Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 3,305

Okutan

Okutan /okuˈtan/

“one who teaches”1

Letters / syllables
6 / 3
Formation
From a verb
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
O
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 Okutan?

Okutan

IPA /okuˈtan/

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

What does the surname Okutan mean?

Okutan comes from okutmak, the causative of okumak “to read, to study”, and means “one who makes others read, who teaches”. Dictionaries explain okutmak as having someone educated and training them by giving lessons. The surname thus points to the work of a teacher.1

Grammar oku- + causative -t- + participle -an

That Okutan goes back to okutmak is probable rather than proven: the dictionary entry cited supports it.

What is Okutan made of?

Okutan is Turkic in origin and breaks into 3 parts: oku- (to read; to study) + -t- (causative suffix) + -an (present participle).

Okutan ++ root oku- to read; to study TURKIC okutmak “to have someone read orstudy; to teach” suffix -t- causative suffix suffix -an present participle Okutan oku- root to read; to study okutmak TURKIC “to have someone read or study;to teach” -t- suffix causative suffix -an suffix present participle
Okutan: parts and root words
  • okutmak Turkic — to have someone read or study; to teach1

How was the name Okutan formed?

Okutan was formed by adding the suffix -t- (“causative suffix”) to the verb stem oku- (“to read; to study”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.4

Which surnames are related to Okutan?

Okutan Okur Okumuş Okuyan Okuyucu Hepokur Okul
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Okur same root – –
02 Okumuş same root – –
03 Okuyan same root – –
04 Okuyucu same root – –
05 Hepokur same root – –
06 Okul same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Okutan?

  1. Melih Okutan association football player 1996–
  2. Nuri Okutan politician 1962–
  3. Efe Okutan association football player 2006–
  4. İbrahim Okutan association football player 1959–
  5. Ahmet Emin Okutan researcher
  6. Burhan Okutan poet 1972–
  7. Harun Okutan poet 1963–
  8. M. Çağatay Okutan political scientist 1970–

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: okutmak accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Wiktionary: okutmak 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

Common questions about Okutan

Q1

What does the surname Okutan mean?

Okutan comes from okutmak, the causative of okumak “to read, to study”, and means “one who makes others read, who teaches”. Dictionaries explain okutmak as having someone educated and training them by giving lessons. The surname thus points to the work of a teacher.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Okutan?

The root word of Okutan is okutmak (Turkic): “to have someone read or study; to teach”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Okutan?

O·ku·tan, 3 syllables; IPA: /okuˈtan/.