Persian Boy Names

Persian naming reaches back to the ancient empires of Iran, and a few of its oldest royal names are still in everyday use. Cyrus comes from the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, remembered in both Persian history and the Hebrew Bible, while Darius belongs to one of his most famous successors. Both sound strong and stately without feeling stiff, which helps explain why they travel so well into English.

Other names here reached English by longer routes. Jasper and Casper are usually traced to a Persian word for a treasurer, carried into European tradition through the name given to one of the Magi. Kian and Taj draw on royal imagery, a king and a crown, and Arman or Armaan carries the sense of a hope or ideal. Amir and Mohammad are Arabic in origin but have been central to Persian-speaking families for centuries, so they appear alongside the older Iranian names.

When you choose, think about spelling. Arman and Armaan, Taj and Tahj, Darian and Darion show how a single sound can be written several ways in English, and each spelling nudges the pronunciation a little. Saying the name aloud with your surname, and picking the version you will not need to correct, is usually the simplest test.