Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 4,100

Talan

Talan /taˈɫan/

“plunder, raid”1

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
Plain noun
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
T
Contents§1–§10
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Notable people
  6. §6As a first name
  7. §7Abroad
  8. §8Sources
  9. §9Questions
  10. §10Related

How do you pronounce Talan?

Talan

IPA /taˈɫan/

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

What does the surname Talan mean?

Talan means “plunder, pillage” and was borrowed from Mongolic talaġa(n) “raid, plunder”, built on the verb tala- “to plunder” shared by Middle Turkic and Mongolic. The word lives on in the Turkish phrase talan etmek “to loot”. Turkish Wiktionary also records Talan as a female given name.1

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

Talan is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Talan made of?

Talan is a single Mongolic root: talan (talan: plunder, pillage).

Talan root talan talan: plunder, pillage MONGOLIC talan “plunder, raid” Talan talan root talan: plunder, pillage talan MONGOLIC “plunder, raid”
Talan: parts and root words
  • talan Mongolic — plunder, raid1

How was the name Talan formed?

Talan is the word talan (“talan: plunder, pillage”), taken unchanged as a surname.

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

Who are some well-known people named Talan?

  1. Murat Talan basketball player 1980–

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

Is Talan also a first name?

Yes. Talan is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “plunder, raid”.

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

How is Talan written and pronounced abroad?

The name contains no Turkish-specific letters and is written Talan in foreign records too.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: talan accessed 9 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: talan accessed 9 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Wiktionary: talan accessed 9 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 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Talan

Q1

What does the surname Talan mean?

Talan means “plunder, pillage” and was borrowed from Mongolic talaġa(n) “raid, plunder”, built on the verb tala- “to plunder” shared by Middle Turkic and Mongolic. The word lives on in the Turkish phrase talan etmek “to loot”. Turkish Wiktionary also records Talan as a female given name.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Talan?

The root word of Talan is talan (Mongolic): “plunder, raid”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Talan?

Ta·lan, 2 syllables; IPA: /taˈɫan/.