Turkish court rejects single-letter name change request
The Constitutional Court of Turkey ruled that there was no violation of rights in the case of an individual who wanted to change their first name to "B" and last name to "Elif." The court rejected the appeal because a single-letter first name could disrupt public order. The decision, published in the Official Gazette, details how the citizen, identified as H.Y., filed a lawsuit to change their name to “B” and their surname to “Elif.”
cumhuriyet.com.trThe court inquired with the Directorate General of Population and Citizenship Affairs and the Turkish Language Association about the feasibility of adopting "B" as a first name. Both institutions responded that a name consisting of only one letter was not appropriate. H.Y. was asked if they only wanted to change their surname, but they insisted on changing both their first and last names to "B Elif," leading to the rejection of their case.
The court emphasized that "a single-letter name would not sufficiently identify and distinguish the applicant from other individuals in society and could lead to confusion in their private life and official correspondence." H.Y. argued that there was no regulation defining the minimum number of letters in a name and brought the issue to the Constitutional Court.
Upon review, the Constitutional Court determined that there was no violation of rights. The court's decision pointed out that the rejection was based on the potential disruption of public order by the use of a single-letter name. The ruling highlighted that "the court did not exercise its discretion arbitrarily and did not prevent the applicant from acquiring a name according to their culture, but merely imposed a limitation by stating that a single-letter name was contrary to the public interest."