Fatma and Mehmet top names list

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

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Turkish parents most often name their daughters Fatma, while their favorite name for boys is Mehmet, according to official data. 

The General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs has announced that while the most widely used female names overall in Turkey are Fatma, Ayşe, Emine, Hatice and Zeynep, families most often choose Mehmet, Mustafa, Ali or Hüseyin for sons. Yaşar, Ayhan, Dursun, İsmet and Muzaffer are among the most commonly used unisex names throughout Turkey.

Other common unisex names are Ümit, Özgür, İlhan, Hikmet, Yüksel, Özcan, Fikret, Cihan, Şerif, Deniz, Servet, Yücel, Sefa, Hidayet, Sezer, Olcay, Saffet, Güngör, Durdu, Günay, Ömür, İlkay, Kamuran, Kudret, Satı, Şenel, Elvan, Seyhan, Zülfü, Muhterem and Güner.

In recent years, the names Zeynep, Elif, Yağmur, İrem and Merve have gained increasing popularity as names for girls. The rising favorites for boys’ names are Mehmet, Mustafa, Ahmet, Arda and Yusuf. 

The most widely used surnames across the country are Yılmaz, Kaya, Demir, Şahin and Çelik.

The most-favored names for streets, avenues and squares are Atatürk, Cumhuriyet, Fatih, Gül, Menekşe, Lale, Karanfil, İnönü and İstiklal, and the most-used village names in the country are Yeniköy, Dereköy, Yeşilköy, Yenice, Ortaköy, Yeşilyurt, Karacaören, Akpınar, Karaağaç and Çamlıca, according to the report.