Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 340

Arıcan

Arıcan /aɾɯˈdʒan/ ASCII Arican

“pure of soul”1

Letters / syllables
6 / 3
Formation
1934 coinage
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 Arıcan?

Arıcan

IPA /aɾɯˈdʒan/

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

What does the surname Arıcan mean?

The adjective arı means “clean, pure, unmixed” in Turkish (arı su “clear water”, arı dil “pure language”), and can, a loan from Persian, means “soul, life”. Arıcan therefore reads “pure of soul, clean-hearted”. The sense “honeybee” of arı is formally possible too. A village in Akçakale, Şanlıurfa, has the same name.1,2

Grammar arı + can; adjective plus noun.

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

What is Arıcan made of?

Arıcan breaks into 2 parts: arı (arı: clean, pure; also bee) + can (can: soul, life).

Arıcan ++ root arı arı: clean, pure; alsobee TURKIC arı “pure, clean” suffix can can: soul, life PERSIAN can “soul, life; beloved” Arıcan arı root arı: clean, pure; also bee arı TURKIC “pure, clean” can suffix can: soul, life can PERSIAN “soul, life; beloved”
Arıcan: parts and root words
  • arı Turkic — pure, clean1
  • can Persian — soul, life; beloved2

How was the name Arıcan formed?

Arıcan belongs to the “1934 coinage” class of surnames (arı + can).

Which surnames are related to Arıcan?

Arıcan Özcan Can Arıkan Ercan Demircan Candan Tezcan Arıcı Arı Karacan Babacan Gürcan
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 Arıkan same root – –
04 Ercan same root – –
05 Demircan same root – –
06 Candan same root – –
07 Tezcan same root – –
08 Arıcı same root – –
09 Arı same root – –
10 Karacan same root – –
11 Babacan same root – –
12 Gürcan same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Arıcan?

  1. Ferhat Arıcan artistic gymnast 1993–
  2. Fikret Arıcan association football player 1911–1994
  3. Cemil Arıcan politician 1880–1929
  4. Musa Kazım Arıcan academic 1970–
  5. Tevfik Nazif Arıcan politician 1883–1951
  6. İdil Arıcan violinist 2003–
  7. Akın Arıcan association football player
  8. Burçin Arıcan researcher

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

Is Arıcan also a first name?

Yes. Arıcan is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “pure of soul”.

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

How is Arıcan written and pronounced abroad?

Passports and English-language documents often show it as Arican.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: arı accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Wiktionary: can 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
  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 8 November 2026

Common questions about Arıcan

Q1

What does the surname Arıcan mean?

The adjective arı means “clean, pure, unmixed” in Turkish (arı su “clear water”, arı dil “pure language”), and can, a loan from Persian, means “soul, life”. Arıcan therefore reads “pure of soul, clean-hearted”. The sense “honeybee” of arı is formally possible too. A village in Akçakale, Şanlıurfa, has the same name.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Arıcan?

The root word of Arıcan is arı (Persian): “pure, clean”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Arıcan?

A·rı·can, 3 syllables; IPA: /aɾɯˈdʒan/.