Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 4,041

Şencan

Şencan /ʃenˈdʒan/ ASCII Sencan

“cheerful soul”2

Letters / syllables
6 / 2
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
mixed
Initial
Ş
Contents§1–§11
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Notable people
  7. §7As a first name
  8. §8Abroad
  9. §9Sources
  10. §10Questions
  11. §11Related

How do you pronounce Şencan?

Şencan

IPA /ʃenˈdʒan/

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

What does the surname Şencan mean?

Şen, “cheerful, merry”, joins can, “soul, life; dear one”: “a cheerful soul”, a smiling, happy person. Can comes from Persian and is also used in Turkish as an affectionate form of address. It follows the pattern of names ending in -can such as Özcan and Akcan.2,3

Grammar Compound: şen + can.

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

What is Şencan made of?

Şencan combines Armenian and Persian elements in 2 parts: şen (şen: cheerful) + can (can: soul, life; dear one (Persian)).

Şencan + root şen şen: cheerful ARMENIAN şen “cheerful, merry” root can can: soul, life; dear one(Persian) PERSIAN can “soul, life; beloved” Şencan şen root şen: cheerful şen ARMENIAN “cheerful, merry” can root can: soul, life; dear one (Persian) can PERSIAN “soul, life; beloved”
Şencan: parts and root words
  • şen Armenian — cheerful, merry2
  • can Persian — soul, life; beloved3

How was the name Şencan formed?

Şencan was formed by joining şen (“şen: cheerful”) and can (“can: soul, life; dear one (Persian)”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.5

Which surnames are related to Şencan?

Şencan Özcan Can Şen Şener Şentürk Ercan Şenol Şengül Demircan Şenel Şensoy Candan
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 Şen same root – –
04 Şener same root – –
05 Şentürk same root – –
06 Ercan same root – –
07 Şenol same root – –
08 Şengül same root – –
09 Demircan same root – –
10 Şenel same root – –
11 Şensoy same root – –
12 Candan same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Şencan?

  1. Ali Rıza Şencan teacher
  2. Serdar Şencan painter 1960–
  3. Mehmet Şencan researcher
  4. Melih Şencan association football player
  5. Orhan Şencan researcher
  6. Savaş Şencan researcher
  7. Özlem Şencan basketball player 1979–
  8. İsmail Şencan association football referee

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

Is Şencan also a first name?

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

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

How is Şencan written and pronounced abroad?

Records without Turkish letters usually write Sencan.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 kureansiklopedi.com kureansiklopedi.com: sen-5f714 accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: şen accessed 9 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: 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 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026
  7. 7 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Şencan

Q1

What does the surname Şencan mean?

Şen, “cheerful, merry”, joins can, “soul, life; dear one”: “a cheerful soul”, a smiling, happy person. Can comes from Persian and is also used in Turkish as an affectionate form of address. It follows the pattern of names ending in -can such as Özcan and Akcan.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Şencan?

Şencan is made up of two elements: şen “cheerful, merry” (Armenian) and can “soul, life; beloved” (Persian).
Q3

How do you pronounce Şencan?

Şen·can, 2 syllables; IPA: /ʃenˈdʒan/.