The Influence of Geography on the Names of Villages in Salihli District

The place names have major roles in identifying and promoting the geographical, historical and general character of a place. history, geography, social groups and culture play an important role on the place names. it is useful to focus on village and town names because they are important sources in terms of providing information about historical development of the settlements and geographical environment in old times. studies about place names are significant in terms of demonstrating historical, sociocultural and socio-economic structure and geography of a settlement. in the study area (salihli district), many villages are named after families and their origins such as turkish tribes, communities and clans. such names are very important to determine the population movements in salihli and lighting the recent history of settlement policies in the district. naming villages by the influence of physical and geographic characteristics of the place shows the interaction between people and these places. human and economic geography is emerging as a result of the settlement of this situation.