Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,344

Çapan

Çapan /tʃaˈpan/ ASCII Capan

“swift rider, raider”1

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
From a verb
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
Ç
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 Çapan?

Çapan

IPA /tʃaˈpan/

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

What does the surname Çapan mean?

Çapan is recorded as a male name meaning “swift rider, raider”. It appears to be derived with the participle suffix -an from çapmak, an old verb for galloping a horse and making a raid. In regional speech the same form also means “kaftan”.1

Grammar çap- + participle -an

That Çapan goes back to Çapan is probable rather than proven: the dictionary entry cited supports it.

What is Çapan made of?

Çapan is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: çap- (çapmak: to gallop, to raid) + -an (present participle).

Çapan + root çap- çapmak: to gallop, toraid TURKIC Çapan “male name: swift rider,raider” suffix -an present participle Çapan çap- root çapmak: to gallop, to raid Çapan TURKIC “male name: swift rider, raider” -an suffix present participle
Çapan: parts and root words
  • Çapan Turkic — male name: swift rider, raider1

How was the name Çapan formed?

Çapan was formed by adding the suffix -an (“present participle”) to the verb stem çap- (“çapmak: to gallop, to raid”).

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

Who are some well-known people named Çapan?

  1. Mehmet Çapan musician 1945–
  2. Cevat Çapan poet 1933–
  3. Gürbüz Çapan statesperson 1955–
  4. Sevtap Çapan actor 1970–
  5. Bahtiyar Eraslan Çapan researcher
  6. Mesküre Capan-Melser researcher
  7. Ozan Çapan association football player 1995–
  8. Rıfat Çapan researcher

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

Is Çapan also a first name?

Yes. Çapan is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “swift rider, raider”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: Çapan accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: çapan 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 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Çapan

Q1

What does the surname Çapan mean?

Çapan is recorded as a male name meaning “swift rider, raider”. It appears to be derived with the participle suffix -an from çapmak, an old verb for galloping a horse and making a raid. In regional speech the same form also means “kaftan”.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Çapan?

The root word of Çapan is Çapan (Turkic): “male name: swift rider, raider”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Çapan?

Ça·pan, 2 syllables; IPA: /tʃaˈpan/.