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| A wall graffiti written by activists in Ardabil city: "Children's names are not in a single language." |
Shahran Rasouli, the head of the Ardabil Provincial Registration Department, revealed that Turkish names are among the most popular choices for children by Azerbaijani families in the province.
According to the official, names such as Araz, Ayhan, Orhan, Elisaan, Elvin, and Mahlin are among the popular names registered by families for their children in the province.
In addition to these Turkish names, names like Canan, Nefes, Nura, Ava, and Emirali are also among the popular ones, the official stated.
The head of the Ardabil Registration Department also mentioned that there are "no restrictions" on the registration of children’s names and that only "foreign names" are not allowed for registration.
Despite these statements from the official, there have been reports in Iranian Azerbaijan that sometimes parents are unable to register their children's names in Turkish when applying for national identity cards. Some Azerbaijani children are unable to obtain their identity cards for months or even years, and as a result, are deprived of many social services.
When parents request national identity cards for their children with Turkish names and their request is not accepted, they often have to go through lengthy administrative procedures and eventually appeal to the court. If the court rules in favor of the family, they can obtain a national identity card for their child with the Turkish name. In some cases, however, courts have ruled in favor of the Registration Department, and families are deprived of their children's identity cards and, consequently, social services until they choose another name.
Iran's Registration Department has published a list of approved names and suggests that families select one of these names for their children. Some national activists argue that although the approved list includes non-Iranian names, certain Turkish names are rejected under the pretext of being foreign.
Earlier, the secretary of the Public Culture Council, Majid Imami, stated in a television program that in recent years, the number of "non-Iranian and non-Islamic" names has increased in the country, with many of these names being "Kyrgyz and Mongolian."
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Ərdəbil vilayətində türk adlar ailələrin övladlarına ən çox seçdiyi adlar sırasında yer alıb