The name is derived from the Arabic لأًى (laʾan) “wild ox,” which can also have the euphemism of a shield or protector. Interestingly enough, it may share the same etymological root as the Hebrew female name, Leah.
The name is borne by Lu’ayy ibn Ghalib (3rd-century C.E.) who was the ancestor of the Islamic prophet Muhammed.
The name is derived from the Arabic root ر ض ي (r-ḍ-y), meaning “to be pleased, content, or satisfied.” The form mardiyyah is the feminine passive participle.
It is a Qurʾānic name, appearing in Sūrat al-Fajr (89:28–30).
The name comes directly from the Farsi word نیلوفر (niloufar), meaning, “morning glory; water lily; nenuphar.”
It ultimately derives from Middle Persian nīlōpār, from Sanskrit nīlotpala (नीलोत्पल) meaning blue lotus (nīla “blue” + utpala “lotus”). Through Persian, it spread widely into other languages of the Islamic and Silk Road world. The Greek-Latin loan nénuphar comes from this same root, appearing in medieval botanical and poetic texts to denote the water lily (Nymphaea).
Niloufar has been used as a feminine given name in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, and Turkey (where it appears as Nilüfer).
Notable bearers include:
Niloufar Bayani, Iranian conservationist and scholar.
Nilüfer Yumlu (known simply as Nilüfer), celebrated Turkish pop singer.
Princess Niloufer of Hyderabad (1916–1989), Ottoman princess renowned for her beauty and philanthropy.
The name is from the Persian word, مهتاب (mahtab), meaning “moonlight.” It is a poetic female name that has spread throughout the Persianate world. It is occasionally used on males in Southeast Asia.
Notable Bearers
Mahtab Singh (1782-1813), was the first wife of Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire.
Mehtab Kadın (1830-1888) (Turkish form), was the name of the consort of Sultan Abdulmejid I of the Ottoman Empire.
Mahtob Mahmoody (b. 1979): Iranian-American author and daughter of Betty Mahmoody, whose story inspired Not Without My Daughter (1991), starring Sally Field.
Its Turkish form of Mehtap was among the top 100 girls’ Turkish names between 1980-1993, and peaked at # 58 in 1983.
Rostam is an ancient Persian name that likely descends from Old Persian or Sogdian roots. Its meaning is debated, but the most popular theory is that it derives from *rautas-taxma “strong like a river.”
The name is immortalized in Ferdowsi’s 10th-century Persian epic, the Shahnameh, where Rostam is the towering national hero described as:
a mighty warrior of the kingdom of Zabul.
tamer of the legendary horse Rakhsh.
defender of Iran against its enemies
and the tragic father of Sohrab in one of the most famous father-son duels in world literature.
Because of this epic, Rostam is to Persian culture what Hercules is to the Greek tradition.
Rostam has been a popular masculine name across Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Central Asia for over a thousand years. It also appears as Rustam in many languages of the region—Azerbaijani, Uzbek, Pashto, and even in parts of the Caucasus and South Asia.
In Islamic tradition it specifically refers to a sword with a split or notched blade—the legendary weapon given by the Prophet Muhammad to his cousin and son-in-law ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib.
It possibly comes from classical Arabic compound dhū / dhu (ذو) (possessor of; one who has), and fiqār / fiqar (فقار) (spine; vertebrae). Other sources suggest the second element may relate to the stars of Orion’s belt.
The phrase literally means “the one with the notches” or “owner of the notched spine.”
Origin: Armenian, Azeri, Kazakh, Kurdish, Mongolian, Persian, Turkmen
Meaning: “Caspian red deer; roe deer.”
Armenian: Մարալ
Mongolian/Kazakh: Марал
Persian: مرال
Gender: Female
The name is ultimately derived from the Persian word مرال (maral), used to describe the Caspian red deer. Its usage has spread throughout the Persianate world and Central Asia.
Meral is the Turkish form. Between 1980-1990, Meral was among the Top 100 most popular Turkish girls’ names, peaking at #41 in 1982.
Both names come from the Arabic root s-b-ḥ (س ب ح), which conveys the ideas of glorifying, praising, swimming in or moving through the divine.
Subḥān (سُبْحَان) literally means “glory,” “exaltedness,” or “praise”—as in the Qurʾānic phrase Subḥān Allāh (“Glory be to God”).
The feminine form of Subḥāna / Subhana (سُبْحَانَة) carries the same meaning.
Subhan is a well-established male Muslim name across the Arabic-speaking world, South Asia, and other Islamic cultures.
Subhan has appeared in the U.K’s Top 1000 Most Popular Male Names between 1996-2024. It peaked at #384 in 2011. As of 2024, it was the 898th most popular male name.
Its Azeri form of Sübhan is currently the 55th most popular male name in Azerbaijan.
Subhana is used as a female name, though less widely, in many of the same regions.
