Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 1,730

İlkan

İlkan /ilˈkan/ ASCII Ilkan

“firstborn; first khan”2

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
mixed
Initial
İ
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 İlkan?

İlkan

IPA /ilˈkan/

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

What does the surname İlkan mean?

İlkan is a male given name formed from ilk, “first”, and kan. According to Nişanyan Adlar it is usually read as “first khan” or “first blood”, that is, “firstborn”. The sources do not settle whether the second element is kan or han.1,2

Grammar ilk + kan/han: name-element compound.

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. “First blood”: the firstborn child (Nişanyan Adlar).
  2. “First khan”: the first ruler (Nişanyan Adlar).

What is İlkan made of?

İlkan breaks into 2 parts: ilk (first) + kan / han (blood, lineage; or khan).

İlkan ++ root ilk first TURKIC ilk “first in time or order” suffix kan / han blood, lineage; or khan TURKIC kan “blood; lineage” İlkan ilk root first ilk TURKIC “first in time or order” kan / han suffix blood, lineage; or khan kan TURKIC “blood; lineage”
İlkan: parts and root words
  • ilk Turkic — first in time or order2
  • kan Turkic — blood; lineage1

How was the name İlkan formed?

İlkan belongs to the “compound” class of surnames (ilk + kan / han).

Which surnames are related to İlkan?

İlkan Özkan Alkan Arıkan Gürkan Kandemir Atakan Türkkan Durukan Demirkan Soykan Akkan Taşkan
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Özkan same root 22 245,254
02 Alkan same root – –
03 Arıkan same root – –
04 Gürkan same root – –
05 Kandemir same root – –
06 Atakan same root – –
07 Türkkan same root – –
08 Durukan same root – –
09 Demirkan same root – –
10 Soykan same root – –
11 Akkan same root – –
12 Taşkan same root – –

Who are some well-known people named İlkan?

  1. Ahmet Selçuk İlkan songwriter 1955–
  2. Murat İlkan musician 1971–
  3. Aykan İlkan musician 1973–
  4. Zeki Ilkan researcher

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

Is İlkan also a first name?

Yes. İlkan is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “firstborn; first khan”.

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

How is İlkan written and pronounced abroad?

Outside Turkey the name is often written Ilkan.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 nisanyanadlar.com nisanyanadlar.com: İlkan accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Wiktionary: ilk 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 İlkan

Q1

What does the surname İlkan mean?

İlkan is a male given name formed from ilk, “first”, and kan. According to Nişanyan Adlar it is usually read as “first khan” or “first blood”, that is, “firstborn”. The sources do not settle whether the second element is kan or han.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname İlkan?

The root word of İlkan is ilk (Turkic): “first in time or order”. There are 3 competing views on where İlkan comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce İlkan?

İl·kan, 2 syllables; IPA: /ilˈkan/.