Many believe that the choice of a child’s name has an impact on the child’s personality and perceptions of attitudes towards them in the years that follow. The names given to the child serve as a sort of address, with meanings having an important role in the development of the child. Emotional associations of the name can also create a labeling effect on children. For example, if the child has a glorified name, they often take appropriate roles, reacting in response. As a result, their name ends up being a sort of definition for them. Therefore, it is often believed that naming a child actually means, “Be like this.” It can be risky to give aggressive names making reference to actions such as hitting, fighting, or other negative forms, possibly having an adverse impact on their behavior.
In this article, I want to present some popular Turkish names, alongside names having the opposite or rather similar meanings. What distinguishes these names apart is that in English-speaking communities, it is unlikely you have heard the equivalent of such names. At least, I never had any American or British friends with names such as “Rain” or “War”, nor have I seen such characters in the popular culture of television, film, and so on. However in Turkey, these names can be particularly common. I hope that a foreigner living in Turkey might have some insight about Turkish names after reading this piece.
Barış & Savaş: Barış means peace while Savaş means war. These two names are male names and quite popular in society. Some mainstream examples include how we all love the famous pop singer Barış Manço (1958-1999), while Savaş Ay (1954-2013) is a renowned journalist.
Poyraz & Rüzgar: Poyraz in Turkish refers to the cold wind coming from the Northeastern region. In English it is known as Northeaster. Rüzgar means wind. Both of these names belong to males.
Duru & Su: Both of these names are female names. Duru means clear and lucid while as you likely know, Su means water. People generally use these names for their twin children.
Hayal & Rüya: In English the word dream is used to stand for both hayal and rüya. In Turkish, Hayal means to have good plans for the future. Rüya generally refers to the dreams people see while sleeping. Both of these names are female names.
Kuzey & Doğu: The directions of Kuzey (North) and Doğu (East) are used as male names. An interesting example is Doğu Ergil, a renowned political scientist whose articles have been published in English as well.
Özlem & Hasret: Both Özlem and Hasret are used as female names having the meaning of longing. Özlem Yılmaz is a famous movie star worth knowing of.
Çiçek & Yaprak: The names Çiçek and Yaprak are both female names. Çiçek means flower while Yaprak means leaf. Çiçek Dilligil and Yaprak Özdemiroğlu are also famous Turkish actresses.
Yağmur & Toprak: Yağmur is a female name meaning rain. Toprak is a male name meaning soil. Toprak Sergen is a famous movie star.
Beste & Ezgi: Both Beste and Ezgi are used as female names. Beste means composition in music while Ezgi stands for melody. Ezgi Mola is a famous movie star.
Eylül &Nisan: Both Eylül and Nisan are female names. Eylül means September and Nisan means April.
Sevgi & Saygı: Sevgi is a female name meaning love while Saygı is a male name having the meaning of respect.
Cesur & Yiğit: Cesur is a name used by males. Cesur is an adjective and it means brave. Yiğit is a male name too referring to the brave men.
Asude & Coşkun: Asude is a name used by females. Asude means silent and calm. Coşkun is a male name meaning hectic and vibrant.
Öykü & Masal: Both of these names are female names. Öykü means story and Masal means fairy tale. Öykü Karayel is a famous movie star best known for the series “Kalp Atışı” (The Heartbeat).
Derya & Deniz: Derya and Deniz have the same meaning. They mean sea. Derya is a name used for females while Deniz is used both as a female and male name. Derya Alabora is a famous movie star and Deniz Akkaya is a famous model.
Güneş & Yıldız: Güneş and Yıldız are names used for females. Güneş means sun, Yıldız means star. Yıldız Asyalı is a famous actress.
Bulut and Sema: Bulut is a name used by males. Bulut means cloud. Sema is a female name. Sema refers to the word sky in English.
Tutku & Arzu: Both of these names are females names. Tutku means passion while Arzu means desire. Arzu Yanardağ is a famous model.
There are of course many other common Turkish names with interesting meanings. Have any that you’d like to share with us? Please let us know in the comments.
