Persian Name Generator
Full Persian names in three styles: the names Iranian parents pick today, names from the Shahnameh's kings and heroes, and the traditional names of the Islamic era, with meanings shown where they are firm.
- Karim Isfahani
- Kaveh Mirzaeithe blacksmith
- Mostafa Rezazadeh
- Hassan Hosseinzadeh
- Mina Amini
- Tahmineh Hosseinzadehmother of Sohrab
- Majid Alizadeh
- Bijan Yazdi
- Shahin Jafarifalcon
- Kaveh Kashanithe blacksmith
- Manijeh Rezaeibeloved of Bijan
- Sepehr Karimisky
- Jafar Shahbazi
- Baran Hosseinzadehrain
- Zeynab Ebrahimi
- Mahboubeh Tehrani
- Tahereh Kiani
- Bijan Zarei
- Tus Rahimi
- Mahboubeh Karimi
How people pick persian names
Persian names draw on three deep wells. The oldest is the pre-Islamic Iranian world, with names like Kourosh (Cyrus), Dariush (Darius) and Anahita, a water goddess. The second is the Shahnameh, Ferdowsi's Book of Kings, finished around the year 1010, which supplied Rostam, Sohrab, Siavash, Rudabeh and Tahmineh and remains a favorite source. The third is the Islamic tradition, with names such as Mohammad, Ali, Fatemeh and Zahra, shared with the Arabic-speaking world but pronounced in a Persian way.
The meanings are not hidden. Persian names are usually built from ordinary words, so Setareh is star, Shabnam is dew, Laleh is tulip, Omid is hope and Navid is good news. Parents choose a name for its sound and for its meaning, and a name like Baran (rain) or Bahar (spring) can be given to a child without any special background. Persian has no grammatical gender, so nothing in a name marks it, and that is why most people simply memorize which names go to boys and which to girls.
Surnames arrived late. Hereditary surnames became standard in Iran only after 1925, in the Pahlavi era, and families chose from a handful of patterns: an -i ending that means from or belonging to (Tehrani, Shirazi, Karimi), -zadeh meaning descended from (Alizadeh, Hosseinzadeh), or an occupation or family name. Women in Iran generally keep their own surname after marriage, so a Persian husband and wife often have different surnames.
Names from the Shahnameh
Ferdowsi's poem is a thousand years old and gives Persian its most treasured cast. Rostam is the strongest champion, Sohrab his tragic son, Siavash the pure-hearted prince, and Kaveh a blacksmith who leads a revolt against a tyrant. Among the women, Rudabeh is Rostam's mother, Tahmineh his wife, and Gordafarid a warrior who fights Sohrab in armor.
Many of these names are used by ordinary families today, so a character named Sohrab or Manijeh will not sound like a costume. The Shahnameh style gives you those names, and the Traditional and Modern chips give you the everyday ones. If you are looking for names in the manner of the Arabic-speaking Islamic world, the Arabic name generator is a close cousin.
Twenty Persian names and what they mean
- Setareh AhmadiSetareh means star, and Ahmadi is one of the most common Iranian surnames.
- Arman KarimiArman means wish or ideal, an optimistic name with clean, easy sounds.
- Shabnam HosseiniShabnam is morning dew, and it is a popular girls' name for its gentle, poetic image.
- Omid RezaeiOmid means hope and is used for boys, common in Iran and in the diaspora.
- Rostam JafariThe great hero of the Shahnameh, chosen for boys expected to be strong.
- Tahmineh FarahaniTahmineh is the princess who becomes the mother of Sohrab, a name that sounds dignified and slightly tragic.
- Kourosh ShiraziThe Persian form of Cyrus; Shirazi means from Shiraz, the city of poets and gardens.
- Yasaman MoradiYasaman is jasmine, a very common girls' name with a lovely sound.
- Navid SadeghiNavid means good news, a name with a hopeful ring.
- Nazanin TehraniNazanin means delicate and lovely, and Tehrani identifies a family from Tehran.
- Sepehr NaderiSepehr is a poetic word for sky, and it has become a modern boys' favorite.
- Fatemeh MousaviFatemeh is among the most common women's names in Iran; Mousavi points to a line of descent from Musa.
- Mostafa AlizadehA traditional male name with a -zadeh surname meaning descended from Ali.
- Roya BagheriRoya means dream, and it is a soft two-syllable name for a girl.
- Bahram GhorbaniBahram is a Sasanian king's name that also appears in the Shahnameh, and it still sounds strong.
- Laleh AminiLaleh is the tulip, a flower with deep roots in Persian poetry.
- Siavash KianiSiavash is the innocent prince of the Shahnameh, a name with a sad and noble story.
- Mahtab SalehiMahtab means moonlight, made from mah, moon, and tab, glow.
- Pouya HeydariPouya means dynamic or seeking, an energetic choice for a modern boy.
- Mina SharifiMina is a short, international-sounding name that works in Persian, Arabic and English.
Choosing Persian names with care
- Accept spelling variants. Mohammad, Muhammad and Mohamad are all correct, and Hossein is also written Hussein or Hosein.
- Pair the era with the name. Fatemeh, Zahra and Mohammad are a safe choice for any age, while Setareh and Sepehr are more common among younger Iranians.
- For a historical or legendary character, use the Shahnameh style and match a hero's name to a hero's role: Rostam is strong, Siavash is honest and doomed.
- Surnames ending in -i mean from or of, so Shirazi implies a family from Shiraz. Choose one that matches the region of your character's family.
- In Iran a woman usually keeps her surname after marriage, so give a married couple different surnames unless they live abroad.
Questions people ask
What are common Persian last names?
Ahmadi, Mohammadi, Hosseini, Karimi, Rezaei and Jafari are among the most common. Many end in -i, meaning of or from, and others end in -zadeh, meaning descended from, as in Alizadeh and Hosseinzadeh.
What are beautiful Persian girl names?
Popular ones include Setareh (star), Shabnam (dew), Yasaman (jasmine), Laleh (tulip), Roya (dream), Sepideh (dawn) and Nazanin (delicate). They are ordinary words used as names, so their meanings are clear to every Persian speaker.
Which names come from the Shahnameh?
Rostam, Sohrab, Siavash, Kaveh, Fereydun, Bahram, Rudabeh, Tahmineh, Manijeh and Gordafarid all come from Ferdowsi's Shahnameh. They are still given to children today and are not seen as costume names.
When did Iran start using surnames?
Hereditary surnames became legally standardized in Iran after 1925 under the Pahlavi dynasty. Before that, people used a given name plus a title, place or father's name.
What is the difference between Persian and Arabic names?
Many Iranians carry Arabic-origin names such as Ali, Fatemeh and Mohammad, but Persian names such as Setareh, Kourosh and Rostam come from Persian words and literature. Persian pronunciation and spelling also differ, as in Hossein versus Arabic Husayn.
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Sources
- Persian name, Wikipedia
Updated September 2026 · How these names are made