Behind the Name: Ancient Persian Names

ARTAKHSHATHRAmAncient Persian
Old Persian form of ARTAXERXES.

ARTAXERXESmAncient Persian (Hellenized), Biblical
Greek form of the Persian name Artakhshathra meaning "righteous ruler". This was the name of several Achaemenid Persian rulers. It was also borne by the founder of the Sassanid Empire, usually known by the Middle Persian form Ardashir.

BABAKبابکmPersian, Ancient Persian
Means "little father" in Persian. This was the name of the father of Ardashir, the founder of the Sassanid Empire in Persia. It was also borne by the 9th-century resistance leader Babak Khorramdin.

BAGADATAmAncient Persian
Old Persian name derived from baga "god" and data "given". This was the name of a 3rd-century BC Persian satrap under the Seleucid Empire.

DARAYAVAHUSHmAncient Persian
Old Persian form of DARIUS.

KAMBUJIYAmAncient Persian
Old Persian form of CAMBYSES.

KHSHAYARSHAmAncient Persian
Persian form of XERXES.

KURUSHmAncient Persian
Old Persian form of CYRUS.

MITHRADATHAmAncient Persian
Old Persian form of MITHRIDATES.

MITHRIDATESmAncient Persian (Hellenized)
Greek form of the Old Persian name Mithradatha meaning "gift of MITHRA". This was the name (in Greek) of several Parthian kings.

NARSEHmAncient Persian
Persian form of NAIRYOSANGHA.

NARSESmAncient Persian (Hellenized)
Hellenized form of the Persian name Narseh, which was derived from Avestan NAIRYOSANGHA. This name was borne by a Byzantine general of Armenian descent who helped restore Italy to the Roman Empire during the reign of Justinian I in the 6th century.

PAPAKmAncient Persian
Variant of BABAK.

ROSHANAKروشنکfPersian, Ancient Persian
Original Persian form of ROXANA.

TAHMASPتهماسبmAncient Persian
Persian form of the Avestan name Takhmaspa, which was derived from takhma "strong, brave, valiant" and aspa "horse". This name was borne by two Safavid shahs of Persia.

TAKHMASPAmAncient Persian
Avestan form of TAHMASP.

ZARATHUSHTRAmAncient Persian
Ancient Avestan form of ZARATHUSTRA.

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