Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,258

Mertcan

Mertcan /meɾtˈd͡ʒan/

“brave soul”2

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

How do you pronounce Mertcan?

Mertcan

IPA /meɾtˈd͡ʒan/

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

What does the surname Mertcan mean?

A name built from mert ‘brave, true to one’s word’ and can ‘soul, life’: ‘brave soul’. Both elements are Persian: mert from mard ‘man’, can from jān ‘life’. Nişanyan Adlar lists Mertcan among the compounds of Mert, a name it describes as found sporadically from the 1930s and popular from the 1970s.2,3

Grammar mert + can.

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

What is Mertcan made of?

Mertcan breaks into 2 parts: mert (mert: brave, manly) + can (can: soul, life; dear).

Mertcan + root mert mert: brave, manly PERSIAN mert “man; brave” root can can: soul, life; dear PERSIAN can “life, soul” Mertcan mert root mert: brave, manly mert PERSIAN “man; brave” can root can: soul, life; dear can PERSIAN “life, soul”
Mertcan: parts and root words
  • mert Persian — man; brave2
  • can Persian — life, soul3

How was the name Mertcan formed?

Mertcan belongs to the “compound” class of surnames (mert + can).

Which surnames are related to Mertcan?

Mertcan Özcan Can Ercan Demircan Candan Tezcan Karacan Babacan Gürcan Canpolat Arıcan Caner
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Özcan same root 25 233,820
02 Can same root 27 230,085
03 Ercan same root – –
04 Demircan same root – –
05 Candan same root – –
06 Tezcan same root – –
07 Karacan same root – –
08 Babacan same root – –
09 Gürcan same root – –
10 Canpolat same root – –
11 Arıcan same root – –
12 Caner same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Mertcan?

  1. Mesut Mertcan television presenter 1946–2017

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

Is Mertcan also a first name?

Yes. Mertcan is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “brave soul”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 nisanyanadlar.com nisanyanadlar.com: Mertcan accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: mert accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: can 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 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026
  8. 8 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Mertcan

Q1

What does the surname Mertcan mean?

A name built from mert ‘brave, true to one’s word’ and can ‘soul, life’: ‘brave soul’. Both elements are Persian: mert from mard ‘man’, can from jān ‘life’. Nişanyan Adlar lists Mertcan among the compounds of Mert, a name it describes as found sporadically from the 1930s and popular from the 1970s.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Mertcan?

The root word of Mertcan is mert (Persian): “man; brave”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Mertcan?

Mert·can, 2 syllables; IPA: /meɾtˈd͡ʒan/.