The baby name Achan is a Male name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced {'Hebrew': "AH-khan (approx. /ˈaχan/ — guttural 'ch' as in German 'Bach')", 'Malayalam': "AH-chan or AH-chahn (approx. /ˈɑtʃən/ — 'ch' as in 'chair')"}.
The baby name Achan is a Male name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced {'Hebrew': "AH-khan (approx. /ˈaχan/ — guttural 'ch' as in German 'Bach')", 'Malayalam': "AH-chan or AH-chahn (approx. /ˈɑtʃən/ — 'ch' as in 'chair')"}.
Achan is Hebrew, Malayalam in Origin.
From biblical Hebrew עכן (Achan), with the Chronicler’s variant עכר (Achar), associated by wordplay with the verb עכר (‘akar) “to trouble”; hence the conventional meaning “troubler,” reflected also in the “Valley of Achor” (“trouble”). Achan appears in the Book of Joshua as the Israelite who kept banned spoils from Jericho, bringing disaster on Israel.
Because of that narrative, the name has seen little post-biblical use among Jewish and Christian communities, though it occasionally surfaces in scholarly or literary contexts and in modern naming for its stark, Old Testament character. English pronunciation is AH-kahn; forms include Achan and Achar. Typically masculine; feminine usage is rare. Not to be confused with Malayalam achan “father,” an honorific/title rather than a given name. Related but etymologically distinct is Akan/Jakan, a different biblical figure whose name is sometimes conflated with Achan.
United States · Based on birth registration data from government sources.
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