Ağa m AzerbaijaniFrom a Turkic title (usually rendered
agha in English) meaning
"lord, master".
Amiran m Georgian, LiteratureVariant of
Amirani. This is the name of the central character in the medieval Georgian romance
Amiran-Darejaniani by Moses of Khoni. The author was inspired by the mythical Amirani and the stories surrounding him, and loosely based his tale on them.
Amirani m Georgian MythologyMeaning unknown, probably of Proto-Kartvelian origin. This is the name of a hero from Georgian mythology whose story is similar to that of
Prometheus from Greek mythology.
Ani 2 f ArmenianFrom the name of an old Armenian city, of unknown meaning. Now in eastern Turkey, in the 10th and 11th centuries it was the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia, though it was later abandoned and is now only ruins.
Anush f ArmenianMeans
"sweet" in Armenian. This was the name of an 1890 novel by the Armenia writer Hovhannes Tumanyan. It was adapted into an opera in 1912 by Armen Tigranian.
Ara m Armenian, Armenian MythologyMeaning unknown, possibly of Sumerian origin. In Armenian legend this was the name of an Armenian king who was so handsome that the Assyrian queen
Semiramis went to war to capture him. During the war Ara was slain.
Aram 2 m ArmenianMeaning uncertain. According to the 5th-century Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi this was the name of an ancient ancestor of the Armenian people. A famous bearer was the composer Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978).
Ararat m ArmenianFrom the name of a mountain in eastern Turkey (formerly part of Armenia), the place where
Noah's Ark came to rest according to the Old Testament.
Arax f ArmenianFrom the name of an Armenian river, also called the Aras.
Archil m GeorgianMeaning unknown, of Persian origin. This was the name of an 8th-century Georgian noble who was executed for refusing to convert to Islam.
Areg m ArmenianMeans
"sun, bright" in Armenian (a poetic word).
Arpi f ArmenianMeans
"sun, ether" in Armenian (a poetic word).
Aslan m Turkish, Kazakh, Azerbaijani, Chechen, Ossetian, Circassian, LiteratureFrom Turkic
arslan meaning
"lion". This was a byname or title borne by several medieval Turkic rulers, including the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan (a byname meaning "brave lion") who drove the Byzantines from Anatolia in the 11th century. The author C. S. Lewis later used the name
Aslan for the main protagonist (a lion) in his
Chronicles of Narnia series of books, first appearing in 1950.
Ayan 2 f & m Azerbaijani, KazakhMeans
"clear, obvious, revelation" in Kazakh and Azerbaijani, from Arabic
عيان ('iyan) meaning "witnessing, seeing, clear", a derivative of
عاين ('ayana) meaning "to see". It is feminine in Azerbaijan and masculine in Kazakhstan.
Ayaz m Turkish, Azerbaijani, UrduFrom Turkish and Azerbaijani
ayaz meaning
"frost" or
"dry and cold air". This was the name of a slave and later companion of the 11th-century sultan Mahmud of Ghazni.
Baba m AzerbaijaniFrom a nickname or honorific meaning
"old man" in Azerbaijani.
Baia f GeorgianFrom the Georgian name for the buttercup flower (or any flowering plant from the genus Ranunculus).
Batraz m Ossetian, Caucasian MythologyPossibly from Turkic
bagatur meaning
"hero, warrior, brave". This is the name of the leader of the superhuman Narts in Caucasian mythology.
Bidzina m GeorgianFrom Georgian
ბიძა (bidza) meaning
"uncle". This was the name of a 17th-century Georgian saint and martyr.
Ceyhun m Turkish, AzerbaijaniFrom Arabic
جيحون (Jayhun), from Hebrew
גיחון (Gichon), which in the Old Testament is a river originating in the Garden of Eden. The river's name itself is derived from Hebrew
גּיחַ (giyach) meaning "to burst forth". In Islamic tradition it is identified with the Amu Darya, a river in central Asia.
Dukvakha m ChechenMeans
"to live long", derived from Nakh
duqa "many" and
vakha "to live".
Dzhokhar m ChechenPossibly from Persian
گوهر (gohar) meaning
"jewel, essence" or
جوهر (johar) meaning
"essence, ink" (which comes from the same root, but via a loan to Arabic and retransmission to Persian).
Elvin 2 m AzerbaijaniMeaning uncertain, possibly in part from Azerbaijani
el meaning
"country, society".
