Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 820

Barkan

Barkan /baɾˈkan/

“land named in the Oghuz epic”1

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

How do you pronounce Barkan?

Barkan

IPA /baɾˈkan/

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

What does the surname Barkan mean?

According to Nişanyan Adlar, which classes Barkan as a New Turkish name of the 1930s, it is the name of a wealthy southern land in the Oghuz Khan epic. During the Language Reform it was read as a derivative of Old Turkic barmak ‘to arrive, to go’. The same source mentions barkan ‘horse’ in Daghestanian languages as a possible early Turkic loan.1

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. The name of a wealthy land in the Oghuz Khan epic (Nişanyan Adlar).
  2. Language Reform reading: a derivative of barmak ‘to arrive’ (Nişanyan Adlar).

What is Barkan made of?

Barkan is a single Turkic root: Barkan (name of a land in an epic).

Barkan root Barkan name of a land in an epic TURKIC barmak “to arrive, to go” Barkan Barkan root name of a land in an epic barmak TURKIC “to arrive, to go”
Barkan: parts and root words
  • barmak Turkic — to arrive, to go1

How was the name Barkan formed?

Barkan is the word Barkan (“name of a land in an epic”), taken unchanged as a surname.

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.3

Who are some well-known people named Barkan?

  1. Emrullah Barkan politician 1878–1952

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

Is Barkan also a first name?

Yes. Barkan is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “land named in the Oghuz epic”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Adlar: Barkan accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Barkan

Q1

What does the surname Barkan mean?

According to Nişanyan Adlar, which classes Barkan as a New Turkish name of the 1930s, it is the name of a wealthy southern land in the Oghuz Khan epic. During the Language Reform it was read as a derivative of Old Turkic barmak ‘to arrive, to go’. The same source mentions barkan ‘horse’ in Daghestanian languages as a possible early Turkic loan.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Barkan?

The root word of Barkan is barmak (Turkic): “to arrive, to go”. There are 3 competing views on where Barkan comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Barkan?

Bar·kan, 2 syllables; IPA: /baɾˈkan/.