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! 🙏🏻

Aylin is lovely but the common trend with UK Turkish families at the moment is alot of “A” names like Ayla, Arya and Alara, etc.. which are lovely but something about those names makes me think I will eventually dislike them if I say them on a regular basis because they are so popular right now😂

Not a fan of Elif as I don’t like the way it sounds when not pronounced the Turkish way, often pronounced as “a leaf” which I dislike.

I like the idea of Meryem and the nickname Mimi!

Do you have a favourite for the girl and boy name? 😊

What about Azra? There is a lovely girl with that name in my son's class, it sounds beautiful and not as similar to Ezra pronunciation wise

Serin is a beautiful name

Thanks!

Interesting you say this as the names you mention are in fact from Turkish origin whereas some of them, eg Meryem is the Turkish variant of the Arabic Maryam!
It’s so helpful to get these opinions and reactions to the names.

Does Serenay does not appear to be Turkish? Serenay is a Turkish root name like the 4 you mentioned so interesting that it doesn’t appear Turkish 🤔

Thanks for the suggestion 😊
I don’t like names that end in “z” very much as it feels like a harsh ending to me and our surname is already quite a harsh sounding name with the double k.

Thanks ☺️

Haha I don’t actually mind Serenade though the correct pronunciation of Serenay doesn’t sound like Serenade.

The “ay” is pronounced like the word “eye” though we aren’t fussed about it being pronounced the alternative way. Trying to go for names where we don’t mind the alternative pronunciations.

Meryem is an old name, it is the Turkish derivative of Mary.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Yes, the surname is Turkish.

Evren & Serin are the nicest.

Dilara does sound like an unpleasant medical drug or device - not sure why!

Serenay - will get mispronounced with the ‘ay’ at the end sounding like Serena gone wrong. The Turkish way of pronouncing it with ‘eye’ sounds lovely though.

As a side note, I will likely use two of each in a first and middle name combo as our DS also has two names.

Any opinions on which combos look good?

Starting to consider Reis as the middle name to one of the two syllable names.

We cannot use the Maryam spelling as it doesn’t sound very nice when pronounced phonetically in Turkish and would cause alot of confusion in our families.

I'm English but live in a multicultural area and used to teach in classes where there would always be a few Turkish kids. I like Kerem for a boy and Meryem and Serin for a girl. Esra makes me think of the similar boys name, but whatever you choose it will soon just make everyone think of your baby.
Congratulations!

Ooh Turkish names are lovely

Love Azra when pronounced the non-Turkish way but it’s quite harsh when pronounced the Turkish way and sound more masculine.

Strangely, Esra sounds more feminine to Turkish ears. It’s been so interesting to see the differences in how the names come across!

Serin is lovely but may get misspelled as Seren if that bothers you (think it's the most popular name now in Wales and popular too in England)

Serenay is very pretty - memorable and easy to pronounce

Kerem is lovely for a boy

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 :-)
I wouldn't worry about it either but my name gets mixed up with a similar name sometimes, so I have to explain the spelling, and even get comments like 'Why did your parents not spell it properly?' (and worse)

Suggesting using a more English monoglot friendly spelling comes across as being culturally insensitive.

Seren isn't the top girl's name in Wales, it's not even in the top 10. It's quite popular though, and it might be very popular in some regions.

Baby names in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics

Serin sounds too close to sarin to me. The poison gas.
Elif would be called elf and then goblin as a put down.
Meryam is a good name.
No strong views on the others.

Dilara does sound like a disease or a drug for a disease.

I wasn't suggesting using an anglisiced name at all? I know four Serens under ten in Bristol and five in Cardiff so thought it was popular. I love the name! Just think in my circle of friends people would assume the Seren spelling, how is that culturally insensitive (obviously it's not an issue, I get 'Joyce' all the time which is not my name but for some people it's an issue to have their name mispronounced or misspelt and that is literally what the OP has asked)

@Andoutcomethewolves , given that you were talking about a Welsh name and you didn't suggest using an 'easier' spelling, I'm not sure why you took it personally? It could be more popular in your area. I don't know any Serens, but I'm from a predominantly Welsh-speaking area, and it's not in the style of names that's popular.

It was the using Maryam instead of Meryem (OK, neither English but YKWIM). OP wants a Turkish name, not an Arabic one.