One name, many scripts: spelling Turkic names in Latin, Cyrillic and Arabic

The Turkic languages are written in three main alphabets today, and the choice depends on the language and the country more than on the name. When you research a name, you will often meet the same name in several shapes.

Which language uses which alphabet

• Turkish uses a 29-letter Latin alphabet, introduced in 1928 to replace the Arabic-based Ottoman script.
• Azerbaijani has used Latin in the Republic of Azerbaijan since 1991; in Iran it is written in Arabic script.
• Uzbek reintroduced a Latin alphabet in 1993, alongside the Cyrillic alphabet that had been used since 1940.
• Kazakh is written in Cyrillic in Kazakhstan. A 2017 decree began a move to Latin script; the target date was later pushed back to 2031. Kazakhs in China, Iran and Afghanistan use an Arabic-based script.
• Kyrgyz is written in Cyrillic in Kyrgyzstan and in an Arabic-based script in China.
• Uyghur is officially written in the Uyghur Arabic alphabet in Xinjiang; Uyghur Latin is common online and in Western countries, and Uyghur Cyrillic is still used in Central Asia.

The same name in different shapes

Take the documented Kazakh name Гүлнұр (see Gülnur). In Latin letters it may appear as Gülnur or Gulnur depending on the romanization. Kyrgyz writes the same name Гүлнур. None of these is wrong; they follow different alphabets.

Letters that look like decoration often matter. Turkish distinguishes dotted i from dotless ı, and ü from u. Kazakh Cyrillic adds letters such as ә, ғ, қ, ң, ө, ұ, ү, һ and і. Uzbek uses oʻ and gʻ. The Uyghur Arabic alphabet writes all vowels, so a Uyghur spelling usually tells you how the name is pronounced.

Transliteration is not translation

A transliteration converts letters from one alphabet to another by a fixed system; it does not change the name. On TurkicNames, every form is shown exactly as the source records it, and romanizations are labelled with their system (for example ULY for Uyghur). We never generate spellings automatically, because an automatic conversion can produce forms that no one actually uses.

Choosing a spelling for your child

If you live outside the region, the practical question is which spelling will be written on documents. Some registration systems accept only certain letters: Turkish birth certificates, for example, may use only letters of the Turkish alphabet. Check the rules where you will register the birth, and look at the recorded forms on the name page to see which spellings are documented.