Eter f GeorgianMeans
"ether, air" in Georgian. This name features in the opera
Abesalom and Eteri (1918), which was based on a medieval Georgian folktale.
Eteri f GeorgianForm of
Eter with the nominative suffix, used when the name is written stand-alone.
Gagik m ArmenianPossibly derived from Armenian
գագաթ (gagat) meaning
"summit, peak, top". This was the name of two kings of Armenia.
Gocha m GeorgianMeaning unknown, possibly from a Georgian dialectal word meaning
"old man".
Gohar f & m Persian, Armenian, UrduFrom Persian
گوهر (gohar) meaning
"jewel, gemstone". This name is typically feminine in Iran and Armenia, but masculine in Pakistan.
Gulisa f GeorgianMeans
"of the heart" in Georgian, from
გულის (gulis), the genitive of
გული (guli) meaning "heart".
Gurgen m Armenian, GeorgianDerived from Middle Persian
𐭢𐭥𐭫𐭢 (gurg) meaning
"wolf" combined with a diminutive suffix. This name was borne by several Georgian kings and princes.
Hayk m ArmenianProbably from the Armenian word
հայ (hay) meaning
"Armenian", although some hold that the ethnic name is in fact derived from the given name. This was the name of the legendary forefather of the Armenian people, supposedly a great-great-grandson of
Noah, according to the 5th-century Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi.
İradə f AzerbaijaniMeans
"will, determination, decree" in Azerbaijani, derived from Arabic
إرادة (iradah).
Islambek m ChechenDerived from
Islam, the name of the religion (ultimately from Arabic
إسلام), combined with the Turkic military title
beg meaning "chieftain, master".
Karine 3 f ArmenianProbably from
Կարին (Karin), the Armenian name for the city of Erzurum in eastern Turkey. It was an Armenian city in classical times.
Khanpasha m ChechenDerived from the Turkic title
Khan meaning "ruler, leader" combined with the high Ottoman military rank
pasha.
Khatuna f GeorgianFrom the Turkic title
khatun meaning
"lady, woman", a feminine form of
khan.
Lali f GeorgianMeans
"ruby" in Georgian, of Sanskrit origin.
Lasha m GeorgianPossibly from a Northwest Caucasian word meaning
"light". This was a name of Giorgi IV, a 13th-century king of Georgia.
Lela 1 f GeorgianMeaning uncertain, possibly from the name of a type of plant.
Madina f Tajik, Uzbek, Kazakh, Avar, ChechenFrom the name of the city of Medina, Arabic
المدينة (al-Madinah), which means "the city". The Saudi city is considered an Islamic holy site because the Prophet
Muhammad was based there for a period.
Malkhaz m GeorgianPossibly means
"beautiful, elegant, youthful" in Georgian.
Manana f GeorgianMeans both
"heather" and
"manna, divine food" in Georgian.
Mayrbek m ChechenDerived from Nakh
майра (mayra) meaning "husband, brave man" combined with the Turkic military title
beg meaning "chieftain, master".
Mimoza f Albanian, GeorgianFrom the Albanian and Georgian word for the mimosa plant, a flowering herb. It is ultimately derived from Greek
μῖμος (mimos) meaning "mimic".
Naida f DagestaniMeaning uncertain, possibly derived from Greek
Ναϊάς (Naias), a type of water nymph in Greek mythology (plural
Ναϊάδες). Alternatively it might be related to Persian
Nahid.
Nana 3 f GeorgianMeaning unknown. This was the name of a 4th-century queen consort of Georgia who is regarded as a saint in the Orthodox Church.
Narek m ArmenianFrom the name of a 10th-century Armenian saint, Grigor of Narek, who came from the town of Narek (formerly in Armenia, now in eastern Turkey).
Narine f ArmenianProbably from Persian
نار (nar) meaning
"pomegranate", considered a sacred fruit in Armenian culture. Alternately, it could be derived from Arabic
نار (nar) meaning
"fire".
Nazaret f & m Spanish, ArmenianFrom Nazareth, the town in Galilee where
Jesus lived. This name is primarily feminine in Spanish and primarily masculine in Armenian.
Otar m GeorgianDerived from Turkic
otar meaning
"pasture, meadow".
Perchuhi f ArmenianMeans
"elegant lady", from Armenian
պերճ (perch) meaning "elegant, splendid" and the feminine suffix
ուհի (uhi).
