Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 126

Akcan

Akcan /akˈdʒan/

“white dear, pure soul”3

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
A
Contents§1–§11
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Notable people
  7. §7As a first name
  8. §8Abroad
  9. §9Sources
  10. §10Questions
  11. §11Related

How do you pronounce Akcan?

Akcan

IPA /akˈdʒan/

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

What does the surname Akcan mean?

Akcan combines Turkish ak “white, pure” with can “soul; dear one”, a word of Persian origin. Nişanyan Adlar glosses the name as “white dear”. Can comes from Persian cān “life”.2,3

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

What is Akcan made of?

Akcan combines Turkic and Persian elements in 2 parts: ak (white; pure) + can (soul, life; dear one).

Akcan + root ak white; pure TURKIC ak “white; clean, spotless” root can soul, life; dear one PERSIAN can “life, soul” Akcan ak root white; pure ak TURKIC “white; clean, spotless” can root soul, life; dear one can PERSIAN “life, soul”
Akcan: parts and root words
  • ak Turkic — white; clean, spotless3
  • can Persian — life, soul2

How was the name Akcan formed?

Akcan was formed by joining ak (“white; pure”) and can (“soul, life; dear one”).

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

Which surnames are related to Akcan?

Akcan Özcan Can Ercan Demircan Candan Tezcan Karacan Babacan Gürcan Canpolat Arıcan Caner
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Özcan same root 25 233,820
02 Can same root 27 230,085
03 Ercan same root – –
04 Demircan same root – –
05 Candan same root – –
06 Tezcan same root – –
07 Karacan same root – –
08 Babacan same root – –
09 Gürcan same root – –
10 Canpolat same root – –
11 Arıcan same root – –
12 Caner same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Akcan?

  1. Ahmet Akcan association football player 1958–
  2. Esra Akcan architect 1968–
  3. Abdülkadir Akcan politician 1952–
  4. Eyüp Akcan association football player 2002–
  5. Nihat Akcan actor 1926–2005
  6. Çetin Akcan actor 1949–2013
  7. Cevat Akcan politician 1952–
  8. Ramazan Akcan researcher

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

Is Akcan also a first name?

Yes. Akcan is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “white dear, pure soul”.

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

How is Akcan written and pronounced abroad?

In Akcan, c is pronounced like English j in “jam”.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Adlar: Akçan accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: can accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Wiktionary: ak 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 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Akcan

Q1

What does the surname Akcan mean?

Akcan combines Turkish ak “white, pure” with can “soul; dear one”, a word of Persian origin. Nişanyan Adlar glosses the name as “white dear”. Can comes from Persian cān “life”.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Akcan?

Akcan is made up of two elements: ak “white; clean, spotless” (Turkic) and can “life, soul” (Persian).
Q3

How do you pronounce Akcan?

Ak·can, 2 syllables; IPA: /akˈdʒan/.