Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 50

Afacan

Afacan /afaˈdʒan/

“clever and mischievous”2

Letters / syllables
6 / 3
Formation
Adjective
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
A
Contents§1–§8
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Notable people
  6. §6Sources
  7. §7Questions
  8. §8Related

How do you pronounce Afacan?

Afacan

IPA /afaˈdʒan/

The stress usually falls on syllable 3 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.

What does the surname Afacan mean?

Afacan describes a clever, mischievous child, a word said with affection more than annoyance. Older dictionaries derive it from the Persian phrase âfat-i jân, “bane of one’s life”. Nişanyan, however, states that its origin is not known.2

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. According to the Redhouse and Kelekian dictionaries it comes from Persian âfat-i jân, “bane of one’s life”.
  2. According to Nişanyan the origin of the word is not known.

Afacan is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Afacan made of?

Afacan is a single root: afacan (afacan: clever and mischievous (child)).

Afacan root afacan afacan: clever andmischievous (child) PERSIAN afacan “clever, mischievouschild; per Redhouse and…” Afacan afacan root afacan: clever and mischievous (child) afacan PERSIAN “clever, mischievous child; perRedhouse and Kelekian from…”
Afacan: parts and root words
  • afacan Persian — clever, mischievous child; per Redhouse and Kelekian from Persian âfat-i jân2

How was the name Afacan formed?

Afacan belongs to the “adjective” class of surnames.

Who are some well-known people named Afacan?

  1. Elçin Afacan actor 1991–
  2. Eser Afacan painter 1953–
  3. Aydın Afacan writer 1964–
  4. Mazhar Afacan businessperson 1940–2006
  5. Serkan Afacan association football player 1972–
  6. Erkan Afacan engineer 1966–
  7. Göksu Afacan researcher
  8. Onur Afacan researcher

People surnamed Afacan as recorded in Wikidata, ordered by the number of Wikipedia language editions.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: afacan accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Wiktionary: afacan accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Afacan

Q1

What does the surname Afacan mean?

Afacan describes a clever, mischievous child, a word said with affection more than annoyance. Older dictionaries derive it from the Persian phrase âfat-i jân, “bane of one’s life”. Nişanyan, however, states that its origin is not known.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Afacan?

The root word of Afacan is afacan (Persian): “clever, mischievous child; per Redhouse and Kelekian from Persian âfat-i jân”. There are 3 competing views on where Afacan comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Afacan?

A·fa·can, 3 syllables; IPA: /afaˈdʒan/.