Qulu m AzerbaijaniMeans
"servant" in Azerbaijani. It is sometimes used as the second part of compound names.
Qurban m Urdu, AzerbaijaniFrom Arabic
قربان (qurban) meaning
"sacrifice, sacrificial animal". It is associated with the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha, which features the ritual sacrifice of an animal.
Revaz m GeorgianPossibly of Persian origin meaning
"wealthy, successful".
Revazi m GeorgianForm of
Revaz with the nominative suffix, used when the name is written stand-alone.
Rusudan f GeorgianPossibly derived from Persian
روز (ruz) meaning
"day". This name was borne by a 13th-century ruling queen of Georgia.
Ruzan f ArmenianMeaning unknown. It was used by the Armenian author Muratsan for the main character in his historical play
Ruzan (1882).
Salambek m ChechenDerived from Arabic
سلام (salam) meaning "peace" combined with the Turkic military title
beg meaning "chieftain, master".
Sevan f & m ArmenianFrom the name of the largest lake in Armenia, which may be from the Urartian word
suinia simply meaning "lake".
Sevda f Turkish, AzerbaijaniMeans
"love, infatuation" in Turkish and Azerbaijani, ultimately from Arabic
سوداء (sawda) meaning "black bile, melancholy, sadness".
Shalva m GeorgianMeaning unknown. This was the name of a 13th-century Georgian hero, considered a saint in the Georgian Church.
Sosruko m Caucasian MythologyDerived from Turkic
suslä meaning
"menacing". This is the name of a trickster god in Caucasian mythology. He is the hero of the Nart sagas.
Srbuhi f ArmenianMeans
"holy woman, female saint" in Armenian, derived from
սուրբ (surb) meaning "holy, sacred".
Sultan m & f Arabic, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Urdu, Bengali, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, AvarMeans
"ruler, king, sultan" in Arabic. In the Arab world this name is typically masculine, but Turkey it is given to both boys and girls.
Talin f ArmenianFrom the name of an Armenian town (meaning unknown), which is home to a famous 7th-century cathedral.
Taron m ArmenianFrom the name of a region in historic Armenia (now in Turkey).
Tatev f ArmenianFrom the name of the Tatev monastery in southern Armenia.
Telman m AzerbaijaniSoviet-era name derived from the usual Azerbaijani spelling of the surname of the German communist party leader Ernst Thälmann (1886-1944; see
Thälmann).
Tornike m GeorgianGeorgian form of Greek
Τορνίκιος (Tornikios) or
Τορνίκης (Tornikes), the name of a prominent Byzantine family that was of Armenian or Georgian descent. The family name may be derived from Armenian
թոռնիկ (tornik), a diminutive of
թոռն (torn) meaning
"grandchild". Usage as a given name probably began in honour of the family, a notable member of which was a saint.
Tsisana f GeorgianProbably derived from Georgian
ცის (tsis) meaning
"of the sky", the genitive case of
ცა (tsa) meaning "sky, heaven". This is also an alternative Georgian word for the forget-me-not flower.
Tsisia f GeorgianDerived from Georgian
ცის (tsis) meaning
"of the sky", the genitive case of
ცა (tsa) meaning "sky, heaven".
Tsiuri f GeorgianMeans
"heavenly, celestial" in Georgian, a derivative of
ცა (tsa) meaning "sky, heaven".
Turan m & f Turkish, AzerbaijaniFrom Persian
توران (Turan), a historical region in Central Asia, originally inhabited by nomadic Iranian peoples. It is traditionally said to mean
"land of Tur". The place is mentioned frequently in the 10th-century Persian epic the
Shahnameh.
Vahe m ArmenianPossibly from Old Persian
𐎺𐎢 (vau) meaning
"good". This was the name of a semi-legendary 4th-century BC Armenian king.
Vakhtang m GeorgianPossibly from Old Persian
𐎺𐎼𐎣 𐎫𐎵𐎢 (varka tanu) meaning
"wolf-bodied". This name was borne by several kings of Georgia.
Vardan m ArmenianDerived from Armenian
վարդ (vard) meaning
"rose", ultimately from an Iranian language.
Vardo f GeorgianDerived from Georgian
ვარდი (vardi) meaning
"rose", ultimately from an Iranian language via Armenian.
Zviadi m GeorgianForm of
Zviad with the nominative suffix, used when the name is written stand-alone.