| Pronunciation | Turkish: [mehˈmet] Bosnian: [ˈmɛxmɛd] |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Language(s) | Turkish, Bosnian, Albanian, Crimean Tatar |
| Origin | |
| Meaning | Muhammad |
| Other names | |
| Alternative spelling | Mehmet |
| Derived | Muḥammad, مُحَمَّد, from Ḥammada, "Praise", حَمَّدَ |
| Related names | Muhammad, Mohd, Mahmud, Mamadou, Ma, Mu |
Mehmed (modern Turkish: Mehmet) is the most common Turkish form of the Arabic male name Muhammad (Arabic: محمد) (Muhammed and Muhammet are also used, though considerably less) and gains its significance from being the name of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. Originally the intermediary vowels in the Arabic Muhammad were completed with an e in adaptation to Turkish phonotactics, which spelled Mehemmed, Mehemed, Mehmed and the name lost the central e over time. Final devoicing of d to t is a regular process in Turkish. The prophet himself is referred to in Turkish using the archaic version, Muhammed.
The name Mehmet also often appears in derived compound names. The name is also prevalent in former Ottoman territories, particularly among Balkan Muslims in Albania, Bosnia and Kosovo. The name is also commonly used in Turkish culture in the form of Mehmetçik, meaning little Mehmet, for unranked soldiers.