Given Names
See also: Category:Persian masculine given names, Category:Persian feminine given names, Category:Iranian masculine given names, and Category:Iranian feminine given namesSince the Islamic conquest of Persia, many names in Iran have been derived from Arabic. Persian Christians had Arabic names indistinguishable from their Muslim neighbors but not exactly Muslim names like Muhammad. They can also use Arabic derivations of Christian names (e.g. saints' names), or Greek, Assyrian, or especially Armenian names. The latter is no surprise because most Christian Iranians are Armenian Iranians.
Many Persian names come from the great Persian literature book, Shahnameh (The Epic of Kings). This great book was composed in the 10th century by Ferdowsi and is considered by many the masterpiece of the Persian literature and is treasured by all Iranians. Approximately 10%-15% of all Persian names are from Shahnameh. A few examples are as follows; Abtin, Ardeshir, Armeen, Arzhang, Babak (Papak), Bijan, Bizhan, Bozorgmehr, Darab, Dariush (Darius), Esfandiar, Esfandyar, Faramarz, Farhad, Fariborz, Farshid and Farzad.
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Famous quotes containing the word names:
“We rarely quote nowadays to appeal to authority ... though we quote sometimes to display our sapience and erudition. Some authors we quote against. Some we quote not at all, offering them our scrupulous avoidance, and so make them part of our “white mythology.” Other authors we constantly invoke, chanting their names in cerebral rituals of propitiation or ancestor worship.”
—Ihab Hassan (b. 1925)
“It is a sad truth, but we have lost the faculty of giving lovely names to things. Names are everything. I never quarrel with actions. My one quarrel is with words.... The man who could call a spade a spade should be compelled to use one. It is the only thing he is fit for.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)