Category: Ottoman Turkish Names
Jewish Names
Janissaries’ Names
In September 2021, the head of the Osmanlı Mehter Takımı, the SCA’s Janissary band, asked me to “share a list of appropriate names for our Janissaries to possibly choose from in developing personas”. He was probably referring to my page of names of Muslim men from Sivas province, but that…
The Women of Bursa, 1580-1583
These names were extracted from the 1580-1583 court records for the city of Bursa, Turkey. They include the names of free Muslim women, free ethnic Greek women, and suspected or confirmed enslaved Muslim women. Muslim Women These names belonged to Muslim women who appear to have been free-born. Most were…
Glossary of Useful Terms
There’s plenty of data out there if you know what to put into Google… and if you speak Turkish. These are some of the words that unlock Google. ana – mother avrat – woman involved in immoral activities azadli – freed slave bikr-i bâliğa – unmarried woman cariye – female slave…
Ottoman Turkish Female Nicknames
One of [the beauties] is Cotton ‘Ayni, a jasmine breastHer skin, like cotton, is delicate and moistHer body is a fresh sapling in the soul’s gardenHer mouth, of purest water, is a fountainI said, “Come to my breast,” said the heartbreaker,“What have fire and cotton to do together?” . —…
Jewish Men’s Names in 16th-Century Turkey
Almost all of the names on this list are the names of the deceased, and the date is the Georgian year in which they died. However, in the case of rare names, or names that had no deceased before the year 1600, I drew names and dates from the list…
Men’s Nicknames
Personal Characteristics Professions Replacements for Names These nicknames completely replaced a man’s personal name. Patronymics Although these nicknames refer to the bearer as the son (-oğlu or -zâde) of another person, they do not contain the father’s real name. For example, Mahmud Bey b. Kasım was nicknamed Hançerlizâde, “son of…
Notes on Ottoman Turkish Names
This is a dumping ground for my general observations. Freeborn Muslim Names Name frequencies: As in contemporary Europe, a small number of names were borne by a large number of people, with a significant long tail of less common names. Name origins: The Turkish Muslim name pool was drawn from…
Jewish Women’s Names in 16th-/17th-Century Istanbul
In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the Istanbul area was home to a variety of Jewish communities: Greek-speaking Romaniote Jews, who had lived in the city since the days of Byzantium; Karaites; Ashkenazim; and Sephardim. The names of the Jewish women of Istanbul reflect this mixture: Castilian, Portuguese,…