76% Support the Decision To Change Name From Turkey to Türkiye

Recently, the Turkish government requested the United Nations to change Turkey’s official name from ‘Turkey’ to ‘Türkiye’. Furthermore, the key reason behind Turkey’s name change is to ‘rebrand’ the country. This is due to the possible ‘negative connotations associated with the bird of the same name’.  However, the event left many to speculate along with others questioning whether it is acceptable for a country to change its name. The event has gathered public interest and attention with many having their own opinions on Turkey’s official name.

Accordingly, Real Research — the online survey app launched a survey on changing Turkey’s name to Türkiye. Specifically, the survey aims to find the reason why the country is changing its name from Turkey to Türkiye and the public’s opinion on it. Here are the results.

Highlights

• Over 80% of respondents are aware of Turkey changing its name.
• 51% say its highly likely that changing a country’s name determines its identity
• 14% believe that the name change represents Türkiye culture and values better.

Respondents’ Awareness of Turkey’s Official Name Change

The survey on changing Turkey’s Official Name to Türkiye asks about respondents’ awareness regarding this news. In response, 80.83% of respondents say yes, and 19.17% say no.

Key Reason Behind Turkey’s Name Change

Accordingly, the survey asks respondents, ‘what is the key reason behind Turkey’s name change?’ In response, the majority 56.29% of respondents say to simply rebrand the country.

Moreover, 14.78% of respondents are unsure. Furthermore, 13.62% of respondents replied that the name change represents ‘Türkiye’ culture and values better. Whereas, others suggest that it wants to be recognized for how it called itself in Turkish in 1923 after its independence.

On the other hand, 3.93% of respondents say Turkey did it to dissociate itself from the bird of the same name. Finally, 3.88% of respondents believe it was done to evade negative connotations with the definition of the word ‘turkey’.

Verdict on Turkey Changing its Name to Türkiye

Next, the survey asks respondents if changing a country’s name should be acceptable. 56.75% said ‘yes, countries are free to choose the way they want to be named’. 13.41% also replied ‘yes, if countries find negative implications with the name’. However, 5.81% of the respondents feel ‘no, the new name can be confusing or difficult to pronounce’. Another 3.77% think ‘no, it requires much engagement to reflect the change’. 

Accordingly, the survey asks respondents how likely is it that changing a country’s name will strongly determine the country’s identity. 50.25% say highly likely, while 14.30% are neutral, yet 13.10% say it is somewhat likely. Whereas 3.87% think it is somewhat unlikely, and 3.05% say it is highly unlikely to determine a country’s identity.

To conclude, the survey asks respondents if they are for or against the name change from Turkey to Türkiye. All 75.73% are for this decision. On the other hand, 24.27% are against Turkey changing its name.