# Turkic Languages: Moon Lady



## Skatinginbc

It has been hypothesized that the mother of Li Bai (701 – 762, a Chinese  poet of the Tang Dynasty), was of Turkic ethnicity.  Her name in  Chinese means "Moon Lady", "Moon Girl" or "Moon-like beautiful woman".  I  would like to know if such a Turkic name was possible in the 8th  century.  It has to be Turkic in origin, not an Iranian loan like  "Mahbanu".  I thought of Ai Khanum but I had a hard time to prove that  the word khanum was indeed present then.  Does anyone here have an idea  or suggestion regarding what her Turkic name could be?    
Thanks for your help in advance.   

_< No longer necessary >_


----------



## SARI7

Aykız (moon girl literal meaning), Ayhanım (moon lady). noone called with these names  -at least- in today's Turkey. but similar names deriving from the same intention and meaning are common. For instance there are many Ayten (whose skin is as white as moon), Aygül (moon rose literal meaning), Ayfer (as lumineaux as moon), etc.
Cheers


----------



## chrysalid

I suppose we need a historian to get the correct answer. There is one other name common in Kazakhstan (and Kyrgyzstan I suppose) : Aybike. You come across that name in Turkey as well. Ay is moon and bike is a Mongolian word as far as I know and functions as a suffix for female names.


----------



## Skatinginbc

Thanks for the responses.  I really appreciate your help.


----------

