The name really does come from the tree

Söğüt takes its name from the willow tree (söğüt in Turkish), which grows abundantly in the area. Where place names are concerned, an explanation this direct is unusual.

Tree and water

The willow likes water; it clusters along streams and in damp ground. A settlement named after willows tells you there was water there. In a semi-nomadic way of life, water is among the first things looked for when choosing winter quarters: water, pasture, shelter.

So the town's name is in fact a short answer to why people settled here at all.

Its name in antiquity

Like most settlements in the region, Söğüt also had a name in antiquity; the sources give it as Thebasion. There is no etymological link between the ancient name and today's Turkish one — the one did not grow out of the other, it replaced it.

This is common in the region of Bithynia: with Turkmen settlement many places took a new, descriptive Turkish name, and the old one fell out of use.

Today

The tree keeps its place in the district's visual identity. The willow leaf and the Kayı mark are the two symbols most often used by the town.