Category Archives: Turkish Names

Shams

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  • Origin: Arabic شمس
  • Meaning: “sun.”
  • Gender: Unisex
  • (SHEMZ)

The name comes directly from the Arabic word for “sun.” It was the name of a Pre-Islamic South Arabian sun goddess, the equivalent of the North Arabian diety, Nuha.

A strictly feminine form is Shamsa شمسة

Maghrebi spellings are Chams and Chamsa, a Comorian feminine form is Chamsia. Turkish forms are Şems and Şemsa.

The name shares an etymological link with the Hebrew male name, Samson.

It was borne by Shams Pahlavi, one of the sisters of (1917-1996), a member of the Iranian royal family.

In recent years, it has become particularly trendy among females in the Gulf Arab countries

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Evren

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  • Origin: Turkish
  • Meaning: “cosmos; the universe.”
  • Gender: Unisex

The name is from the Turkish word for “cosmos; the universe.” In Turkic mythology, it is the name of a dragon.

The name experienced some brief popularity among males in Turkey during the 1980s. As of 2024, it was the 973rd most popular male name in the United States.

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Suhail, Suhaila

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Suhail or sometimes transliterated as Suhayl, is derived from the Arabic word سَھْل (sahl) meaning “level; even; smooth, easy.” It is the Arabic name of the second brightest star known in the western world as Canopus. It’s appearance in the skies have traditionally been linked with the end of summer in the Arab world. It is the name of a few other stars.

It was also borne by one of the contemporaries of the Prophet Mohammed, known as Suhayl ibn ʿAmr (6th-century C.E).

Suhail appeared in the U.K. Top 1000 between 1996-2002, peaking at #694 in 1997. Its Urdu form of Sohail appeared in the U.K. Top 1000 between 1996-2007 and peaked at #305 in 1997.

Other forms include:

  • Suhajl (Albanian, Bosnian)
  • Süheyl (Azeri, Turkish)
  • Suhejlo (Bosnian)
  • Suhӏajlʹ СухӀайль (Chechen)
  • Suheyl (Kurdish)
  • Souhail (Maghrebi Arabic)
  • Soheil سهیل (Persian)
  • Sohail سہیل (Urdu)

It’s feminine form is Suhaila or Suhayla سهيلة

Other forms include:

  • Suhajla (Albanian, Bosnian)
  • Suhejla (Albanian, Bosnian)
  • Süheyla (Azeri, Turkish)
  • Souhaila (Maghrebi Arabic)
  • Soheila سهیلا (Persian)
  • Sohaila سہیل (Urdu)

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Zubaidah, Zubayda

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  • Origin: Arabic زُبَيْدَة (Arabic)
  • Usage: Arabic-speaking world, most of the Islamic world
  • Gender: Female
  • Meaning: “little butterball.”

The name is derived from the Arabic rootز-ب- د (z-b-d), which pertains to “cream, foam, butter,” along with the Arabic feminine diminutive suffix, roughly translating to “little cream” or “little butter,” having the same sense as “cream of the crop.”

This was the sobriquet of Zubaidah bint Ja’far (766–831), the wife of Harun al-Rashid. Borne as Sukhainah or Amat al-‘Aziz, she was known for her construction of wells and reservoirs along the pilgramage routes to Mecca and is featured in The Thousand and One Nights. Her life was later the inspiration behind the character of Zobeide in the German opera Abu Hassan by Carl Maria von Weber.

The Turkish form of the name, Zübeyde, was borne by an Ottoman princess, the daughter of Sultan Ahmed II, who lived from 1728 to 1756. It was also carried by Zübeyde Hanım (1856–1923), the mother of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The name appeared in the Top 100 most popular female names in Turkey between 1980 and 1986, peaking at #70 in 1981

It is also the name of an asteroid.

