibits a family name, the name of a town, village or tribe, a mocking name or one contrary to public decency, more than two names, and any title. A Turkish name that meets these conditions can therefore be registered.

Article 19 of the same law provides that the certificate is drawn up in Arabic, with the name also in Tifinagh and Latin letters. Since the 2023 implementing decree, a registrar who has doubts can no longer refuse on their own: they record the declaration and refer it to the High Commission for Civil Status. The details are in our guide to choosing a name under Moroccan law.