In the
Republic of Azerbaijan
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...
, an Azerbaijani name typically consists of an ''ad'' (name), ''ata adı'' (
patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor.
Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, al ...
), and ''soyad'' (surname), following Russian/Soviet-influenced naming customs. This article focuses on Azeri names as used in Azerbaijan; elsewhere, conventions for Azeri personal names may differ.
Law
Names are regulated by the Civil Code of
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country, transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Wester ...
. Besides name and surname, patronymics are also in use, but mostly in legal documents, not in daily use. For example, while
Ilham Aliyev
Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003.
The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev ...
is known by his name and surname, his full name is ''Ilham Haydar oghlu Aliyev'' (''oghlu'' means son). Likewise, for women the patronymic form ''qızı'' (meaning daughter, sometimes latinized as ''gyzy'') is used, as in
Sakina Abbas qızı Aliyeva. It is prohibited to give insulting, sarcastic or non-gender names to children by law. Children automatically inherit their parents' surname upon registration. However, children may change their surname suffixes by age of 10 by their own will. Full name change is only accepted after turning 18, when citizens can change their name, surname and even patronymic name as Family Code allows. Same law also allows complete removal of surnames leaving only first name and patronymic names, however their legal surname would change to XXX as a standard, to avoid problems with surname-less passports.
Given names
Azerbaijani names include names with
Turkic (e.g.
Turkish name
A Turkish name consists of an ''ad'' or an ''isim'' (given name; plural ''adlar'' and ''isimler'') and a ''soyadı'' or ''soyisim'' (surname). Turkish names exist in a "full name" format. While there is only one ''soyadı'' (surname) in the full na ...
),
Germanic,
Slavic,
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
,
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
and Caucasian origin. There are several published onomastic dictionaries in Azerbaijani including more than 15.000 names. However, there are officially recorded 180.000 different names in registrar of
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry.
Lists of current ministries of justice
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia)
* Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Jus ...
. Names are mostly gender specific; however, new females names could be invented by adding ''-ə'' to a male name (for example, male name
Ilham Ilham is a unisex name that derives from the Arabic word for inspiration. It is usually a given name, rarely used as a surname. Notable people with the name include:
Given name:
* Ilham Aliyev (born 1961), President of Azerbaijan since 2003
* Ilha ...
could easily be converted into a female name ''Ilhama''). Unlike
Turkish name
A Turkish name consists of an ''ad'' or an ''isim'' (given name; plural ''adlar'' and ''isimler'') and a ''soyadı'' or ''soyisim'' (surname). Turkish names exist in a "full name" format. While there is only one ''soyadı'' (surname) in the full na ...
s, Azeri name are limited by law to one name per child. However, there are compound names like ''Mammadhasan'' (made of Mammad and Hasan) or ''Aliakber'' (made of Ali and Akber).
Most popular names in 2010-2015 period
Surname origins
Highly influenced by Russian naming customs, as use of surnames in Azerbaijan started in the 1900s with the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. T ...
; most surnames end with suffixes ''-ов'' (-ov), ''-ев'' (-yev) meaning "belonging to". Before Russian rule, Azerbaijanis were known usually by their respective clan or tribal names, but
Stalinist
Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...
rule speeded up arbitrary
Russification of these surnames. For example, if brothers Ali, Hasan and Huseyn were children of same father, their children were surnamed respectively Aliyev, Hasanov and Huseynov, which can cause problems in pedigree research.
Clan surnames
Certain surnames derives from clan names of old nobility such as
Safavi,
Bakikhanov and others. Most of these were already adopted by nobility in early stages of
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. T ...
domination in Caucasus. Older surnames also have suffix ''-ski'' like
Shikhlynski or
Hajinsky. Others mostly incorporate noble titles like ''bey'' or ''khan'' with addition of suffixes like ''-ov'' or ''-li'' (for instance, ''Rustamkhanli'' or ''Amirkhanov'').
Profession surnames
Such surnames were historically derived from profession of progenitor of family. For example,
Sarkarov would mean that progenitor of family was a tax collector.
Toponymic surnames
This type of surnames are made up with person's birthplace. For example,
Seyid Azim Shirvani was born in
Shirvan
Shirvan (from fa, شروان, translit=Shirvān; az, Şirvan; Tat: ''Şirvan''), also spelled as Sharvān, Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical Iranian region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both pre-Islam ...
.
Suffixes
Besides -ov and -yev, there are other surname suffixes: ''-li
4'', ''-zadeh'', ''-soy'' and ''-gil''. Adopted from
Slavic naming customs, ''-ov/-yev'' is gender specific suffix (for females, these would be ''-ova/-yeva''. However, the rest are unisex. Least popular and relatively new suffixes are ''-soy'' and ''-gil''. Patronymic names can also be converted into surnames. For example, if desired, ''Ali Huseyn oghlu'' (meaning ''Huseyn's son Ali'') can be converted into full name like ''Ali Huseynoghlu'' but his descendants will carry surname ''Huseynoghlu'' as well, even if their father is not named Huseyn.
Suffixless surnames
Much like
Turkish name
A Turkish name consists of an ''ad'' or an ''isim'' (given name; plural ''adlar'' and ''isimler'') and a ''soyadı'' or ''soyisim'' (surname). Turkish names exist in a "full name" format. While there is only one ''soyadı'' (surname) in the full na ...
s Azerbaijani law also accepts suffixless surnames, exceptions are surnames including noble titles like ''Agha, Khan'' or ''Bey''.
Specific cases
Children born out of wedlock can still bear surnames of their biological parents even if they are not married, they have same rights as any other children. If father is not known, any children will carry their matrineal surname.
Republic of Azerbaijan, Family Code 44-48
/ref>
Minority names
There are several law prohibitions for names, but none of those apply to ethnic minorities and they are free to use names according to their cultures. This means ethnic Azerbaijanis cannot name their daughters Elizabeth or their sons George but ethnic Russian citizens can.
See also
* Tatar name
* Turkish name
A Turkish name consists of an ''ad'' or an ''isim'' (given name; plural ''adlar'' and ''isimler'') and a ''soyadı'' or ''soyisim'' (surname). Turkish names exist in a "full name" format. While there is only one ''soyadı'' (surname) in the full na ...
References
{{Personal names in various cultures
Names by culture