In 2025, among the names given to girls born in Azerbaijan, the name Melisa ranks first. Among the top ten popular girl names are Nilay, Aylin, and Ayla. In the top ten popular boy names, the name Miran can be found.
Melisa, Nilay, Aylin, Ayla, Miran... These are non-traditional names. What is the reason for such names being among the popular ones?
Regarding the topic, Medianews.az spoke with Aydın Xan Əbilov, the chairman of the New Writers and Artists Public Union, creator of the Mir Jalal Pashayev National Virtual-Electronic Library portal www.kitabxana.net, presidential scholarship holder, writer-culturologist, who stated that Azerbaijani society has always been inclined towards foreign films, products, names, and generally many things coming from abroad. Expressing that he does not like foreign names being given to children, Aydın Xan Əbilov added: “It is true that name creation is always alive and active. In the 20th century, we became acquainted with new name creation through poets and writers like Jafar Jabbarly, Samed Vurgun, Rasul Rza, and later with writers like Anar Rzayev, Elchin Afandiyev, Akram Aylisli. Thanks to this, there was a return to purely Azerbaijani and partially old Turkish names. During the Soviet era, we witnessed children being named with names like Inqilab, Kolkhoz, October. Recently, we meet quite a few parents who name their children after heroes of foreign feature films. The state has adopted certain normative acts regarding names. These acts include recommendations to parents to give Azerbaijani names to their children.”
The writer-culturologist noted that the last book on Azerbaijani names was published several years ago: “But I think that the book on names should be updated frequently. Moreover, it is very likely that there is an electronic database regarding national names at the Ministry of Justice. Parents who want to choose a name for their children should first be presented with a catalog of these national names. We understand that choosing a name for one’s child is the right of the parent. And parents can also participate in creating new names. But why is there a need for strange and mostly foreign names overlapping with Azerbaijani ones? Would it not be better to use national names? There are many names that have already gained citizenship, names given to both girls and boys that sound pleasant and beautiful to our ears. At the same time, let us not forget that names can also influence the future destiny of a child. Names have an energetic feeling themselves. Sometimes you see a child being embarrassed or ashamed of their own name. To avoid this, it is advisable to use more serious names.”
Linking the problems in name creation to some responsible people – officials studying abroad in foreign countries, and their limited ideas concerning Azerbaijani names, Aydın Xan Əbilov said: “Some have attended English kindergartens and schools from childhood and then studied abroad. Besides, we see that Azerbaijani children whose parents married foreigners are given foreign names. Of course, we treat everyone with respect. We accept that in Azerbaijan, not only Turks live but also national minorities, foreigners, and people coming from abroad. Mixed marriages are common. In such families, we generally consider it normal for children to be given names we are not accustomed to. Maybe those names will become nationalized and rooted in our language in the future. Although most Azerbaijani names are of Turk-Azerbaijani origin, we also have Arabic, Persian, Russian, and European origin names. Many of them sounded foreign to our ears and provoked objections when first given to children. But later, the objections subsided, and some of these names gained copyright and were given to more children."
Another issue concerning names is the excessive naming of children with religious names. We see that even the original forms of Arabic and Persian names are given to Azerbaijani children without adapting them to our language. In my opinion, this should be subject to cultural and public discussions and debates. Officials, intellectuals, writers, linguists should be involved in these debates. Suggestions related to names from various social groups should be listened to on TV channels and social networks, and as much as possible, a consensus should be reached. A name bank should be created, and this bank should not be closed. Access to the name bank should be somewhat free so that more names can be collected there. Names also mean the development of language. They indicate the richness of the language's lexicon. Names also reflect the characteristics of our historical, social, political, economic, and cultural relations. For example, nowadays, we often encounter names borrowed from Turkish series and cartoons because these series and cartoons are widely shown, consequently becoming familiar and normalized to our people’s ears, and parents choose those names when their children are born. Generally speaking, we cannot take very strict administrative measures regarding names. We should try to solve the problems mainly through recommendations and enlightenment. If there is cultural influence, I think the problems will find a solution.”
Nailə Qasımova,
Medianews.az
Note: The article was prepared on the subject of “Coverage of Gender, Family, and Demography Issues” with the financial support of the Media Development Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan and in accordance with the competition conditions.
