Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 2,378

Orkan

Orkan /oɾˈkan/

“male name, variant of Orhan”1

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
O
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 Orkan?

Orkan

IPA /oɾˈkan/

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

What does the surname Orkan mean?

Orkan is a male given name. Nişanyan’s dictionary of names treats it either as a variant spelling of Orhan or as a compound of the syllables Or and kan, both popular in New Turkish names. It sounds the same as German Orkan ‘hurricane’, but that is a coincidence.1

The origin is disputed. The views put forward are:

  1. Per Nişanyan Adlar, a variant spelling of Orhan.
  2. The same source also allows a new compound of the elements Or and kan.

What is Orkan made of?

Orkan breaks into 2 parts: Or (name element) + kan (name element).

Orkan + root Or name element TURKIC Orhan “male given name” root kan name element Orkan Or root name element Orhan TURKIC “male given name” kan root name element
Orkan: parts and root words
  • Orhan Turkic — male given name1

How was the name Orkan formed?

Orkan belongs to the “compound” class of surnames (Or + kan).

Which surnames are related to Orkan?

Orkan Orhan Çelikkan
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Orhan same root – –
02 Çelikkan same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Orkan?

  1. Senih Orkan actor 1932–2008
  2. Ali Bülent Orkan criminal 1957–1982
  3. Władysław Orkan writer 1875–1930

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

Is Orkan also a first name?

Yes. Orkan is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “male name, variant of Orhan”.

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

Where do these facts come from?

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

Q1

What does the surname Orkan mean?

Orkan is a male given name. Nişanyan’s dictionary of names treats it either as a variant spelling of Orhan or as a compound of the syllables Or and kan, both popular in New Turkish names. It sounds the same as German Orkan ‘hurricane’, but that is a coincidence.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Orkan?

The root word of Orkan is Orhan (Turkic): “male given name”. There are 3 competing views on where Orkan comes from, all set out on this page.
Q3

How do you pronounce Orkan?

Or·kan, 2 syllables; IPA: /oɾˈkan/.