🔼The name Kartan in the Bible
The name Kartan occurs only once in the Bible. It's the name of one of one of three cities that were donated to the Gershonites by the tribe of Naphtali (Joshua 21:32). Kartan is not mentioned among the cities that were situated in the territory allotted to the tribe of Naphtali (Joshua 19:32-39), so it was possibly created by Naphtali at some point. The Chronicler tells of this same transaction but calls this town Kiriathaim (1 Chronicles 6:76).
🔼Etymology of the name Kartan
The name Kartan comes from the noun קריה (qiryah), meaning city, which itself derives from the verb קרה (qara), meaning to meet or get together:
The letter ן (nun) upon which our name ends may be a remnant of the familiar waw-nun couple, it may be a diminutive form, and it may be a corruption of the plural ים of Kiriathaim.
For a meaning of the name Kartan, NOBSE Study Bible Name List seems to take the final nun to be a diminutive, and reads Town, which would be a small city.
Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names believes that the final nun is due to an ancient dual form and reads Two Cities.
BDB Theological Dictionary doesn't propose an interpretation of Kartan but does list it under the verb קרה (qara), meaning to meet or get together.