Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 69

Akalan

Akalan /akaˈɫan/

“white clearing”1

Letters / syllables
6 / 3
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
A
Contents§1–§9
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Notable people
  7. §7Sources
  8. §8Questions
  9. §9Related

How do you pronounce Akalan?

Akalan

IPA /akaˈɫan/

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

What does the surname Akalan mean?

Ak, “white”, joins alan, “open ground; a clearing in the forest”: “white clearing, white plain”. Alan goes back to Proto-Common Turkic *alaŋ. There are villages named Akalan, but no source ties the surname to a particular one.1,2

Grammar Compound: ak + alan.

That Akalan goes back to ak and alan is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

What is Akalan made of?

Akalan breaks into 2 parts: ak (white) + alan (open ground, clearing).

Akalan + first element ak white TURKIC ak “white” root alan open ground, clearing TURKIC alan “open ground; glade,clearing” Akalan ak first element white ak TURKIC “white” alan root open ground, clearing alan TURKIC “open ground; glade, clearing”
Akalan: parts and root words
  • ak Turkic — white1
  • alan Turkic — open ground; glade, clearing2

How was the name Akalan formed?

Akalan belongs to the “compound” class of surnames (ak + alan).

Which surnames are related to Akalan?

#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Alan same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Akalan?

  1. Şevval Akalan basketball player 2001–
  2. Cengiz Akalan researcher

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: alan accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: alan 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 Akalan

Q1

What does the surname Akalan mean?

Ak, “white”, joins alan, “open ground; a clearing in the forest”: “white clearing, white plain”. Alan goes back to Proto-Common Turkic *alaŋ. There are villages named Akalan, but no source ties the surname to a particular one.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Akalan?

The root word of Akalan is ak (Turkic): “white”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Akalan?

A·ka·lan, 3 syllables; IPA: /akaˈɫan/.