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…

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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…

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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…

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