Other forms include

  • Zübeydə (Azeri)
  • Zubejda (Bosnian)
  • Zobeide (German, literary)
  • Zoubida (Maghrebi Arabic)
  • Zubaida Зөбаида (Tatar)
  • Zübeyde (Turkish)
  • Zubayda (Uzbek)

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Doğan

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  • Origin: Turkish
  • Meaning: “falcon.”
  • Gender: masculine
  • Pron: (DOH-ahn)

The name comes directly from the Turkish word for “falcon” or “hawk,” but is also a synonym for “rising,” or “born” in the Turkish language.

It appeared in the Top 100 Most Popular Male Names in Turkey between 1987-2002 and peaked at #74 in 1998.

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Safin, Safana, Safina

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Safin سَفِين is an Arabic male name that derives from the Arabic root, S-F-N س ف ن meaning, “ship.” Safin itself is the plural form and therefore means “ships.” The singular form of Safina سَفِينة (ship) is used as a female given-name. Another feminine form, which is Safana سَفّانة, literally meaning “boatwright” in modern Arabic derives from the same root but may have had a connotation of a precious gem or pearl in old Arabic and was also used as a term of endearment for a daughter.

The name is used in reference to “سفينة نوح” (safinat Nuh), which is Arabic for Noah’s ark.

Other forms include: Safeen (masculine), Saffanah (feminine), Safanah (feminine) & Safinah (feminine).

A Tatar form is Сәфинә” (Säfinä).

Safina is used throughout the Islamic world.

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Ramz, Ramzi, Ramza, Ramzia

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  • Origin: Arabic
  • Meaning: “code, sign, mark.”

Ramiz رامز , Ramz رَمْز & Ramzi رمزي are Arabic masculine names which come directly from the Arabic word (ramz) رَمْز , meaning, “code, sign, mark, symbol, gesture.” It is ultimately derived from R-M-Z root in Arabic.

Ramzi appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 Most popular male names between 1973-1990 and peaked at #320 in 1982. It’s usage in the United States may have been influenced by immigrant groups who use the name (Southeastern European Muslims, Arab immigrants & Southeastern Asian Muslims immigrants), mixed with Anglophone parents who were probably using it as an alternate spelling for the English surname/place-name, Ramsey, which means “wild garlic island.” It should also be noted that during this time period, the use of Arabic names became especially popular among African-Americans.

The name is sometimes transliteration as Ramzy and I suppose in the English-speaking world it could also be transliterated as Ramsey.

The feminine forms are Ramza and Ramzia, spelled Ramziya Рәмзия in Central Asian & Turkic languages (Bashkir, Chechen, Tatar).

Other forms include:

Male

  • Remzi Ремзи (Albanian, Bosnian, Crimean Tatar, Turkish)

Female

  • Remzije (Albanian, Bosnian)
  • Remziye (Turkish)

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Aynur, Ainura

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  • Origin: Turkish
  • Meaning: “moonlight.”
  • Gender: feminine
  • Pronunciation: I-noor; i-NOO-rah

Aynur is a Turkic female name, which is composed of the elements, ay (moon) and nur (light). It’s various offshoots across Central Asia have been popularly used.

Aynur appeared in the Turkish Top 100 Female Names between 1980-1997, and peaked at #22 in 1980.

Aynur is used as a female name in Azerbaijan, among the Uyghur and the Kurds. Among the Tatars of Russia, it is a masculine name, while Ajnur is a male name in Bosnia and Albania, it currently ranks in as the 11th most popular male name in Bosnia & Herzegovina (2019).

Other forms include:

  • Ajnura (Albanian, Bosnian)
  • Ainur Айнұр (Kazakh)
  • Ainura, Aynura Айнура (Kyrgyz)
  • Ainuria, Aynurya Айнурия (Tatar)

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Ezgi

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  • Origin: Turkish
  • Meaning: “song; melody; tune.”
  • Gender: feminine
  • Pronunciation: EZ-ghee

The name comes directly from the Turkish word for a song, tune or melody. The name appeard in the Top 100 Most Popular Female names in Turkey between 1989-2011, and peaked at #46 in 1992.

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