Seeking names (boy or girl) that will work in both Turkish and English. Thanks for any ideas!
For girls: [name_f]Mira[/name_f], [name_f]Mina[/name_f], [name_f]Ada[/name_f]. I found these names on Turkey’s Top 100 list for 2014 (link). They exist in both English and Turkish.
I don’t know much about Turkish names, but I did a bit of research once because I had planned to write a story about a Turkish family, and the girls were Adalet, Roxelana, Esmeray, and [name_f]Sofia[/name_f] (which, [name_f]Sofia[/name_f]'s not Turkish, but it is pretty international, and I had hoped it would work!). According to my research, though, Adalet, Roxelana, and Esmeray are Turkish, though, and I think they’d work well in the US! I especially love Adalet and Esmeray.
I like the pp’s suggestion of [name_f]Mina[/name_f], too!
Not sure about boys names, but I used to have a friend called Ezgi who has a sister called [name_f]Lara[/name_f], and they’re half Turkish. Sometimes Ezgi had a few pronunciation/spelling issues, but no one ever really got it wrong more than once.
I know a girl called Mihriban (mih-rih-ban) who is Turkish but lives in [name_f]England[/name_f] and I think it works. It’s a bit unusual though.
Boys:
Evren
[name_u]Aydin[/name_u]
[name_f]Eren[/name_f]
Emre
Mavi
Girls:
Zeytin
[name_f]Amira[/name_f]
Melek
[name_f]Elmira[/name_f]
Turkish names I found on a Turkish site which in my opinion could survive the English language
Girls
Aysin
Azra
Beyza
Defne
Derya
Diba
Dilara
Ebru
Erva
[name_f]Esma[/name_f]
[name_m]Esra[/name_m]
[name_f]Harika[/name_f]
Hatira
Kayra
[name_f]Leyla[/name_f]
Nilufer
Nisa
Refah
Seda
[name_f]Selma[/name_f]
Semina
[name_f]Talia[/name_f]
[name_f]Tamar[/name_f]
[name_f]Tara[/name_f]
Yildiz
Zehra
I also know two Turkish girls called Nursabah and [name_f]Zara[/name_f]
Boys
Darcan
Destan
Emir
Evren
[name_m]Ferdi[/name_m]
[name_m]Hakan[/name_m]
[name_m]Hamza[/name_m]
Hazim
[name_m]Idris[/name_m]
[name_m]Kadir[/name_m]
Kaplan
[name_m]Kenan[/name_m]
Kazim
[name_m]Nadir[/name_m]
[name_m]Nazim[/name_m]
Ozan
[name_u]Sami[/name_u]
Yarin
[name_m]Yunus[/name_m]
Great suggestions! Thanks, everyone
I am Turkish so
Girls
[name_f]Ada[/name_f]
Alara
[name_u]Arya[/name_u]
Akasya
[name_f]Ayla[/name_f] and [name_f]Aylin[/name_f]
[name_u]Aden[/name_u]
[name_f]Ela[/name_f]
Elanur
[name_f]Eda[/name_f]
[name_f]Meryem[/name_f]
Mariye
[name_f]Melisa[/name_f]
Melis
[name_m]Ilya[/name_m]
[name_f]Leyla[/name_f]
[name_f]Mina[/name_f]
[name_f]Mira[/name_f]
[name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_f]Sofya[/name_f]
[name_f]Zara[/name_f]
[name_f]Lara[/name_f]
Dilara
Ilayda
Boys
[name_u]Aydin[/name_u]
Aslan
Alp
Atilla
Ender
[name_f]Eren[/name_f]
Kaan
[name_m]Hakan[/name_m]
[name_m]Kenan/name_m
[name_m]Ismail[/name_m]
[name_m]Ibrahim[/name_m]
Ishak
[name_m]Adem[/name_m]
Ilyas([name_m]Eliyas[/name_m])
[name_m]Yusuf/name_m
Yafes([name_m]Japheth[/name_m])
Yakup([name_m]Jacob[/name_m])
[name_u]Isa/name_u
[name_m]Musa/name_m
Mikail([name_u]Michael[/name_u])
So for boys Biblical names would work, for girls simple and western sounding names will be okay. Aslan and [name_f]Eren[/name_f] are popular characters, and everybody knows [name_m]Attila[/name_m] the Hun.
I knew an Erol in school, that’s a pretty easy to say, classic name.
Also: [name_u]Aydin[/name_u] or Elvan for a boy. For a girl, there have been many great suggestions above. I like [name_f]Aylin[/name_f] and Emel for a girl.
Hey there! I teach English in Turkey so I’ve been exposed to many different names over the last few years. I’m also looking for names that could work in both languages. For names that are of Turkish origin and can easily be pronounced by English-speakers:
Girls:
Zeynep
Damla
Alara
Dilara
[name_u]Arya[/name_u] (my personal favorite but not common here)
Selin
[name_f]Ayla[/name_f]
Ceyda (pronounced “[name_u]Jay[/name_u]-da” so maybe tricky)
[name_f]Fatma[/name_f]
[name_f]Ada[/name_f]
Adalet
Azra
[name_m]Esra[/name_m]
[name_f]Eda[/name_f]
Emel
[name_f]Esma[/name_f]
[name_f]Leyla[/name_f]
Melis/[name_f]Melisa[/name_f]
[name_f]Mina[/name_f]
Pera
[name_f]Selma[/name_f]
[name_f]Tara[/name_f]
[name_f]Aylin[/name_f]
Zeliha
Zehra
Boys:
Aydın (not dot on the I, can be confused with [name_u]Ayden[/name_u])
Demir
Evren (my #1)
Emir
[name_m]Ahmet[/name_m]
[name_m]Mehmet[/name_m]
Melek (unisex)
[name_u]Salim[/name_u]
[name_m]Selim[/name_m]
If you haven’t already chosen a name, I hope this helps! 