Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,324

Ercan

Ercan /eɾˈdʒan/

“spirited, fearless man”1

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
mixed
Initial
E
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 Ercan?

Ercan

IPA /eɾˈdʒan/

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

What does the surname Ercan mean?

A male given name from Turkic er “man, hero” and Persian can “soul, life”. Name dictionaries explain it as “a lively, vigorous, healthy man; a fearless hero”.1,2

Grammar Compound er + can.

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

What is Ercan made of?

Ercan breaks into 2 parts: er (er: man, hero) + can (can: soul, life; dear one).

Ercan ++ first element er er: man, hero TURKIC er “man, brave fellow” suffix can can: soul, life; dear one PERSIAN can “soul; life; heart” Ercan er first element er: man, hero er TURKIC “man, brave fellow” can suffix can: soul, life; dear one can PERSIAN “soul; life; heart”
Ercan: parts and root words
  • er Turkic — man, brave fellow1
  • can Persian — soul; life; heart2

How was the name Ercan formed?

Ercan belongs to the “compound” class of surnames (er + can).

Which surnames are related to Ercan?

Ercan Özcan Can Demircan Candan Tezcan Karacan Babacan Gürcan Canpolat Arıcan Caner Bircan
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 Demircan same root – –
04 Candan same root – –
05 Tezcan same root – –
06 Karacan same root – –
07 Babacan same root – –
08 Gürcan same root – –
09 Canpolat same root – –
10 Arıcan same root – –
11 Caner same root – –
12 Bircan same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Ercan?

  1. Abdullah Ercan association football player 1971–
  2. Şeyma Ercan volleyball player 1994–
  3. Cihan Ercan actor 1984–
  4. Aytaç Ercan athlete 1976–
  5. Övgün Ahmet Ercan writer 1948–
  6. Aday Ercan association football player 2000–
  7. Ali Ercan musician 1931–
  8. Bilâl Ercan composer 1962–2014

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

Is Ercan also a first name?

Yes. Ercan is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “spirited, fearless man”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: Ercan accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: 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 Ercan

Q1

What does the surname Ercan mean?

A male given name from Turkic er “man, hero” and Persian can “soul, life”. Name dictionaries explain it as “a lively, vigorous, healthy man; a fearless hero”.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Ercan?

The root word of Ercan is er (Persian): “man, brave fellow”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Ercan?

Er·can, 2 syllables; IPA: /eɾˈdʒan/.