Browse Names - Behind the Name

Abbas عبّاس m Arabic, Persian, Azerbaijani, Urdu
Means "austere" in Arabic. This was the name of the Prophet Muhammad's uncle. It was also borne by a son of Ali, the fourth caliph.

Ahmad احمد m Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Bengali, Pashto, Indonesian, Malay, Avar, Uzbek
Means "most commendable, most praiseworthy" in Arabic (a superlative form of Hamid 1).

Akbar اکبر m Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Pashto, Indonesian, Indian (Muslim)
Means "greater, greatest" in Arabic, a derivative of كبير (kabīr) meaning "great, big". This was the name of a 16th-century Mughal ruler who expanded the empire to include most of India.

Akram اکرم m & f Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Bengali
Means "most generous" in Arabic (a superlative form of Karim). It is typically feminine in Iran, unisex in Pakistan, and masculine elsewhere.

Arash آرش m Persian, Persian Mythology
From Avestan 𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬑𐬱𐬀 (Ərəxsha), of uncertain meaning, possibly from a root meaning "bear". In Iranian legend Arash was an archer who was ordered by the Turans to shoot an arrow, the landing place of which would determine the new location of the Iran-Turan border. Arash climbed a mountain and fired his arrow with such strength that it flew for several hours and landed on the banks of the far-away Oxus River.

Arman 1 آرمان m Persian, Kazakh
Means "wish, hope" in Persian.

Babak بابک m Persian
From Middle Persian 𐭯𐭠𐭯𐭪𐭩 (Papak) meaning "little father". This was the name of the father of Ardashir, the founder of the Sasanian Empire in Persia. It was also borne by the 9th-century resistance leader Babak Khorramdin.

Baran باران f & m Persian, Turkish, Kurdish
Means "rain" in Persian. It is typically feminine in Persian and masculine in Turkish and Kurdish.

Davud داوود, داود m Persian, Azerbaijani, Bosnian
Persian, Azerbaijani and Bosnian form of David.

Ehsan احسان m Persian, Urdu
Persian form of Ihsan, as well as an alternate Urdu transcription.

Erfan عرفان m Persian
Persian form of Irfan.

Farid فرید m Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Bengali
Means "unique, precious" in Arabic, derived from فرد (farada) meaning "to be unique, to be alone". This was the name of a 13th-century Persian poet.

Gohar گوهر f & m Persian, Armenian, Urdu
From Persian گوهر (gōhar) meaning "jewel, gemstone". This name is typically feminine in Iran and Armenia, but masculine in Pakistan.

Habib حبیب m Arabic, Persian, Urdu
Means "beloved, darling" in Arabic.

Hajar هاجر f Arabic, Persian, Malay
Arabic form of Hagar. According to Islamic tradition she was a daughter of the king of Egypt, who became the second wife of Ibrahim and the mother of Ismail.

Hamed حامد m Arabic, Persian
Alternate transcription of Arabic حامد (see Hamid 2), as well as the usual Persian transcription.

Hamid 1 حمید m Arabic, Persian, Pashto, Urdu, Uzbek, Malay, Bosnian
Means "praiseworthy" in Arabic, from the root حمد (ḥamida) meaning "to praise". In Islamic tradition الحميد (al-Ḥamīd) is one of the 99 names of Allah.

Hasan حسن m Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, Indonesian, Malay, Albanian, Bosnian
Means "handsome" in Arabic, from the root حسن (ḥasuna) meaning "to be beautiful, to be good". Hasan was the son of Ali and the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. He was poisoned by one of his wives and is regarded as a martyr by Shia Muslims. This was also the name of two kings of Morocco. It is sometimes transcribed as Hassan, though this is a distinct name in Arabic.

Hayat حیات f & m Arabic, Persian, Urdu
Means "life" in Arabic, from حيي (ḥayiya) meaning "to live". In Arabic and Persian it is a feminine name, while in Urdu it is masculine.

Jafar جعفر m Arabic, Persian
Means "stream" in Arabic. Jafar ibn Abi Talib was a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad who was killed fighting against Byzantium in the 7th century. Another notable bearer was Jafar al-Sadiq, the sixth Shia imam.

Jahan جهان m Persian
Means "world" in Persian. This name was borne by Shah Jahan, a 17th-century Mughal emperor who is best known as the builder of the Taj Mahal.

Mahdi مهدی m Arabic, Persian
Means "guided one" in Arabic, a derivative of هدى (hadā) meaning "to lead the right way, to guide".

Mas'ud مسعود m Arabic, Persian
Alternate transcription of Arabic/Persian مسعود (see Masud).

Mehdi مهدی m Persian, Azerbaijani, Arabic (Maghrebi)
Persian, Azerbaijani and North African form of Mahdi.

Mirza میرزا m Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Bosnian
Means "prince" from Persian میرزا (mīrzā), earlier امیرزاده (amīrzādeh), which is ultimately from Arabic أمير (ʾamīr) meaning "commander" combined with Persian زاده (zādeh) meaning "offspring".

Mitra 2 میترا f Persian
Modern variant of Mithra used as a feminine name. The true Modern Persian form of Mithra is in fact Mehr.

Nahid ناهید f Persian Mythology, Persian, Bengali
Modern Persian form of Anahita. This is also the Persian name for the planet Venus.

Nasir ناصر, نصیر m Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Bengali, Malay
Means "helper" in Arabic, from the root نصر (naṣara) meaning "to help, to aid". This transcription represents two related yet distinct Arabic names: ناصر, in which the first vowel is long, and نصير, in which the second vowel is long.

Negar نگار f Persian
Means "beloved" in Persian.

Shams شمس f & m Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Semitic Mythology
Means "sun" in Arabic. This was the name of a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess of the sun, identified with the Akkadian sun god Shamash (whose name is related) and the northern Arabian goddess Nuha.

Simin سیمین f Persian
Means "silvery" in Persian.

Yahya یحیی m Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Indonesian, Malay
Arabic form of Yoḥanan (see John) appearing in the Quran, as well as the Turkish and Persian form. This name honours John the Baptist, a prophet in Islam.

Yusef یوسف m Persian, Arabic
Alternate transcription of Persian یوسف (see Yousef) or Arabic يوسف (see Yusuf).

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