Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 89

Akan

Akan /aˈkan/

“flowing”3

Province lists
11
province top-30s
Letters / syllables
4 / 2
Formation
From a verb
Vowel harmony
back
Contents§1–§11
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Provinces
  7. §7Notable people
  8. §8As a first name
  9. §9Sources
  10. §10Questions
  11. §11Related

How do you pronounce Akan?

Akan

IPA /aˈkan/

The stress usually falls on syllable 2 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.

What does the surname Akan mean?

The -an participle of akmak, “to flow”: “flowing, streaming”. The name evokes vitality and plenty, like water that never stops running. It is related not to the prefix Ak-, “white”, but to the verb akmak, the same root as Akın.3

Grammar Participle of akmak (ak- + -an).

That Akan goes back to akmak is probable rather than proven: the dictionary entry cited supports it.

What is Akan made of?

Akan is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: ak- (akmak: to flow) + -an (participle suffix).

Akan + root ak- akmak: to flow TURKIC akmak “to flow” suffix -an participle suffix Akan ak- root akmak: to flow akmak TURKIC “to flow” -an suffix participle suffix
Akan: parts and root words
  • akmak Turkic — to flow3

How was the name Akan formed?

Akan was formed by adding the suffix -an (“participle suffix”) to the verb stem ak- (“akmak: to flow”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.5

Which surnames are related to Akan?

Akan Akın Akar Akarsu Akmaz Akıcı Akarcalı Akardere Akarnur
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Akın same root – –
02 Akar same root – –
03 Akarsu same root – –
04 Akmaz same root – –
05 Akıcı same root – –
06 Akarcalı same root – –
07 Akardere same root – –
08 Akarnur same root – –

Where in Türkiye is Akan most common?

Akan is outside the national top 30, but it appears in the top-30 list of 1 province; its best rank is 26th in Mardin.1

Adana Adıyaman Afyonkarahisar Ağrı Amasya Ankara Antalya Artvin Aydın Balıkesir Bilecik Bingöl Bitlis Bolu Burdur Bursa Çanakkale Çankırı Çorum Denizli Diyarbakır Edirne Elazığ Erzincan Erzurum Eskişehir Gaziantep Giresun Gümüşhane Hakkari Hatay Isparta Mersin Istanbul Izmir Kars Kastamonu Kayseri Kırklareli Kırşehir Kocaeli Konya Kütahya Malatya Manisa Kahramanmaraş Mardin · rank 26 · 3,312 people Muğla Muş Nevşehir Niğde Ordu Rize Sakarya Samsun Siirt Sinop Sivas Tekirdağ Tokat Trabzon Tunceli Şanlıurfa Uşak Van Yozgat Zonguldak Aksaray Bayburt Karaman Kırıkkale Batman Şırnak Bartın Ardahan Iğdır Yalova Karabük Kilis Osmaniye Düzce Hover or focus a province · ADNKS 2025
  • In the province top 30 1
  • Not listed
Akan: rank by province, 2025 (TÜİK ADNKS, province top-30 lists)
Provinces with the most bearers
#ProvinceRankPeople
01Mardin263,312

Who are some well-known people named Akan?

  1. Tarık Akan actor 1949–2016
  2. Metin Akan association football player 1983–
  3. Mahmut Akan association football player 1993–
  4. Özgür Barış Akan electrical engineer 1950–
  5. Atalay Akan politician 1913–1967
  6. Ayhan Cem Akan basketball official
  7. Erdem Akan designer 1973–
  8. Hasan Akan botanist

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

Is Akan also a first name?

Yes. Akan is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “flowing”.

Akan as a first name: meaning and statistics — turkiyenames.com →

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Adlar: Akan accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Wiktionary: akmak accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 Natural Earth Natural Earth: Admin-1 boundaries accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Akan

Q1

What does the surname Akan mean?

The -an participle of akmak, “to flow”: “flowing, streaming”. The name evokes vitality and plenty, like water that never stops running. It is related not to the prefix Ak-, “white”, but to the verb akmak, the same root as Akın.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Akan?

The root word of Akan is akmak (Turkic): “to flow”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Akan?

A·kan, 2 syllables; IPA: /aˈkan/.