Many modern given names (such as Deniz, "sea"; or Ülkü, "ideal") are given to newborns of either sex.
Among the common examples of the many unisex names in Turkey include Aytaç, Deniz, Derya, Evren, Evrim, Özgür, and Yücel.
Names are given to babies by their parents and then registered in "The Central Civil Registration System" (MERNIS)[2] while preparing the baby's identity document at the birth registration office of the district's governorship.
Another change is for linguistic reasons such as in the case of Vahdettin (from Vahideddin), Sadettin (from Sa'adeddin), or Nurettin (from Nureddin).
[11] The surname (soyadı) is a single word according to Turkish law such as Akay or Özdemir.
Surnames in Turkey are patrilineal: they pass in the male line from father to his legal children without any change in form.
Turkey has abolished all notions of nobility; thus, there is no noble form or type of surname.
[12] Before this date, the Turkish Code of Civil Law Article 187 required a married woman to compulsorily obtain her husband's surname after the marriage; or otherwise, to use her birth name in front of her husband's name by giving a written application to the marriage officer or the civil registry office.
In 2014, the Constitutional Court ruled that prohibiting married women from retaining only maiden names is a violation of their rights.