In the past year 2025, 889,558 babies were born in Turkey, according to data from the General Directorate of “Population and Citizenship“ at the Ministry of Interior.
The gender ratio is almost half, with a slight preponderance for boys – 456,932 against 432,660 girls.
According to statistics, the most popular names given to babies last year were Alparslan for boys and Alya for girls.
8,953 girls were named Alya (pronounced Aliya in Turkish, Alya - ed.) which is almost one tenth of all babies.
Alya is the name of the main character in the cult Turkish series “Distant City“, which is also broadcast on Bulgarian television. This is a dramatic story about the Canadian Alya Albora, who remains a young widow and arrives in Mardin, the hometown of her late husband Albora in southeastern Turkey, with her son Deniz. There, however, she finds herself trapped and in order to survive with her son, she is forced to fight hardships and cruel tribal customs. The series is so popular in Turkey that in 2025, over 3 million tourists flocked to the picturesque towns of Mardin and Midyat, not far from the Syrian border, where the series is filmed.
This is currently the highest-rated series on Turkish television, which broadcasts it, in the last 15 years, according to rating agencies.
According to the Turkish Language Council (TDK), the name Alya is of Arabic origin and means “sublimity, greatness“.
In 2024, the championship was held by the name Defne. The name is of Greek origin and means “olive branch“. In 2025, it is in second place with 7,873 bearers. In third place, with 7,892 bearers, is Gökçe – a name of Turkish origin, meaning “blue as the sky, bright and beautiful“.
Zeynep, Asel, Umay, Asya, Elisa, Duru and Elif are also among the popular names for girls born last year in Turkey.
Among boys, the first place in terms of the number of newborn babies is the name Alparslan, with 7,651 children named.
Before that, in 2024, Alparslan was also the most popular name for newborn boys.
Alparslan is an ancient name that has become famous in our time due to the revival of historical works and series.
According to historical annals, this is the name of the second sultan of the Seljuk Empire and the winner of the army of the Byzantine emperor Romanos IV Diogenes at Malazgirt (Manzikert) in 1071. The etymological meaning is “brave, brave and hearty man“.
Following is Göktug, which means honor and strength, with which 6,109 babies were baptized, and Metehan – brave, brave, with 5,492 boys.
Yusuf, Kerem, Miran, Ömer Asaf, Atlas and Ömer were also among the popular names last year.