Geographical name changes in Turkey name changes have continued to retain their Greek origins. For example, the modern name "İzmir" derives from the former Greek name Σμύρνη "Smyrna", through the first two syllables of the phrase "εις Σμύρνην" (pronounced "is Smirnin"), which means "to Smyrna" in Greek. A similar etymology also applies to other Turkish cities with former Greek names, such as İznik (from the phrase "is Nikaean", meaning "to Nicaea"), Istanbul (from the phrase "is tan Polin" or "to the City"), or even for the Greek island of Kos, called "İstanköy" in Turkish. Nişanyan estimates that 4,200 Greek geographical locations have been changed, the
Greek name Greek name In the modern world, personal names among people of Greek language and culture generally consist of a given name, a patronymic and a family name. Ancient Greeks generally had a single name, often qualified with a patronymic, a clan or tribe, or a place of origin. Married women were identified by the name of their husbands, not their fathers. Hereditary family names or surnames began to be used by élites in the Byzantine period. Well into the 9th century, they were rare. But by the 11th and 12th centuries, élite families often used family names. Family names came