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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Turkish names that work in both England and Turkey

59 replies

LyraSilvertongue · 15/09/2013 10:27

So I'm expecting baby number 3. This one has a Turkish father and he would really like him or her to have a Turkish name, which I'm happy with as long as it works here in the UK too. So nothing too Turkish and definitely no "special" letters.

The baby is already going to be stuck with DP's surname, which is very difficult for non-Turkish people to pronounce and contains three special letters, so the first name has to be easier. DP wants Ahmet for a boy, after his late father, but I don't like it so have agreed it can be the middle name.

Which just leaves the first name. We don't know yet if we're having a girl or boy.

Any suggestions?

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Bellibolt · 17/08/2025 15:55

I like Yeliz

fairycupcakes · 12/08/2025 22:43

Emine, Mina, Leyla, Alara, Dilara for a girl?
Kemal, Emir, Hamza, Murat, Adem for a boy?

OzbayOzbay · 12/08/2025 08:33

Ozbay meaning genuine gentleman in Turkish. Very unique and easy on the tongue

sibbys · 25/01/2022 13:15

I went to an international school in Turkey and these names were easy to pronounce and quite nice imo.

Girls:
Sibel (English "Si-Belle")
Ela (english "Ella")
Melis

Boys:
Deniz (english "Dennis")
Aslan (means Lion)
Adem (english "Adam")

bingandflop · 24/01/2022 16:28

Hi daughter has a friend called Asya which is a beautiful name

VaginaRegina · 23/01/2022 23:02

Baris, on the other hand... inevitably a nightmare!

IHateCoronavirus · 23/01/2022 22:21

Elif isn’t pronounced e-leaf it is quite definitely pronounced El-if. They are quite definitely lovely, unless you pronounce their name wrong! Grin

Leeloo1233 · 23/01/2022 22:13

Or Belinay! "reflection of the moon on a lake"
How are these names so beautiful!?

VaginaRegina · 23/01/2022 22:06

Used to teach in Istanbul. I never met an Elif who was anything but LOVELY!

Leeloo1233 · 23/01/2022 22:02

Th coolest girl name by far is Miray "shining like the moon". That is just the most beautiful meaning ever. I wish I had Turkish roots just so I could give this name to my daughter.

Others I like are:
Defne
Nehir
Zehra
Derin

Or Lina, which is also very popular in France and Scandinavia

BiscuitLover3678 · 22/01/2022 17:32

I love Jem for a boy but pretty sure it’s spelt with a C

Melike is cute for a girl

scottishnames · 22/01/2022 17:27

I once met a charming Turkish girl named 'Gulshan' (=Rose Garden) ; that was how I was told her name. But I suspect the person who told me was wrong.
I believe the correct Turkish is 'Gulsen' with two 'special' characters: two dots over the u and a cedilla on the s. So this probably won't help you at all. Apologies for wasting your time! But it's such a pretty meaning.

TwentyFirstCenturyTricoteuse · 22/01/2022 17:03

Bilge for a girl. Or maybe not... I love Neslihan , Hazal and Suzan.

Samantha2222 · 22/01/2022 13:13

Lol looking through the thread and you literally just named my son due this year :-) Taylan (a boy) thank you!!
I also have a son named Aydin
And was considering Adem.

:-)

Ladysamantha · 20/09/2013 11:59

I like Emil and deran for a boy and for a girl emel, Sara, hale- which will be difficult to pronounce.

Jaskla · 17/09/2013 21:57

Mesut or Nazmi (both boy names)

thegreylady · 17/09/2013 10:31

Serra is my beautiful dgd her pic is on my profile. I love her name and it works well in both countries. Sorry about the C names I missed that post. I do like Idris and it is Welsh as well as Turkish.

Arrtttiiieee · 16/09/2013 14:21

Idil is my most favourite of those.

Arrtttiiieee · 16/09/2013 14:20

Turkish girls names I love:

Girls:
Idil
Arzu
Azra
Sevgi
Ayla

Boys:
Kemal
Cenk (Jenk)
Emir
Arhan

Original poster
LyraSilvertongue · 16/09/2013 14:00

Thanks greylady but see my earlier posts about names beginning with C.

Serra is lovely. Like Sarah but more exotic.

OP posts:
thegreylady · 16/09/2013 13:59

My ds married a Turkish lady.Their dd is Serra pronounced with a short e.
She has a friend named Deniz meaning sea which I love and another called Selen.I also know a Dilara.
Boys Can [pn Jan] and Cem [pn Jem] both work well.

Original poster
LyraSilvertongue · 16/09/2013 12:32

It's quite amusing when I'm with DP somewhere where his name has to be called out, such as the doctor's surgery. They take one look at his surname, frown, and just call out his first name Grin

OP posts:
Original poster
LyraSilvertongue · 16/09/2013 12:24

That's my worry, Sootica.. The surname will be pronounced incorrectly by everyone who's not familiar with the Turkish alphabet, hence my reluctance to have any special characters in the first name.

OP posts:
Original poster
LyraSilvertongue · 16/09/2013 12:22

Stat, dotted i is pronounced eee and the dotless i is pronounced urr.

OP posts:
SooticaTheWitchesCat · 16/09/2013 12:08

We have a c in our surname and no-one says it right Wink