Mehmed (modern
Turkish:
Mehmet) is the most common Turkish form of the
Arabic name
Muhammad (
Muhammed and
Muhammet are also used, though considerably less) and gains its significance from being the name of
Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. Originally the intermediary vowels in the Arabic
Muhammed were completed with an
e, which spelled
Mehemed, and the name lost a vowel over time.
Final devoicing of
d to
t is a regular process in Turkish. The prophet himself is referred to in Turkish using the full version,
Muhammed.