Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 593

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 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 belongs to the “plain noun” class of surnames.

Who are some well-known people named Barkan?

  1. Emrullah Barkan politician 1878–1952
  2. Yehuda Barkan actor 1945–2020
  3. Ady Barkan lawyer 1983–2023
  4. Todd Barkan record producer 1946–

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 nisanyanadlar.com nisanyanadlar.com: 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 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 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/.