Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 4,338

Tunakan

Tunakan /tunaˈkan/

“Alper Tunga Khan”2

Letters / syllables
7 / 3
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
T
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 Tunakan?

Tunakan

IPA /tunaˈkan/

The stress usually falls on syllable 3 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.

What does the surname Tunakan mean?

Tunakan is a male given name formed from Tuna and kan. Nişanyan Adlar explains it in the sense of “Alper Tunga Khan”, with kan standing for the title han. On its own, Tuna is both the name of the Danube and a personal name.1,2

Grammar Tuna + kan: name-element compound.

That Tunakan goes back to Tuna and kan is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

What is Tunakan made of?

Tunakan is Turkic in origin and breaks into 2 parts: Tuna (the Danube; as a shortening of Tunga) + kan / han (khan, ruler).

Tunakan ++ root Tuna the Danube; as ashortening of Tunga TURKIC Tuna “given name; the Danube” suffix kan / han khan, ruler TURKIC kan “lineage; (in names) khan” Tunakan Tuna root the Danube; as a shortening of Tunga Tuna TURKIC “given name; the Danube” kan / han suffix khan, ruler kan TURKIC “lineage; (in names) khan”
Tunakan: parts and root words
  • Tuna Turkic — given name; the Danube2
  • kan Turkic — lineage; (in names) khan1

How was the name Tunakan formed?

Tunakan was formed by adding the suffix kan / han (“khan, ruler”) to Tuna (“the Danube; as a shortening of Tunga”).

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

Which surnames are related to Tunakan?

Tunakan Özkan Alkan Arıkan Tuna Gürkan Kandemir Atakan Tunalı Türkkan Durukan Demirkan Soykan
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Özkan same root 22 245,254
02 Alkan same root – –
03 Arıkan same root – –
04 Tuna same root – –
05 Gürkan same root – –
06 Kandemir same root – –
07 Atakan same root – –
08 Tunalı same root – –
09 Türkkan same root – –
10 Durukan same root – –
11 Demirkan same root – –
12 Soykan same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Tunakan?

  1. Erdem Tunakan musician 1967–
  2. Hüseyin Kenan Tunakan neurologist 1896–1948
  3. Ruhi Tunakan statesperson 1915–1979
  4. Rukiye Nevra Tunakan psychologist 1932–
  5. Sadrettin Tunakan physicist 1911–
  6. Seniha Tunakan biologist 1908–2000

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

Is Tunakan also a first name?

Yes. Tunakan is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “Alper Tunga Khan”.

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

How is Tunakan written and pronounced abroad?

Tunakan uses only letters shared with English, so the spelling stays the same abroad.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Adlar: Tunakan accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: Tuna 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 Tunakan

Q1

What does the surname Tunakan mean?

Tunakan is a male given name formed from Tuna and kan. Nişanyan Adlar explains it in the sense of “Alper Tunga Khan”, with kan standing for the title han. On its own, Tuna is both the name of the Danube and a personal name.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Tunakan?

Tunakan is made up of two elements: Tuna “given name; the Danube” (Turkic) and kan “lineage; (in names) khan” (Turkic).
Q3

How do you pronounce Tunakan?

Tu·na·kan, 3 syllables; IPA: /tunaˈkan/.