ATurkish name consists of anad or anisim (given name; pluraladlar andisimler) and asoyadı orsoyisim (surname).^[1] Turkish names exist in a "full name" format. While there is only onesoyadı (surname) in the full name there may be more than onead (given name). Married women may carry both their maiden and husband's surnames. Thesoyadı is written as the last element of the full name, after all given names (except that official documents related to registration matters often use the format "Soyadı, Adı").

This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(May 2024)

At least one name, often two but very rarely more, are given to a person at birth. Newly given names are allowed up to three words. Most names are gender-specific:Oğuz is strictly for males,Tuğçe only for females. But many Turkish names areunisex. Many modern given names (such asDeniz, "sea"; or Ülkü, "ideal") are given to newborns of either sex.

Among the common examples of the many unisex names in Turkey includeAytaç,Deniz,Derya,Evren,Evrim,Özgür, andYücel. Unlike English unisex names, most Turkish unisex names have been traditionally used for both genders. However, some unisex names are used more for one gender (Derya is used more for girls, whereas Aytaç is used more for boys). Names are given to babies by their parents and then registered in "The Central Civil Registration System" (MERNIS)^[2] while preparing the baby'sidentity document at the birth registration office of the district's governorship.

Turkish names are often words with specific meanings in theTurkish language.^[3]

Most Turkish names can easily be differentiated from others,^[4] except those of other Turkic nations, particularlyAzerbaijan (seeAzerbaijani name),^[5] especially if they are of pure Turkic origin such asErsen. TheLaw on the Adoption and Implementation of the Turkish Alphabet of 1928, in force as decreed by article 174 of theConstitution of Turkey, prescribes that only letters in theTurkish alphabet may be used on birth certificates. As the Turkish alphabet has no Q, W, X, or other symbols, names including those cannot be officially given unless they are transliterated into Turkish.

Ideological concerns of the families can also affect naming behaviour.^[6] Some religious families give first or second names ofArabic origin, which can be names of important figures in the religion of Islam such asMuhammed andAli. The Arabic-origin names may also be adjectives such asMünci^[7] andMebrure.^[8] Some of these names have evolved in time, differentiating from the Arabic original, as in the case ofMehmet (although the original name [Muhammed] also began to be used after the switch to the Latin alphabet distinguished the two spellings). Another change is for linguistic reasons such as in the case of Vahdettin (from Vahideddin), Sadettin (from Sa'adeddin), or Nurettin (from Nureddin).

Some Turkish people with a middle name are commonly referred to with just one of these names, while others are referred to with both. For example, the writer Ferit Orhan Pamuk is commonly known simply asOrhan Pamuk, but another writer,Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, is known with both given names. Many Turkish people with more than one given name, like Orhan Pamuk, are often known and called by the name preceding their surname, as opposed to Western naming conventions. Turkish spells two-part names separately, which is different from some other Turkic languages, likeTatar (Möxəmmətğayaz: Muhammed Ayaz).^[9][10] Thus, "Ayaz” in a name likeMuhammed Ayaz İshaki is not exactly a middle name as usually understood in European context.

Some of the given names from earlier periods are still in use such asÖner^[11] andRasih.^[12]

Until the introduction of theSurname Law in 1934, as part ofAtatürk's Reforms, ethnic Turks who were Turkish citizens had no surnames. The law required all citizens of Turkey to adopt an official surname. Before then, male Turks often used their father's name followed by-oğlu ("son of"), or a nickname of the family, before their given name (e.g.Mustafa-oğlu Mehmet,Köselerin Hasan). The Turks who descended from a ruling house used-zade ("descendant in the male line"), e.g. Sami Paşazade Mehmet Bey ("MehmetBey, descendant/son of SamiPasha").

The surname (soyad, literally "lineage name" or "family name") is an ancestry-based name following a person's given names, used for addressing people or the family.^[13] The surname (soyadı) is a single word according to Turkish law such asAkay or Özdemir. It is not gender-specific and has no gender-dependent modifications. Thesoyadı is neitherpatronymic normatronymic. Surnames in Turkey arepatrilineal: they pass in the male line from father to his legal children without any change in form. Turkey has abolished all notions of nobility; thus, there is no noble form or type of surname.

Since 2014, women in Turkey are allowed to keep their birth names alone for their whole life instead of using their husbands' names.^[14] Before this date, the Turkish Code of Civil Law Article 187 required a married woman to compulsorily obtain her husband's surname after the marriage; or otherwise, to use her birth name in front of her husband's name by giving a written application to the marriage officer or the civil registry office. In 2014, the Constitutional Court ruled that prohibiting married women from retaining only maiden names is a violation of their rights.^[15]After divorce, the woman returns to her pre-marriage surname. The court may grant a woman the right to keep her ex-husband's surname after divorcing; the court's decision must consider both the man's and the woman's situations.^[16] A woman may have only two surnames due to marriage. Thus, a woman who continues to use a double surname after divorcing, cannot take a third surname by marrying again.^[17] The child of a family takes the "family name", which is his or her father's surname. A child takes their mother's surname if the mother is not married, or if the father is unknown.^[18]

Turkish citizens may change their surnames according to Turkish Civil Law^[19] and Turkish Law on Population Services via court decision of "civil court of first instance".^[20]

• Azerbaijani name

• A mapping of the Turkish digital Diaspora, from recognizing Turkish names on Twitter (2013)
• 1020 Turkish names for boys in 2021
• 781 Turkish names for girls in 2021
• Turkish Names(in Turkish)
• Behind the Name: Turkish Names, date of last access: August 9, 2008

• Names by country
• Turkish language

• CS1 Turkish-language sources (tr)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from September 2023
• Articles to be expanded from May 2024
• All articles to be expanded
• Articles with Turkish-language sources (tr)