The name comes directly from the Turkmen word for “a feast” or “a gathering.”
The name is also sometimes spelled Meilis.
A notable bearer is Turkmen chess champion, Meylis Annaberdiyev (b. 1985).
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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
Its Turkish form of Mehtap was among the top 100 girls’ Turkish names between 1980-1993, and peaked at # 58 in 1983.
International Variations
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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:
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.
International Variations
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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.”
International Variations
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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.
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The name is derived from the Farsi تهم (tahm), meaning, “potent; strong; powerful.”
It’s a Persian female name with deep roots. It is the name of the wife of Rostam and the mother of Sohrab in the 10th-century Persian epic, Shahnameh.
Its usage has spread to South-Asia, Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as throughout Central Asia.
Between 1996-2002, it appeared in the U.K’s Top 500 Most Popular Female Names, peaking at #641 in 1999.
Notable bearer include Tajik actress, Tahmina Rajabova (b. 1982) and Iranian film director, Tahmineh Milani (b. 1960).
Other forms include:
A rare Bosnian masculine form is Tahmin/Tamin.
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Sohrab (Persian: سهراب) is a classic Persian male name. It is most famous from the Shahnameh. In the epic, Sohrab is the heroic son of Rostam and Tahmineh. He is celebrated for his beauty and courage. He is known for his tragic duel with his father Rostam. It is one of the most famous episodes in Persian literature. His story has inspired countless Persian miniatures, operas, and poems. There are also even Western adaptations. One example is Matthew Arnold’s 19th-century poem Sohrab and Rustum.
Scholars derive it from Middle Persian, Suhrāv / Sōhrāv. It is composed of suhr / sohr (سهر) – “red, ruddy, rosy, dawn-colored.” The term āb آب means “water,” but in old compound names, it figuratively represents “essence, fluid, brightness, radiance.” The latter may also be related to آو / او (âv / ô / ow), which is an older or poetic variant meaning, “sound” or “voice.” In some historical compounds, it functions like âb to indicate “substance” or “radiance.”
The name appears not only in Iran, but is found across the Persianate world, including Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Azerbaijan. It also exists among Central Asian and South-Asian communities influenced by Persian literature, and Zurab ზურაბ is its Georgian form.
International variations include:
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The name comes directly from the Arabic word رباب for a type of stringed instrument.
It was also the name of Rubāb bint Imraʾ al-Qays (b. 7th-century C.E). The wife of Husayn ibn Ali.
It is borne by Pakistani Olympic Swimmer, Rubab Raza (b. 1991).
Another transciption is Rabab.
Other forms include:
The name is used throughout the Islamic World.
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Sabih صبيح is a masculine Arabic name which comes directly from the Arabic word, صَبيح (ṣabīḥ), meaning, “comely; beautiful; handsome; graceful.” It is ultimately derived from the Arabic root word, صبح (ṣabuḥa) “to be beautiful; to be radiant; to beam.”
Sabiha صبيحة is its feminine form. It’s feminine form was borne by Sabiha Sultan (1894-1971) an Ottoman princess, the third and last daughter of Sultan Mehmed VI; the first Turkish female sculptor, Sabiha Bengütaş (1904-1992); and Turkish combat pilot, Sabiha Gökçen (1913-2001).
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Safin سَفِين is an Arabic male name that derives from the Arabic root, S-F-N س ف ن meaning, “ship.” Safin itself is the plural form and therefore means “ships.” The singular form of Safina سَفِينة (ship) is used as a female given-name. Another feminine form, which is Safana سَفّانة, literally meaning “boatwright” in modern Arabic derives from the same root but may have had a connotation of a precious gem or pearl in old Arabic and was also used as a term of endearment for a daughter.
The name is used in reference to “سفينة نوح” (safinat Nuh), which is Arabic for Noah’s ark.
Other forms include: Safeen (masculine), Saffanah (feminine), Safanah (feminine) & Safinah (feminine).
A Tatar form is Сәфинә” (Säfinä).
Safina is used throughout the Islamic world.
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