Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,402

Erşen

Erşen /eɾˈʃen/ ASCII Ersen

“cheerful brave man”1

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
front
Initial
E
Contents§1–§11
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Notable people
  7. §7As a first name
  8. §8Abroad
  9. §9Sources
  10. §10Questions
  11. §11Related

How do you pronounce Erşen?

Erşen

IPA /eɾˈʃen/

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

What does the surname Erşen mean?

Er, “man, brave warrior”, joins şen, “cheerful, merry”: “the cheerful brave man”. Erşen is also used as a man’s given name. Nişanyan Sözlük and English Wiktionary derive şen from Armenian šen, “inhabited, prosperous”, while Turkish Wiktionary gives it as Persian. Said of a place, şen also means “lively, thriving”.1,4

Grammar Compound: er + şen.

The origin of Erşen is disputed; the debate concerns the shared root, and the views are set out under Şen.

What is Erşen made of?

Erşen breaks into 2 parts: er (er: man, brave warrior) + şen (şen: cheerful, merry).

Erşen + root er er: man, brave warrior TURKIC er “man; brave man, soldier” root şen şen: cheerful, merry ARMENIAN şen “cheerful, joyful; lively” Erşen er root er: man, brave warrior er TURKIC “man; brave man, soldier” şen root şen: cheerful, merry şen ARMENIAN “cheerful, joyful; lively”
Erşen: parts and root words
  • er Turkic — man; brave man, soldier1
  • şen Armenian — cheerful, joyful; lively4

How was the name Erşen formed?

Erşen belongs to the “compound” class of surnames (er + şen).

Which surnames are related to Erşen?

Erşen Şen Şener Şentürk Şenol Şengül Şenel Şensoy Şenocak Şengün Şencan Pekşen Şenay
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Şen same root – –
02 Şener same root – –
03 Şentürk same root – –
04 Şenol same root – –
05 Şengül same root – –
06 Şenel same root – –
07 Şensoy same root – –
08 Şenocak same root – –
09 Şengün same root – –
10 Şencan same root – –
11 Pekşen same root – –
12 Şenay same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Erşen?

  1. Cavid Ersen author 1921–2003
  2. Esra Ersen artist 1970–
  3. Ali Arif Ersen painter 1958–2022
  4. İmren Erşen painter 1940–
  5. Atilla Ersen researcher
  6. Burak Ersen researcher
  7. Ömer Ersen researcher

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

Is Erşen also a first name?

Yes. Erşen is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “cheerful brave man”.

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

How is Erşen written and pronounced abroad?

Records without Turkish letters usually write Ersen.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: şen accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Wiktionary: Erşen accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 kureansiklopedi.com kureansiklopedi.com: sen-5f714 accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: şen accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 Wikimedia Wiktionary: شن accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  8. 8 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Nizamnamesi (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararı 2/1759) accessed 8 November 2026
  9. 9 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Erşen

Q1

What does the surname Erşen mean?

Er, “man, brave warrior”, joins şen, “cheerful, merry”: “the cheerful brave man”. Erşen is also used as a man’s given name. Nişanyan Sözlük and English Wiktionary derive şen from Armenian šen, “inhabited, prosperous”, while Turkish Wiktionary gives it as Persian. Said of a place, şen also means “lively, thriving”.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Erşen?

The root word of Erşen is er (Armenian): “man; brave man, soldier”. There are 3 competing views on where Erşen comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Erşen?

Er·şen, 2 syllables; IPA: /eɾˈʃen/.