Category Archives: Urdu Names

Siddiq, Siddiqa

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  • Origin: Arabic
  • Meaning: “truthful; honest.”

Both names come from the Arabic root ṣ-d-q (ص د ق), which carries the sense of truth, sincerity, honesty, faithfulness.

  • Siddīq (masculine) literally means “truthful, sincere, completely trustworthy.”
  • Siddīqa (feminine) is the direct feminine form.

In Islamic tradition the title al-Ṣiddīq was famously given to Abu Bakr, the first caliph and closest companion of the Prophet Muhammad, highlighting his absolute honesty and faith.
The feminine al-Ṣiddīqa is used honorifically for Mary (Maryam) in the Qur’an (5:75) and also for Fāṭimah, the daughter of the Prophet, in later Islamic literature.

International Variations

  • Sidik (Indonesian)
  • Sydyk Сыдык (Kyrgyz)
  • Sadegh صدیق (Persian)
  • Sıdık (Turkish)
  • Sidiki (Western African)

Female Versions

  • Sedigheh صدیقه (Persian)
  • Sıdıka (Turkish)

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Subhan, Subhana

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  • Origin: Arabic
  • Meaning: “praise; glory.”
  • Pron: (SOOB-hahn; soob-HAH-nah)

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.

International Variations

  • Sohban (Urdu); Female: Sohbana
  • Sübhan (Azeri, Turkish)

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Tahmina, Tahmineh

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  • Origin: Persian تهمینه (Persian); Таҳмина (Tajik); তাহমিনা
  • Meaning: “potent; strong; powerful.”
  • Gender: Female

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:

  • Tahmina, Takhmina, Taxmina Тахмина, تهیمینه / تهمینه (Avar, Baloch, Bashkir, Chechen, Circassian, Kazakh, Kurdish, Kyrgyz, Ossetian, Pashto, Tatar, Turkmen, Uzbek)
  • Təhminə (Azeri)
  • Tahmina, Tamina (Bosnian)
  • Tahmine (Turkish)

A rare Bosnian masculine form is Tahmin/Tamin.

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Sohrab

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  • Origin: Persian سهراب
  • Meaning: “red water”
  • Gender: Male

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:

  • Zurab Зураб, ზურაბ (Abkhaz, Georgian)
  • Sohrab Սոհրաբ (Armenian)
  • Sührab, Süraab (Azeri)
  • Suhrab, Sukhrab Сухраб (Kazakh, Kyrgyz)
  • Suhrob سهراب, Суҳроб Суһроб (Kurdish, Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek)
  • Sehrab, Sohrab سہراب (Urdu)

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Rawiya

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  • Origin: Arabic راوية
  • Meaning: “narrator; storyteller.”
  • Gender: Female

The name comes directly from the Arabic word راوية (rawiya), meaning “storyteller; narrator.” Another transliteration is Rawia, Rawiyah and Rawya.

It was borne by Rawya Ateya (1926-1997), the first female parliamentarian in the Arab world in 1957.

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Rubab

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  • Origin: Arabic رباب
  • Gender: Female

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:

  • Rübabə (Azeri)
  • Robabeh ربابه (Persian)
  • Robab رباب (Persian)
  • Rübab (Turkish)

The name is used throughout the Islamic World.

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Wis(s)am

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  • Origin: Arabic وسام
  • Meaning: “award; medal.”
  • Gender: Male

The name is derived from the Arabic word wisam وِسام, meaning “badge; medal.” It is ultimately from the Arabic root, wasama وَسَمَ, meaning, “to award; distinguish.”

Another transliteration is Wesam.

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Sabih, Sabiha

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Sabiha Sultan
  • Origin: Arabic
  • Meaning: “comely; beautiful; handsome; graceful.”

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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Sahir, Sahira

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  • Origin: Arabic ساهر
  • Meaning: “wakeful; sleepless.”

Sahir is a masculine name which is derived from the Arabic root: س-ه-ر (s-h-r), related to staying awake at night. In some contexts it can also carry the poetic meaning “bright, wakeful like the night sky.” Its feminine form is Sahira ساهرة, also sometimes transliterated as Sahera and Sahirah.

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Shahla

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  • Origin: Arabic شَهْلَاء
  • Meaning: “bluish-black eyes.”
  • Gender: Female

The name is derived from the Arabic word اَشْھَل (ashal) meaning, “bluish black eyes.” The name is also used in Iran, Afghanistan and among South-Asian Muslims.

Other forms include:

  • Şəhla (Azeri)
  • Syahla (Indonesian)
  • Chahla (Maghrebi Arabic transliteration)
  • Shahlo Шаҳло (Tajik, Uzbek)

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