Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 642

Aycan

Aycan /ajˈdʒan/

“dear moon”1

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

How do you pronounce Aycan?

Aycan

IPA /ajˈdʒan/

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

What does the surname Aycan mean?

Aycan combines ay “moon” and can and, according to Nişanyan Adlar, means “dear moon”. Ay is Turkish and a symbol of beauty. Can is Persian jān “life, soul”, long used in Turkish as a word of affection and friendship.1

Grammar ay + can (Persian).

That Aycan goes back to ay and cān is probable rather than proven: the dictionary entry cited supports it.

What is Aycan made of?

Aycan combines Turkic and Persian elements in 2 parts: ay (moon) + can (soul; dear one).

Aycan + root ay moon TURKIC ay “moon” root can soul; dear one PERSIAN cān “life, soul; term ofendearment” Aycan ay root moon ay TURKIC “moon” can root soul; dear one cān PERSIAN “life, soul; term of endearment”
Aycan: parts and root words
  • ay Turkic — moon1
  • cān Persian — life, soul; term of endearment1

How was the name Aycan formed?

Aycan was formed by joining ay (“moon”) and can (“soul; dear one”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.4

Which surnames are related to Aycan?

Aycan 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 Aycan?

  1. Sefer Aycan politician 1963–
  2. Abdurrahman Aycan researcher
  3. Osman Emre Aycan researcher
  4. İlker Aycan researcher

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

Is Aycan also a first name?

Yes. Aycan is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “dear moon”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Adlar: Aycan accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Adlar: 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 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Aycan

Q1

What does the surname Aycan mean?

Aycan combines ay “moon” and can and, according to Nişanyan Adlar, means “dear moon”. Ay is Turkish and a symbol of beauty. Can is Persian jān “life, soul”, long used in Turkish as a word of affection and friendship.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Aycan?

Aycan is made up of two elements: ay “moon” (Turkic) and cān “life, soul; term of endearment” (Persian).
Q3

How do you pronounce Aycan?

Ay·can, 2 syllables; IPA: /ajˈdʒan/.