Men’s Nicknames

Personal Characteristics

• Ağsak, “lame” [Adana 182]
• Ak, “white”
  • Ak Koca [Adana 195]
• Akıllı, Akıllu, “smart” [Adana 182]
• Arık
  • Arık Ali [Adana 182]
• Aşık, Isık, “light”
  • Aşık Ahmed (Isık Ahmed) [Adana 197]
  • Aşık Halil [Adana 197]
• Bacağı Uzun, ‘long legs” [Adana 182]
• Başı Kara, “black head” [Adana 182]
• Boynu Eğri, “curved neck” [Adana 182]
• Boz, “gray”
  • Boz Ali [Adana 201]
• Bozkara, “black and white”
  • Bozkara Ramazan [Adana 201]
• Büyük, “big”
  • Bıyık Ahmed [Adana 201]
• Çatal, “fork”
  • Çatal Hüseyin [Adana 204]
• Çarık, “sandal,” possibly referring to a sandal-maker
  • Çarık Mehmed [Adana 204]
• Çeküc, “hammer”
  • Çeküc Mehmed [Adana 204]
• Cevrik
  • Cevrik Receb [Adana 204]
• Cöbek, “baboon” (?)
  • Cöbek Kulaksız [Adana 205]
• Çulha, “broadcloth”
  • Çulha Minnet [Adana 205]
• Dağıl
  • Dağıl Mehmed [Adana 205]
• Dîvâne
  • Dîvâne Yakub [TOP02 87]
• Erdinç, possibly “robust”
  • Erdinç İbrahim [Adana 210]
• Ensesi Yüksek, “high neck” [Adana 210]
• Gök, “blue”
• Gökce, “sky blue”
• Kara, “dark” (the most popular nickname)
• Karaca, “roebuck”
• Kel, “bald”
• Kızıl, “red”
• Köpek, “dog”
• Kör, “blind”
• Köse, “beardless”
• Koyun, “sheep”
• Küçük, “little”
• Kürd
• Mamik, “puzzle”
• Mascı
• Minik, “tiny”
• öküz, “ox”
• Pir, “old”
• Renk, “color”
• Sağır, “deaf”
• Sarı, Saru, “yellow, blond”
• Sarıklı, “turbaned”
• şişmşek, possibly “one who puffs”
• Taklid, “imitation”
• Teke, “goat”
• Tekür, possibly “single”
• Tolu
• Varsak

Professions

• Ases, “night watchman”
  • Ases Memi b. İbrahim [TOP02]
  • Ases Alagöz [TOP02 73]
  • Ases Sefer [TOP02 78]
• Bağcı [Adana 199]
• Börekçi, “börek-maker”
  • Börekçi Veli [USK05]
• Börkcü
  • Börkçü Ali [Adana 202]
• Deli, Delü, “crazy.” Can be a personal characteristic or an indication that the man is a Deli in the Janissaries.
• Demirci, Demürci, “ironworker, blacksmith”
  • Demürci Halil [Adana 206]
• Korucu, “forester”
  • Âişe bt. Korucu Hamza [BAL01]
• Koyuncu, “sheep farmer” (not shepherd)
• Oyucı
  • Oyucı Memi [TOP02 73]
• Papuçcu, “babouche-maker, shoemaker”
  • Papuçcu Derviş [TOP02 81]
• Saraç, “saddler”
  • Saraç Ahmed b. Hasan [USK05]
• Sarraf, “moneychanger”
  • Sarraf Mustafa b. Abdullah [TOP02 242]
  • Sarraf Ahmed [TOP02 79]
• Tatar
  • Tatar Ferhad [USK05]

Replacements for Names

These nicknames completely replaced a man’s personal name.

• Bölükbaşı
  • Bölükbaşı dimekle ma‘rûf Mehmed b. Mahmud [RUM21]
• Çatal Ağa
  • Çatal Ağa demekle ma‘rûf Sinan Bey b. Abdullah [TOP02]
• Hanakalmaz
  • Hanakalmaz demekle ma‘rûf Mehmed Reis b. Mustafa [BAL02]
• Kızkadı
  • Kızkadı dimekle ma‘rûf Mehmed b. Hamid [RUM21 89]
• Yelkovan
  • Yelkovan dimekle ma‘rûf Ali Reis [RUM21 99]

Patronymics

Although these nicknames refer to the bearer as the son (-oğlu or -zâde) of another person, they do not contain the father’s real name. For example, Mahmud Bey b. Kasım was nicknamed Hançerlizâde, “son of Hançerli,” which could be a reference to Kasım’s profession.

• Korucuoğlu, “son of the forester”
  • Korucuoğlu Ahmed [TOP02 63]
• Hançerlizâde, “son of the dagger wielder”
  • Hançerlizâde dimekle ma‘rûf Mahmud Bey b. Kasım [RUM21 137]
• Karanohudzâde, “son of the black chickpea”
  • Karanohudzâde dimekle ma‘rûf Musli Çavuş [RUM21 121]