Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,375

Erkan

Erkan /eɾˈkan/

“pillars; dignitaries”2

Province lists
11
province top-30s
Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
Plain noun
Vowel harmony
mixed
Contents§1–§11
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Provinces
  7. §7Notable people
  8. §8As a first name
  9. §9Sources
  10. §10Questions
  11. §11Related

How do you pronounce Erkan?

Erkan

IPA /eɾˈkan/

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

What does the surname Erkan mean?

Erkân is the Arabic plural of rukn, “pillar, foundation”; in Ottoman Turkish it meant “the leading men, the dignitaries” of an institution, as in devlet erkânı, “the dignitaries of state”, and erkân-ı harp, “general staff”. The name Erkan comes from this word. A popular explanation as “er” plus “kan” (“brave blood”) is not supported by the dictionaries.2

Grammar An Arabic plural form, not Er- + -kan.

What is Erkan made of?

Erkan is a single root: erkân (pillars; dignitaries, notables).

Erkan root erkân pillars; dignitaries,notables ARABIC arkān “pillars, tenets; leadingmen (plural of rukn)” Erkan erkân root pillars; dignitaries, notables arkān ARABIC “pillars, tenets; leading men(plural of rukn)”
Erkan: parts and root words
  • arkān Arabic — pillars, tenets; leading men (plural of rukn)2

How was the name Erkan formed?

Erkan belongs to the “plain noun” class of surnames.

Which surnames are related to Erkan?

#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Erkanlı same root – –

Where in Türkiye is Erkan most common?

Erkan is outside the national top 30, but it appears in the top-30 list of 1 province; its best rank is 28th in Burdur.1

Adana Adıyaman Afyonkarahisar Ağrı Amasya Ankara Antalya Artvin Aydın Balıkesir Bilecik Bingöl Bitlis Bolu Burdur · rank 28 · 951 people Bursa Çanakkale Çankırı Çorum Denizli Diyarbakır Edirne Elazığ Erzincan Erzurum Eskişehir Gaziantep Giresun Gümüşhane Hakkari Hatay Isparta Mersin Istanbul Izmir Kars Kastamonu Kayseri Kırklareli Kırşehir Kocaeli Konya Kütahya Malatya Manisa Kahramanmaraş Mardin Muğla Muş Nevşehir Niğde Ordu Rize Sakarya Samsun Siirt Sinop Sivas Tekirdağ Tokat Trabzon Tunceli Şanlıurfa Uşak Van Yozgat Zonguldak Aksaray Bayburt Karaman Kırıkkale Batman Şırnak Bartın Ardahan Iğdır Yalova Karabük Kilis Osmaniye Düzce Hover or focus a province · ADNKS 2025
  • In the province top 30 1
  • Not listed
Erkan: rank by province, 2025 (TÜİK ADNKS, province top-30 lists)
Provinces with the most bearers
#ProvinceRankPeople
01Burdur28951

Who are some well-known people named Erkan?

  1. Yaşar Erkan amateur wrestler 1911–1986
  2. Adnan Erkan association football player 1968–
  3. Hafize Gaye Erkan banker 1979–
  4. Enes Erkan karateka 1987–
  5. Öner Erkan actor 1980–
  6. Medine Erkan association football player 1995–
  7. Ünal Erkan politician 1942–2026
  8. Mustafa Erkan politician 1984–

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

Is Erkan also a first name?

Yes. Erkan is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “pillars; dignitaries”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Wiktionary: arkān accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Wiktionary: erkân accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 Natural Earth Natural Earth: Admin-1 boundaries accessed 8 November 2026
  8. 8 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Erkan

Q1

What does the surname Erkan mean?

Erkân is the Arabic plural of rukn, “pillar, foundation”; in Ottoman Turkish it meant “the leading men, the dignitaries” of an institution, as in devlet erkânı, “the dignitaries of state”, and erkân-ı harp, “general staff”. The name Erkan comes from this word. A popular explanation as “er” plus “kan” (“brave blood”) is not supported by the dictionaries.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Erkan?

The root word of Erkan is arkān (Arabic): “pillars, tenets; leading men (plural of rukn)”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Erkan?

Er·kan, 2 syllables; IPA: /eɾˈkan/.