Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 4,121

Selcan

Selcan /selˈdʒan/

“soul lively as a torrent”1

Probable origin Selcan: root entries for sel + can · How do we know?

Published: Last updated:

Letters / syllables
6 / 2
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
mixed
Initial
S
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How do you pronounce Selcan?

Selcan

IPA /selˈdʒan/

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

What does the surname Selcan mean?

A female name built from sel ‘torrent’ and can ‘soul’; it reads ‘a soul as lively as a torrent’. Sel is from Arabic sayl, can from Persian cān ‘life, soul’. It is one of many Turkish names ending in -can.1,2

Grammar sel + can.

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

What is Selcan made of?

Selcan combines Arabic and Persian elements in 2 parts: sel (sel: torrent) + -can (can: life, soul).

Selcan ++ root sel sel: torrent ARABIC sel “torrent, flood” suffix -can can: life, soul PERSIAN can “life, soul” Selcan sel root sel: torrent sel ARABIC “torrent, flood” -can suffix can: life, soul can PERSIAN “life, soul”
Selcan: parts and root words

How was the name Selcan formed?

Selcan was formed by adding the suffix -can (“can: life, soul”) to sel (“sel: torrent”).

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

Which surnames are related to Selcan?

Selcan Özcan Can Ercan Demircan Candan Tezcan
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 Gürsel same root – –
08 Karacan same root – –
09 Babacan same root – –
10 Gürcan same root – –
11 Canpolat same root – –
12 Arıcan same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Selcan?

  1. Ayşin Selcan anesthesiologist

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

Is Selcan also a first name?

Yes. Selcan is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “soul lively as a torrent”.

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

How is Selcan written and pronounced abroad?

The spelling Selcan is unchanged in foreign records.

Which surnames have a meaning similar to Selcan?

Cansel, Akcan and Altıncan share gloss keywords with Selcan within the same primary category.

Which guides add context to Selcan?

Read the root, formation and register information for Selcan alongside these guides: How Turkish Surnames Are Formed: Roots and Suffixes and How to research a Turkish surname and family tree.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: sel accessed 9 November 2026
  2. 2 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: can 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 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026
  6. 6 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Selcan

Q1

What does the surname Selcan mean?

A female name built from sel ‘torrent’ and can ‘soul’; it reads ‘a soul as lively as a torrent’. Sel is from Arabic sayl, can from Persian cān ‘life, soul’. It is one of many Turkish names ending in -can.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Selcan?

Selcan is made up of two elements: sel “torrent, flood” (Arabic) and can “life, soul” (Persian).
Q3

How do you pronounce Selcan?

Sel·can, 2 syllables; IPA: /selˈdʒan/.