Candan
A Turkish name derived from the word "candar", meaning "vigorous" or "lively".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Candan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Candan today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Candan births was 2011 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Candan. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Candan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2011
5 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2011 SSA rank
#12,581
Tracked since 2011
Popularity
Candan: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Candan by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Candan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Candan
The name Candan is of Turkish origin and is derived from the word 'can,' which means soul or life in Turkish. The earliest known recorded use of the name dates back to the 13th century during the Ottoman Empire.
Candan was a popular name among the Turkish nobility and upper classes during the Ottoman period. It is believed that the name was first given to children as a way of wishing them a long and prosperous life, reflecting the meaning of the word 'can.'
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Candan can be found in the memoirs of Evliya Çelebi, a famous Ottoman traveler and writer who lived in the 17th century. He mentions a woman named Candan who was a renowned singer and performer in the court of Sultan Murad IV.
In the 16th century, there was a famous Ottoman poet and mystic named Candan Halvetî, who was known for his spiritual writings and verses. He was born in 1538 and passed away in 1603.
Another notable figure with the name Candan was Candan Erçetin, a Turkish singer and actress who lived from 1963 to 2009. She was one of the most popular and celebrated artists in Turkey during her lifetime.
In the 20th century, Candan Özbay was a renowned Turkish writer and journalist who lived from 1924 to 2008. She was known for her novels and short stories that explored the lives of women in Turkey.
Candan Yıldırım was a Turkish actress and model who was born in 1975. She gained popularity for her roles in various Turkish television series and movies in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
While the name Candan has its roots in Turkish culture and history, it has also been adopted by people of different ethnicities and backgrounds over time, particularly in regions with a significant Turkish diaspora or influence.
People
Candan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Candan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Candan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Candan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Candan going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Candan a common name?
We classify Candan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Candan most popular?
The single biggest year for Candan was 2011, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Candan is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Candan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Candan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Candan in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Candan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Candan in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Candan can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Candan?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Candan at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.