Language guide

Turkish Names: Meanings, Origins & Traditions

Turkish names are recorded here in the modern Turkish Latin alphabet, which replaced the Arabic-based Ottoman script in 1928. Because Ottoman Turkish absorbed a large Arabic and Persian vocabulary, many familiar Turkish names, such as Elif or Emir, go back to Arabic or Persian words, while others, such as Arslan or Aynur, contain native Turkic elements. Each entry states which of these applies, based on the cited sources.

Türkçe

Oghuz branch of the Turkic language family

Published names: 7961
Scripts in our data: Latin
ISO 639-1: tr

Browse Turkish names

706 names · page 9 of 30

Savaşan
“warrior, fighter”
Turkish
Unisex3 syllablesEditorial
Savaşer
“war man”
Turkish
Boy3 syllablesEditorial
Savaşkan
“combative, good fighter”
Turkish
Unisex3 syllablesEditorial
Savlet
“violent attack”
From Arabic · Turkish
Boy2 syllablesEditorial
Savni
“relating to protection”
From Arabic · Turkish
Boy2 syllablesEditorial
Savniye
“relating to protection”
From Arabic · Turkish
Girl2 syllablesEditorial
Savtekin
“word of the prince”
Turkish
Boy3 syllablesEditorial
Savtunç
“man of his word”
Turkish
Boy2 syllablesEditorial
Say
“flat stone slab; large rock; friend; spring”
Turkish
Boy1 syllableEditorial
Şayan
“fitting, suitable, worthy”
From Persian · Turkish
Boy1 syllableLikely
Saydam
“transparent; bright”
Turkish
Unisex2 syllablesEditorial
Şayeste
“fitting, worthy”
From Persian · Turkish
Unisex2 syllablesEditorial
Saygın
“respected, esteemed”
From Turkic · Turkish
Boy2 syllablesEditorial
Saygül
“respected rose”
Turkish
Girl2 syllablesEditorial
Saygun
“respected, esteemed”
Turkish
Unisex2 syllablesEditorial

Sayhan
“respected khan”
Turkish
Boy2 syllablesEditorial
Sayın
“esteemed, distinguished”
Turkish
Unisex1 syllableEditorial
Sayınberk
“esteemed and firm”
Turkish
Boy2 syllablesEditorial
Sayıner
“valued, respected man”
Turkish
Unisex2 syllablesEditorial
Saylam
“esteemed, distinguished person”
Turkish
Boy2 syllablesEditorial
Saylav
“choice; elected; member of parliament”
Turkish
Boy2 syllablesEditorial
Saymaner
“treasurer man”
Turkish
Boy3 syllablesEditorial
Sayyat
“hunter”
From Arabic · Turkish
Boy1 syllableEditorial
Sazak
“strong cold wind; light snow; reed marsh; small spring”
Turkish
Boy2 syllablesEditorial

How Turkish names are written

Modern Turkish uses a 29-letter Latin alphabet introduced in 1928. Letters such as ç, ğ, ı, İ, ö, ş and ü matter for spelling: Gülnur and Gulnur are different spellings, and the dotless ı is a separate letter from i. Search on this site ignores these marks, but entries always show the documented spelling.

Where Turkish names come from

A name used in Turkish is not automatically Turkish in origin. Here is how the documented origins of the Turkish names published so far break down (a name with elements from two languages counts under both):

Turkic
4158
Arabic
2170
Persian
1209
Greek
42
Mongolic
39
Hebrew
28
French
14

Counted from 7961 published entries. Each name page explains its own etymology with sources.

Turkish names by meaning

Turkish belongs to the Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages, together with Azerbaijani and Turkmen. Related languages share many words, but a name is listed under a language only when it is documented there.

Other languages: Uyghur · Kazakh · Kyrgyz · Uzbek · Tatar · Bashkir · Tajik

References for this page

Wikipedia contributors. Turkic languages. Wikimedia Foundation, revision 1377797900. Accessed 2026-10-28. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikipedia contributors. Turkish alphabet. Wikimedia Foundation, revision 1381762599. Accessed 2026-10-28. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.