Thoughts on the following Turkish names:

[user1470907786]

Hi there

Hoping for some thoughts on the following boy and girl names (mainly how you think they are pronounced upon reading them and how they sound to a non-turkish ear)?

We have lived in UK our entire lives and are from a Turkish background and have a son with a Turkish name. Would greatly appreciate any feedback! I like names with e’s and r’s as you can probably tell :-)

Boy names:

Reyan / Reyyan
Evren
Kerem
Reis

Girl names:

Meryem
Serenay
Esra
Serin
Dilara

Thank you! 🙏🏻

They are quite melodic I think and yes, they do roll off the tounge.

Serenay is pronounced Seh-ren-eye in Turkish though I like all the alternative ways of it’s pronunciation too - as someone with a Turkish name myself, you get used to alternative pronunciations as long as they don’t sound too bad :-)

REYAN and Dilara from your list

I would also consider Elif

Serin means breeze in Turkish.

Boy names all seem easy to pronounce, except Reis I paused and decided “Reese”. For that reason I prefer the other boy names.

Girl names the only 2 I liked less are Serenay and Esra. Serenay because it somehow seems more unusual, Esra because I associate it as a boy’s name (e.g. Ezra Klein).

Great names though!

I used to teach in Turkey, and some Turkish names are lovely. Some are... not.

I love Elif as a girl's name, because all the Elifs I ever taught were delightful (children and adults).

Conversely, every single Barış I ever encountered was genuinely appalling.

And as for Ufuk and Fatih.... just don't go there.

I really like Kerem and Serenay.

Fatih is a beautiful name but Brits tend to say (and sometimes spell!) It "fatty" so for that reason i wouldn't. I know one who gets a lot of "interesting interpretations"

Dilara sounds like dilate (really not good). Serenay like serenade - hmm if you're into that. The rest are lovely.

‘r’s are never quite rolled properly by most (not all) English speakers, I have Turkish name with r in the middle and DS has one at the end.

However, it does sound like you are ok with it never being quite right outside of Turkish circles so you’ll be fine (I draw the line at Reis though, which is a phenomenal name but I couldn’t listen to it being Reece).

Kerem and Esra are probably the easiest to be not quite right and still sound great.

I know you want non Turkish opinions but Serenay reminds me of 1980s singers. Serin will work really nicely too

I like Dilara but Dila is my fave of names like that.

For those wondering about pronounciation: phonetic and pronounce every letter so:

Rey - yan
Ev- ren (like red)
Kerem (again e is like in red)
Rey - is

Mer-yem (this one needs its rolled r really but I can see how Maryam or simialr Could be ok)
Ser - en-ay (not like the letter a but like sigh - e like red)
Esra - is what it is

M husband is Turkish, and we named our son Kerem. Never once has he been called Kermit the frog 😂 I think it’s a lovely name & very easy to say/ spell in England, unlike many other names

I’d agree

Although for a girl Maryam is my favourite (if that spelling works for you it seems to be the most popular here)

I think they're all lovely. Love Meryem.

Oh that’s so reassuring, we have loved through some teasing during our childhood but we know how bad the tease can potentially get with some Turkish names so we think of even the most obscure ones.

Someone put me off Esra once, as backwards… well I don’t think I need say anymore.

Kerem is a very strong name in Turkish, top 10 there at the moment I think!

Yes, I am ok with the r not being rolled. I think with some names it’s a dealbreaker but some, I can live with it.

My DS has an r in his name and we save the roll for when we have called him down for dinner for the 10th time 😂

Your thoughts and ideas have been very helpful!

You have all been so helpful and I really appreciate all your thoughts and honesty - it’s given me lots to consider!

Yep, there are definitely many names that do not work!

I probably wouldn’t go for Esra as it’s very close to Ezra, but I like all the other girls’ names on your list.

Reyan’s definitely my favourite of your boys’ names

Kerem or Reyan for boys

Serin or Meryem for girls

I also once met a lovely Aylin

I know a Dilara. Nickname Lala. I think it's really pretty. We live in a very white town (not in UK) but people are very accepting of unusual names.

‘r’s are never quite rolled properly by most (not all) English speakers
This. It's not enunciated or it's almost '(r/w)uh' in some names.

Some English-speakers speak more than one language, but many don't.

Serin is lovely for a girl and Reis or Reyan for a boy

I think they all sound lovely

The only issues I can imagine:

Kerem - If “Karen” remains an insult he might get called it. Hopefully this will go away though and it’s a lovely name otherwise

Esra - too much like Ezra, an increasingly popular boys name.

Reis - may get spelled Reece or Rhys
Meryem - may get Maryam or Mariam

Many Turkish names are derived from Arabic names, but we will be spelling them in the Turkish form in line with our family background. My names is also the Turkish form of an arabic name and it has never caused any confusion or issues in that respect.

We aren’t worried about the names sounding too much like any other names, all names somehow sound like others in the grand scheme of things :-)

This does seem like a common opinion re Esra on this thread which is super helpful so we will unlikely use Esra (even though it sounds beautiful in Turkish)… getting the balance right is super tricky so we are grateful for forums!

All lovely names. The only one I'm less keen on is Dilara. And I would be unsure of how to pronounce Reis.