Elif () is a unisex name that is most commonly given to females in Turkey, but is also popular in other countries such as the Netherlands. It originates from the Turkish word for the first letter of the Ottoman Turkish alphabet or the Arabic script  . Like the shape of the letter, it is thus taken to mean 'slender or upright'. In context of the Turkish War of Independence (1919–23), the genre of s, related to the Black Fatma, represents "ordinary women helping their men" fighting on the fronts.

List of people 
Notable Turkish people (unless otherwise mentioned) with this name include: 
Begünhan Elif Ünsal (born 1993), Turkish archer
Elif Ağca Yarar (born 1984),Turkish retired volleyball player
Elif Sıla Aydın (born 1996),Turkish  handball player
Elif Batuman (born 1977), American author, academic, journalist
Elif Demirezer (born 1992), German-Turkish pop singer and songwriter
Elif Deniz (born 1993),Turkish  footballer
İlayda Elif Elhih, Turkish actress
Elif Elmas (born 1999), Macedonian footballer from North Macedonia
Elif Gülbayrak (born 1988), Turkish volleyball player
Elif Keskin (born 2002), Turkish women's footballer
Elif Kızılkaya (born 1991), curler
Elif Köroğlu, Turkish football referee
Elif Shafak (born 1971), Turkish-British writer and activist
 Elif Şahin (born 2001), Turkish volleyball player
Elif Jale Yeşilırmak (born 1986), Turkish wrestler of Russian origin
Elif Yıldırım (born 1990), Turkish middle-distance runner.

See also 

Alpha (name)

References 

Unisex given names
Turkish unisex given names
Arabic unisex given names