Tag Archives: Urdu Names

Mihirimah, Mehrmah

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  • Origin: Persian
  • Meaning: “sun & moon; affection of the moon; kindness of the moon.”
  • Gender: Female

The name is composed of the Persian elements mehr / mihr / meher (مِهر) — a Persian word meaning “sun,” “affection,” “kindness,” or “love” (and often with connotations tied to the ancient Iranian / Zoroastrian deity Mithra) and māh (ماه), meaning “moon” or “month.”

The name entered wider use through Ottoman royal history, where Mihrimah Sultan (1522–1578) — the daughter of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and Hürrem Sultan — became one of the most powerful and educated women of her time.

A modern Persian form is Mehrmah.

An Urdu form is Meharmah and another Turkish form is Mihrümah.

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Niloufar

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portrait of a young woman in lush greenery
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  • Origin: Persian نیلوفر
  • Bengali: নিলুফার
  • Urdu: نیلوفر
  • Uzbek: Нилуфар
  • Variant Transcriptions: Nilofar, Nilufar, Nilofer
  • Meaning: “morning glory; water lily; nenuphar”
  • Gender: Female

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.

International Variations

  • Nunufar Նունուֆար (Armenian)
  • Nilufər (Azeri)

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Numan

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  • Origin: Arabic نُعْمان
  • Meaning: “blood; red; bliss; anemone flower.”
  • Transliterations: Nu’man; Nouman (Maghrebi Arabic; Persian); Noman নোমান (Bengali, Tatar, Urdu)
  • Gender: Male
  • Pron (NOO-mahn)

The name comes directly from the Arabic word نُعْمان (nu’man), which is a poetic term describing “blood” as in a type of blood that brings vitality and beauty. It is also the word for the colour crimson and the anemone flower. It is ultimately from the root n–ʿ–m (ن ع م), which shares the same root with Naim نعم (comfort, tranquility, luxury, ease).

Numan ibn al-Munḏir (d. 602 CE) was one of the last Lakhmid kings of al-Ḥīrah, a pre-Islamic Arab Christian kingdom in southern Iraq. He is remembered in Arabic literature for his eloquence and patronage of poets.

In early Islamic history, Numan ibn Bashir al-Ansari (d. 684 CE) was a Companion of the Prophet Muḥammad and a prominent figure in the first Islamic century.

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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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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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Shams

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  • Origin: Arabic شمس
  • Meaning: “sun.”
  • Gender: Unisex
  • (SHEMZ)

The name comes directly from the Arabic word for “sun.” It was the name of a Pre-Islamic South Arabian sun goddess, the equivalent of the North Arabian diety, Nuha.

A strictly feminine form is Shamsa شمسة

Maghrebi spellings are Chams and Chamsa, a Comorian feminine form is Chamsia. Turkish forms are Şems and Şemsa.

The name shares an etymological link with the Hebrew male name, Samson.

It was borne by Shams Pahlavi, one of the sisters of (1917-1996), a member of the Iranian royal family.

In recent years, it has become particularly trendy among females in the Gulf Arab countries

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Shanzae, Shanzay

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  • Origin: Persian شانزے
  • Meaning: royal woman; woman of dignity
  • Gender: Feminine
  • Use: Urdu, Persian

The name is composed the Old Persian elements Shah (royalty) or from the Old Persian phrase, Shah- an -zay (lit daughter of king/royal princess) or Shaan-zeh (Of dignity/magnificent).

This name seems to be exclusively used among Pakistanis, I could not find any information in any Persian sources or any indication of its use among Farsi-Speakers.

Other forms are Shanzeh and Shawnzay.

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Faaria, Faria, Farya

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  • Origin: Arabic فارعة
  • Meaning: “lofty; tall; towering; slender; slim; beautiful; handsome; pretty.”
  • Gender: feminine
  • Pronunciation: Arabic: fah-REE…AH; Urdu: FAR-yah

The name is derived from the Arabic word فَارِع (fari) which can mean “tall; lofty” and also “slim; slender” as well as “beautiful; handsome; pretty.” It is derived from the Arabic verbal root ف ر ع (f-r-‘) meaning, “to ascend.” The same root shares is also related فَرْع‎ (farʿ), meaning “tree branch; hair; mountain top; upper part,” which is why some websites list it as meaning, “beautiful hair.”

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Mahvash, Mehwish

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  • Origin: Persian مهوش
  • Urdu: مہوش, Hindi: महवश
  • Meaning: “beautiful like the moon; moonlike; moonfaced.”
  • Gender: feminine
  • Pronunciation: Per (MAH-vash); Urdu (MAY-wish)

Mahvash is a Persian name meaning “beautiful like the moon” or “moon-like.” It’s Urdu offshoot is Mehwish and its Turkish form is Mehveş.

Though it is a pre-Islamic Persian name, it is a popular name used among Muslims in India and is also used in Pakistan.

Mahvash was the stage name of a renowned Persian entertainer from the 1950s.

Mahvash Disease is the name of a type of an autosomal recessive, hereditary pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor syndrome. However, I could not find the reason why it is specifically called Mahvash disease.

Mehwish is borne by Pakistani actress, Mehwish Hayat (b. 1983).

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Sariyah – meaning, origin & history of the first name

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  • Origin: Arabic سارية
  • Urdu: سریا
  • Hindi:  सरिया
  • Bengla: সারিয়া
  • Meaning: “clouds at night.”
  • Gender: Female

Sariyah سارية is from an Arabic word that means “clouds at night.”

It is derived from the Arabic root S-R-A, and can be associated with “night rain” or “night travel.”

Saria and Sarya is the Urdu transliteration and is popular in Pakistan and India among Muslims.

Other forms include:

  • Sarija Сария (Abkhazian, Albanian, Azeri, Bashkir, Bosnian, Chechen, Circassian, Dagestani, Kazakh, Ossetian, Tajik)
  • Sәrija Сәрия (Tatar)

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