Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,361

Hepşen

Hepşen /hepˈʃen/ ASCII Hepsen

“ever cheerful”3

Letters / syllables
6 / 2
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
front
Initial
H
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 Hepşen?

Hepşen

IPA /hepˈʃen/

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

What does the surname Hepşen mean?

Built from hep ‘always’ and şen ‘cheerful’: ‘ever cheerful’. For şen, the head of the name, Nişanyan gives a link with Armenian šēn ‘inhabited, thriving’ resting on a Middle Persian form, while other sources derive the word from Persian.1,3

Grammar hep + şen.

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. Nişanyan: şen is cognate with Armenian šēn ‘inhabited, thriving’, from Middle Persian.
  2. Turkish Wiktionary: şen is borrowed from Persian.

What is Hepşen made of?

Hepşen combines Turkic and Armenian elements in 2 parts: hep (always) + şen (cheerful).

Hepşen + root hep always TURKIC hep “always; all” root şen cheerful ARMENIAN şen “cheerful; lively,inhabited” Hepşen hep root always hep TURKIC “always; all” şen root cheerful şen ARMENIAN “cheerful; lively, inhabited”
Hepşen: parts and root words
  • hep Turkic — always; all3
  • şen Armenian — cheerful; lively, inhabited1

How was the name Hepşen formed?

Hepşen was formed by joining hep (“always”) and şen (“cheerful”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.5

Which surnames are related to Hepşen?

Hepşen Şen Şener Şentürk Şenol Şengül Şenel Şensoy Şenocak Şengün Şencan Pekşen Heper
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 Heper same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Hepşen?

  1. Sema Hepşen university teacher

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

Is Hepşen also a first name?

Yes. Hepşen is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “ever cheerful”.

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

How is Hepşen written and pronounced abroad?

Without Turkish letters the name is usually written Hepsen in English-language records.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: şen accessed 9 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: şen accessed 9 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: hep accessed 9 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 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Hepşen

Q1

What does the surname Hepşen mean?

Built from hep ‘always’ and şen ‘cheerful’: ‘ever cheerful’. For şen, the head of the name, Nişanyan gives a link with Armenian šēn ‘inhabited, thriving’ resting on a Middle Persian form, while other sources derive the word from Persian.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Hepşen?

Hepşen is made up of two elements: hep “always; all” (Turkic) and şen “cheerful; lively, inhabited” (Armenian). There are 3 competing views on where Hepşen comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Hepşen?

Hep·şen, 2 syllables; IPA: /hepˈʃen/.