Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,603

Karacan

Karacan /kaɾaˈdʒan/

“strong-souled; dark darling”1

Letters / syllables
7 / 3
Formation
1934 coinage
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
K
Contents§1–§9
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Notable people
  7. §7Sources
  8. §8Questions
  9. §9Related

How do you pronounce Karacan?

Karacan

IPA /kaɾaˈdʒan/

The stress usually falls on syllable 3 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.

What does the surname Karacan mean?

Formed from kara and can. In names kara carries not only the colour “black” but also a dark complexion and the Old Turkic value “strong, valiant”; can, a loan from Persian, means “soul, life” and “dear one”. The name reads “strong-souled” or “dark-skinned darling”. There is a village called Karacan in Tutak, Ağrı.1,2

Grammar kara + can; adjective plus noun.

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

What is Karacan made of?

Karacan combines Turkic and Persian elements in 2 parts: kara (kara: black; strong, dark) + can (can: soul, life).

Karacan ++ first element kara kara: black; strong, dark TURKIC kara “black; dark-skinned;strong” suffix can can: soul, life PERSIAN can “soul, life; dear one” Karacan kara first element kara: black; strong, dark kara TURKIC “black; dark-skinned; strong” can suffix can: soul, life can PERSIAN “soul, life; dear one”
Karacan: parts and root words
  • kara Turkic — black; dark-skinned; strong1
  • can Persian — soul, life; dear one2

How was the name Karacan formed?

Karacan was formed by adding the suffix can (“can: soul, life”) to kara (“kara: black; strong, dark”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.6

Which surnames are related to Karacan?

Karacan Kara Özcan Can Karataş Karahan Ercan Karaca Karakaş Karadağ Karakaya Karakoç Demircan
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Kara same root 16 290,024
02 Özcan same root 25 233,820
03 Can same root 27 230,085
04 Karataş same root – –
05 Karahan same root – –
06 Ercan same root – –
07 Karaca same root – –
08 Karakaş same root – –
09 Karadağ same root – –
10 Karakaya same root – –
11 Karakoç same root – –
12 Demircan same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Karacan?

  1. Jem Karacan association football player 1989–
  2. Ali Naci Karacan journalist 1896–1955
  3. Alpaslan Karacan statesperson 1943–
  4. Ali İhsan Karacan businessperson 1951–
  5. Bülent Karacan statesperson 1975–
  6. Elvan İşeri Karacan physician 1968–
  7. Ercüment Karacan journalist 1921–1989
  8. Harun Karacan politician 1966–

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: kara accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: can accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Wiktionary: kara accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 Wikimedia Wiktionary: can accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Karacan

Q1

What does the surname Karacan mean?

Formed from kara and can. In names kara carries not only the colour “black” but also a dark complexion and the Old Turkic value “strong, valiant”; can, a loan from Persian, means “soul, life” and “dear one”. The name reads “strong-souled” or “dark-skinned darling”. There is a village called Karacan in Tutak, Ağrı.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Karacan?

Karacan is made up of two elements: kara “black; dark-skinned; strong” (Turkic) and can “soul, life; dear one” (Persian).
Q3

How do you pronounce Karacan?

Ka·ra·can, 3 syllables; IPA: /kaɾaˈdʒan/.