adlar

Adlar is the Turkish word meaning names, functioning as the plural of ad, the term for a name or label used for a person, place, or thing. In Turkish, ad is used for given names as well as place names, and adlar refers to multiple such names. The plural is formed with the suffix -lar, reflecting Turkish vowel harmony (ad → adlar).

In usage, adlar appears when talking about more than one name, such as in lists, discussions of identities, or administrative contexts. For example, one might say “Çocukların adları Ahmet, Elif, ve Deniz” meaning “The children’s names are Ahmet, Elif, and Deniz.” The related pair ad and soyad (given name and surname) is commonly used in references to full names, with adlar used when discussing multiple names together.

In onomastics and everyday language, ad can function as a personal name or a label, and is often distinguished from isim, a more general term for a name or noun. Turkish naming conventions have historically drawn from Turkish roots as well as borrowings from Arabic and Persian, with meanings attached to many given names. In modern usage, names are chosen for personal, cultural, or familial reasons, and the process of naming is typically governed by standard legal and social practices in Turkey.

Across Turkic languages, cognate forms of adlar exist; for example, Azerbaijani uses adlar with the same meaning, illustrating a shared root in the broader Turkic linguistic area.