Can (name)

Given name

Can (Turkish: [dʒan]) is a common Turkish, Azerbaijani and Circassian given name and surname, meaning spirit, life, soul or heart. Turkish and Azerbaijani use is derived from the Persian word Jan (Persian: جان) and Circassian use is derived from Circassian word Janberk. In Turkish, the name Can is pronounced similarly to the common English name John. Džan is a variant in use in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Given name

First name

  • Can Akın (born 1983), Turkish basketball player
  • Can Arat (born 1984), Turkish footballer
  • Can Artam (born 1981), Turkish race car driver
  • Can Atilla (born 1969), Turkish composer and musician
  • Can Ayvazoğlu (born 1979), Turkish volleyball player
  • Can Bartu (1936–2019), Turkish basketball player, footballer and columnist
  • Pashanim (born 2000), German rapper of Kurdish descent whose real name is Can David Bayram
  • Can Bonomo (born 1987), Turkish pop singer
  • Can Dündar (born 1961), Turkish journalist, columnist and documentarian
  • Can Emre Yücel (born 1983), Turkish footballer
  • Can Erdem (born 1987), Turkish footballer
  • Can Ergenekan (born 1972), Turkish-American swimmer
  • Can Kim Hua, Vietnamese-American professional poker player
  • Can Korkmaz (born 1992), Turkish basketball player
  • Can Maxim Mutaf (born 1991), Turkish basketball player
  • Can Öncü (born 2003), Turkish motorcycle racer
  • Can Themba (1924–68), South African short-story writer
  • Can Togay (born 1955), Hungarian film director
  • Can Yücel (1926–1999), Turkish poet
  • Can Yaman, Turkish actor

Middle name

Chinese and Vietnamese

  • Huy Cận (1919–2005), Vietnamese poet
  • Kun Can (1612 – after 1674), Chinese painter
  • Liu Can (died 318), emperor of the Chinese/Xiongnu state Han Zhao
  • Liu Can (Tang dynasty) (died 906), official of the Chinese Tang dynasty
  • Ngô Đình Cẩn (1911–64), member of South Vietnam's Diệm government
  • Nguyễn Bá Cẩn (1930–2009), former Prime Minister of South Vietnam
  • Trịnh Căn (1633–1709), Vietnamese ruler
  • Wang Can (177–217), politician, scholar and poet during Chinese Han dynasty
  • Wu Can (died 245), official of Eastern Wu during the Chinese Three Kingdoms period
  • Yuan Can (420–477), high-level official of the Chinese dynasty Liu Song
  • Zhou Can (born 1979), Chinese long jumper
  • Zhu Can (died 621), rebel leader during the Chinese Sui dynasty

Surname

  • Cem Can (born 1981), Turkish footballer
  • Cihan Can (born 1986), Turkish footballer
  • Çiğdem Can Rasna (born 1976), Turkish volleyball player
  • Derya Can Göçen, Turkish world record holder female free-diver
  • Emre Can (born 1994), German footballer
  • Emre Can (chess player) (born 1990), Turkish Grand Master chess player
  • Erdem Can (born 1980), Turkish basketball coach
  • Erkan Can (born 1958), Turkish film and theatre actor
  • Eyüp Can (boxer) (born 1964), Turkish boxer
  • Melisa Can (born 1984), U.S.-born Turkish female basketball player
  • Mustafa Can (born 1969), Swedish author and journalist of Kurdish origin
  • Müslüm Can (born 1975), German footballer
  • Osman Can, Turkish jurist
  • Sena Can (born 2001), Turkish sport shooter
  • Sibel Can (born 1970), Turkish folk pop singer
  • Şenol Can (born 1983), Turkish footballer
  • Yasemin Can (born 1996), Turkish female long-distance runner of Kenyan origin

Cans

  • Joacim Cans (born 1970), member of the Swedish band HammerFall
Name list
This page or section lists people that share the same given name.
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Surname list
This page lists people with the surname Can.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.