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HelpRe: Sibel
in reply to a message by Adenydd
Same as you, I'm not usually fond of that -bel ending that's so popular right now.
However, there are a few exceptions - and Sibel is one of them.
It's one of my favourite Turkish names, and yes, it's indeed rather common among the Turkish community here, albeit not on babies as far as I know.
I'm not convinced it really means "prophetess", though. To me, it looks more like some of those sites might have "borrowed" this meaning from Sibyl (another name that I love by the way).
Some of my - fairly trustworthy - name books say that it's a Turkish name of uncertain origin and meaning. They suggest, however, that there are two theories concerning its meaning:
it could mean "raindrop (caught between sky and earth)" or else it could go back to an ancient Turkish fertility goddess and mean "spike of wheat".
I'm not sure if those are correct either but well... I thought I'd share nonetheless ;-)
However, there are a few exceptions - and Sibel is one of them.
It's one of my favourite Turkish names, and yes, it's indeed rather common among the Turkish community here, albeit not on babies as far as I know.
I'm not convinced it really means "prophetess", though. To me, it looks more like some of those sites might have "borrowed" this meaning from Sibyl (another name that I love by the way).
Some of my - fairly trustworthy - name books say that it's a Turkish name of uncertain origin and meaning. They suggest, however, that there are two theories concerning its meaning:
it could mean "raindrop (caught between sky and earth)" or else it could go back to an ancient Turkish fertility goddess and mean "spike of wheat".
I'm not sure if those are correct either but well... I thought I'd share nonetheless ;-)
This message was edited 3/30/2012, 2:30 PM
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My theory on Sibel is that the "goddess" mentioned might have been Cybele - the view of her by the ancient Anatolians was probably different from how the Greeks portrayed her.
If that's the case, then it shows the fact that Turkey borrows a lot of its names from other languages - mostly Arabic and Persian, but sometimes other sources (the Turkish name Defne is indeed borrowed from the Greek Daphne).
Sometimes names of pre-Christian/pre-Islamic deities are still used. For example, I heard the name Ninsun on a modern Assyrian Christian. Ninsun was the name of a Mesopotamian goddess - she was the mother of Gilgamesh. Names may be still considered part of a culture even after conversion to Christianity or Islam.
If that's the case, then it shows the fact that Turkey borrows a lot of its names from other languages - mostly Arabic and Persian, but sometimes other sources (the Turkish name Defne is indeed borrowed from the Greek Daphne).
Sometimes names of pre-Christian/pre-Islamic deities are still used. For example, I heard the name Ninsun on a modern Assyrian Christian. Ninsun was the name of a Mesopotamian goddess - she was the mother of Gilgamesh. Names may be still considered part of a culture even after conversion to Christianity or Islam.
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Would you believe me if I told you that I actually was thinking Cybele might be the goddess in question? ;-)
Unfortunately, the book didn't give any further information and as I'm far from being an expert on Turkish names, I figured for once I'd rather not stick my neck out and mention Cybele.
I'm still trying to find out if the Turkish Suzan really is derived from a Persian word for "fiery; ardent; burning". You don't happen to have any information on that name by any chance?
Unfortunately, the book didn't give any further information and as I'm far from being an expert on Turkish names, I figured for once I'd rather not stick my neck out and mention Cybele.
I'm still trying to find out if the Turkish Suzan really is derived from a Persian word for "fiery; ardent; burning". You don't happen to have any information on that name by any chance?
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Thanks for the information! Now that I remember Sibyl's origins it looks less likely that the name has the oracle / prophetess meaning. Still a nice name, nonetheless, and the theories are interesting and positive.
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Interesting theories, thanks for sharing!
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