Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,360

Onan

Onan /oˈnan/

“the Onon river; ‘may he prosper’”2

Letters / syllables
4 / 2
Formation
Plain noun
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
O
Contents§1–§9
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Notable people
  6. §6As a first name
  7. §7Sources
  8. §8Questions
  9. §9Related

How do you pronounce Onan?

Onan

IPA /oˈnan/

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

What does the surname Onan mean?

In Nişanyan Adlar, Onan is the river on which Genghis Khan’s ancestors settled, as told in the Secret History of the Mongols. The same source notes that the name can also be read as a reflexive optative form of Turkish onmak “to heal, to prosper”.1,2

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. The Mongolian river name Onan (Onon), from the Secret History of the Mongols (Nişanyan Adlar).
  2. A reflexive optative of Turkish onmak (Nişanyan Adlar).

What is Onan made of?

Onan is a single root: onan (a river in Mongolia; optative of onmak).

Onan + root onan a river in Mongolia;optative of onmak MONGOLIC Onan “river named in theSecret History of the…” TURKIC onmak “to heal, to prosper” Onan onan root a river in Mongolia; optative of onmak Onan MONGOLIC “river named in the SecretHistory of the Mongols” onmak TURKIC “to heal, to prosper”
Onan: parts and root words
  • Onan Mongolic — river named in the Secret History of the Mongols2
  • onmak Turkic — to heal, to prosper1

How was the name Onan formed?

Onan belongs to the “plain noun” class of surnames.

Who are some well-known people named Onan?

  1. Ömer Önan basketball player 1978–
  2. Arzum Onan actor 1973–
  3. Yiğit Önan basketball player 2002–
  4. Necmettin Halil Onan writer 1902–1968
  5. Ali Fuat Onan actor 1952–
  6. Sacit Onan filmmaker 1945–2010
  7. Arif Onan researcher
  8. Aytuğ Onan researcher

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

Is Onan also a first name?

Yes. Onan is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: the Onon river; “may he prosper”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 nisanyanadlar.com nisanyanadlar.com: Onan accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Wiktionary: Onan 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 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Onan

Q1

What does the surname Onan mean?

In Nişanyan Adlar, Onan is the river on which Genghis Khan’s ancestors settled, as told in the Secret History of the Mongols. The same source notes that the name can also be read as a reflexive optative form of Turkish onmak “to heal, to prosper”.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Onan?

The root word of Onan is Onan (Mongolic): “river named in the Secret History of the Mongols”. There are 3 competing views on where Onan comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Onan?

O·nan, 2 syllables; IPA: /oˈnan/.