Girl name trends in Türkiye: 2018 versus 2025

What were Türkiye’s top girl names in 2025?

Source: TÜİK, the Turkish Statistical Institute, 2025, Türkiye national girl baby name list. These figures concern names given that year, rather than everyone living with each name. Explore the 2025 baby name rankings for the yearly view.

Which girl names made the top ten in 2018?

Source: TÜİK, 2018, Türkiye national girl baby name list. The scope matches the 2025 newborn list. A name missing from the later top ten may still be widely used; its exact position cannot be recovered from these tables.

Which girl names rose or fell between the lists?

• Defne rises in rank and count

  Defne moves from third to second, with its count increasing from 6,609 to 7,716. Both measures rise between these endpoints. The figures do not show when the increase happened or whether every intervening year followed the same direction.

• Asel moves further up

  Asel advances from seventh to fifth, increasing from 4,865 to 5,855. That supports a clear comparison between 2018 and 2025. Describing the pace of its growth would require additional annual figures, rather than assumptions about the missing years.

• Zeynep remains in the top ten

  Zeynep falls from first to fourth, with its count dropping from 14,183 to 6,228. It nevertheless retains a high position in 2025. A decline in these measures does not mean that parents have stopped choosing the name.

• Entries and departures

  Alya, Gökçe, Umay, Asya, Elisa, İnci and Duru appear only in the 2025 top ten. Elif, Ebrar, Eylül, Hiranur, Meryem, Zehra and Miray appear only in the 2018 top ten. Their other-year ranks are not supplied.

How much can two years tell us about a trend?

These are two snapshots, with no annual figures supplied for 2019–2024. They cannot establish continuous growth or explain why families changed their choices. Counts also differ from shares: calculating a name’s proportion requires the relevant annual total. When browsing rising names, check the dates, geographical coverage and measure being compared. Rank describes a name’s position relative to others; count describes how often it was given. Neither alone establishes a cultural cause or predicts what happens next.

Are short names and Turkish-origin names becoming popular?

• Short spellings stand out

  Alya, Asel, İnci and Duru have four letters; Defne has five. Short forms are visible in the 2025 top ten. Establishing a broader shift toward shorter names would require a larger dataset and a consistent definition of length.

• Names of Turkish origin

  Gökçe, Duru and İnci provide examples of Turkish-origin names. Umay is associated with Turkic mythology. These descriptions concern the names’ linguistic or cultural histories; they provide no basis for identifying a bearer’s background, beliefs or personality.

• Names of Arabic origin

  Zeynep, Asel, Meryem and Zehra are examples of Arabic-origin names used in Türkiye. Shared linguistic origins do not imply shared reasons for choosing them. Nor does an Arabic-origin name establish a person’s religion, ethnicity or family traditions.

• Meaning and association differ

  A name’s linguistic origin, everyday meaning and personal associations are separate questions. Defne, for example, is also the Turkish word for laurel. Treat uncertain meanings as uncertain, and consider differences between sources as described in the etymology section.

Why are the most common female names different?

Source: TÜİK, Türkiye national population name list; the year is not specified in the supplied figures. Population totals combine many birth cohorts, whereas newborn rankings describe one year. Read names across generations for this distinction. Zeynep appears in both views, but Fatma leads the population list.

Explore individual girl names from the rankings

Compare spelling, meaning and origin separately. The order of these example cards does not represent an additional popularity ranking.

• AlyaHigh, exalted
• DefneBay laurel, an aromatic evergreen tree
• GökçeSky-blue
• ZeynepA fragrant flowering tree
• AselHoney, the sweet substance made by bees
• UmayProtective female figure in ancient Turkic belief
• İnciPearl
• DuruClear, pure

How to build a shortlist using name trends

1. 1

   Start with names you enjoy

   Browse girl names and note spellings and sounds you like. A national ranking can introduce possibilities, but a name outside the top ten may suit your preferences equally well.

2. 2

   Say the full name aloud

   Read each option with the surname at an ordinary speaking pace. Listen for repeated sounds and awkward transitions. A short given name does not automatically make every full-name combination easy to say.

3. 3

   Check the explanation

   Read the meaning and origin as separate pieces of information. Where several interpretations appear, distinguish established explanations from uncertain ones. Do not turn an appealing association into a factual claim about the name.

4. 4

   Decide what popularity means to you

   Consider whether familiarity matters more than distinctiveness in your own setting. National figures cannot tell you how many children with the same name will attend a particular school or belong to your local community.

5. 5

   Consider use outside Türkiye

   If the name will be used across languages, try introducing it aloud and writing its Turkish spelling. Think about pronunciation and characters such as ç and İ alongside your own preferences.

What should you check in a popularity claim?

Frequently asked questions about girl name trends