It is located on the Atrek River (Turkmen: Etrek derýasy) bordering on Iran.

The city's and district's name was changed to Etrek in December 1999 by Parliamentary Resolution HM-63.

[1] Atanyyazow postulates that the name "Etrek" comes from the Turkic word atrau, which refers to the shore of a body of water.

[2] Atanyyazow further makes clear that the prefix gyzyl- was added during the Soviet period as a reference to the revolutionary color "red".

[6] The city and its district are included in the list of frontier areas of Turkmenistan subject to border service control.