‘Alparslan‘ most popular name for boys, ‘Zeynep‘ for girls

ISTANBUL

The most popular name given to boys born in 2022 was “Alparslan,” while “Zeynep” became the most preferred name for newborn girls, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) has announced.

According to TÜİK’S 2022 children statistics, “Yusuf” and “Miraç” followed the most used name, “Alparslan.”

More than 8,300 of newborn male babies were named “Alparslan” in 2022.

Regarding the names for baby girls, the report revealed that “Asel” and “Defne” came after “Zeynep” in most popular names.

Apart from newborn babies, “Yusuf,” “Mustafa” and “Mehmet” were the most used boy names among children aged 0-17 in 2022.

The report indicated that the most popular girl names in the same age group were “Zeynep,” “Elif” and “Yağmur,” respectively.
The data also revealed that as of the end of 2022, more than 22.5 million of nearly-85-million population of the country consisted of children.

Child population made up 26.5 percent of the whole population.

TÜİK predicted that the ratio of children to the total population will gradually decrease, stating that this figure will decline to 25.6 percent in 2030 and 23.3 percent in 2040.

Analyzing the child population ratios within the population of the provinces, the city with the highest child ratio in 2022 was the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa with 44.9 percent.

Some 41.4 percent of the total population in Şırnak, another southeastern city, consisted of children in 2022, becoming the second province in this regard.

The eastern province of Ağrı followed the two southeastern cities.

On the other hand, the province with the lowest child population rate was the eastern province of Tunceli with 16.9 percent.

In the analysis made in terms of age groups, the report revealed that the most populated age group among children is 5-9.

While 29.4 percent of the children were included in this age group, the range with the least number of children was 15-17.

According to the formal education statistic of the Education Ministry, the schooling rate for 5-year-old children increased from 56.9 to 81.6 percent compared to the previous education period, showing a considerable rise.

The secondary education completion rate of children also increased from 62.9 to 77.9 percent.

A child survey carried out in the 13-17 age group, 96.7 of children stated that they feel themselves strongly or moderately happy.