Turkey changes its name to Türkiye to avoid confusion with bird of same name

Turkey has began a re-branding exercise of the country’s name following last month’s communique by President Erdogan who says the word ‘Türkiye’ not ‘Turkey’ represents and “expresses the culture, civilisation and values of the Turkish nation in the best way,” reports TRT World.

The name change affects the English spelling of the country’s name which in Turkish is spelt as ‘Türkiye’ anyway, and as the article mentions,  will help avoid the confusion caused by the bird of the same name.

“Type ‘Turkey’ into Google, and you will get a muddled set of images, articles, and dictionary definitions that conflate the country with Meleagris – otherwise known as the turkey, a large bird native to North America – which is famous for being served on Christmas menus or Thanksgiving dinners.

“In this context, the phrase “Made in Türkiye” is now being used instead of “Made in Turkey” on our export products, which are the pride of our country in international trade.”

In January 2020, the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM) and umbrella organisation of Turkish exports announced that it would use “Made in Turkiye” on all its labels in a bid to standardise branding and the identity of Turkish businesses on the international stage.