"Zeynep" has once again topped the list of most popular names for Turkish baby girls in 2016, according to information obtained from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) and the Population Directorate.
The name Zeynep has taken first place every year since 2000, with the exception of 2006, when it was usurped by "Elif," only to retake the top spot the following year.
Zeynep was the name of the prophet Muhammad's eldest daughter, and it means "Father's Jewelry" or "precious gems" in Arabic.
Elif was Turkey's second most popular baby girl name in 2016, followed by Hiranur, Defne, Miray, Azra, and Zehra.
For baby boys, Yusuf was the preferred name of parents in 2016, followed by Eymen, Ömer, Mustafa, Miraç, Berat, Ahmet, Hamza and Mehmet.
Yusuf is a Quranic name, and refers to one of the prophets. It is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew name Yossef and the English name Joseph.
