100 Popular Persian Last Names or Surnames

A last name or surname is that part of our full name that indicates the family, tribe, or community to which we belong. It is a mark of identification that that throws light on our past, culture, habitation, values, and profession. For this article, we are focusing on Persian culture and its associated last names. Persia is now called Iran, and Persians form the largest ethnic group of Iran. Therefore, all Iranian last names have either Persian, Arabic, or Turkish origins. However, Persians started using surnames in 1919. Prior to that, prefixes and suffixes were added to a person’s name to reflect the family’s place of origin and location.

The Persian empire covered a large geographical area, thus modern Iranian last names have been borrowed from Kurdish, Azerbaijani, Turkish, and Greek cultures. Conservative Iranian families opted for an Islamic name, while others chose from the Shahnameh, in order to show pride in their Persian history. There were some families who chose their surnames from beautiful Persian words or a name from their ethnicity. Hence, common Persian last names are revered by multiple generations of a household and contribute to the birth of our current globalized world.

100 Persian Surnames or Family Names With Meanings

Persian family names are those with positive virtues, like hospitality, truth, and the importance of family as a social unit. Here is a list of the best Iranian last names that can be suitable for your little one.

1. Abbas

This name has Arabic origins and means ‘austere’.

2. Abdul

Commonly used as a prefix for given names, this Arabic word means ‘servant of the powerful’.

3. Abtahi

Abtahi has Persian origins, and refers to ‘someone who originally came from Abtah in Saudi Arabia’.

4. Ahmad

Ahmad has Arabic origins, and means ‘most praiseworthy’.

5. Akbar

This name of Arabic origins means ‘greatest’.

6. Ali

Ali has Arabic origins, and means ‘exalted’ or ‘sublime’.

7. Amouzgar

This name of Persian origins means ‘teacher’.

8. Arabi

Arabi refers to ‘someone from Arabia’ in Persian and Arabic.

9. Azad

Azad has Persian origins and means ‘free man’.

10. Baig

Derived from the Ottoman Turkish title ‘beg ‘or modern Turkish ‘bey’, it means ‘ruler’, ‘lord’ or ‘master’.

11. Bakhtiari

Derived from the given name Bakhtiar, Bakhtiari has Persian origins and means ‘a member of the Bakhtiari tribe from South-West Iran.’

12. Barzegar

Barzegar means ‘farmer’ in Persian.

13. Bazargan

This name means ‘merchant’ or ‘trader’ in Persian.

14. Behzadi

This Iranian last name means ‘born from a good origin’.

15. Boniadi

This Persian name is derived from the Persian Boniad, the name of a village in the Bushehr province of Iran.

16. Bukhari

This name of Persian, Arabic and Hebrew origins refers to a person from Bukhara. Bukhara is an ancient city in Uzbekistan, formerly occupied by Persia.

17. Chamanara

Chamanara refers to a ‘gardener’ and is derived from the Persian caman that means ‘lawn, gardener’.

18. Dabbagh

Dabbagh has Arabic and Persian origins and means ‘tanner’ or ‘currier’.

19. Darvish

Derived from the Persian word ‘darvish’, which means ‘poor’ or ‘needy’. Darvish is a title denoting a Sufi ascetic.

20. Darya

Darya has a Persian origin that means ‘sea’ or ‘ocean’.

21. Davudi

This Iranian surname means ‘beloved’.

22. Dehghani

This Persian surname means ‘farmer’ or ‘peasant’.

23. Delara

Derived from the Persian word del meaning heart, this surname refers to someone ‘adorning the heart’.

24. Ebadi

Derived from the Arabic word ‘ibad’, Ebadi is the plural of the word ‘abd’, meaning ‘servant’ or ‘slave’.

25. Ebrahimi

This Iranian name means ‘father of a multitude of many nations’.

26. Elaheh

This Persian name means ‘goddess’.

27. Emami

This Persian name comes from the word ‘imam’ and means ‘leader’ or ‘guide’. It is mostly used as a title for the leader of worship at an Islamic mosque.

28. Esmail

This name has an Arabic origin and means ‘gift from God’.

29. Farzaneh

Farzaneh comes from the Persian word ‘Farzane’, and means ‘wise’ or ‘learned’.

30. Fattahi

Derived from Kurdish origins, Fattahi means ‘Warrior of the sun’.

31. Fayazi

This name of Iranian origin means ‘charitable’ or ‘considerate’.

32. Fereshteh

This Persian surname means ‘angel’.

33. Firouzeh

This common Persian surname means turquoise-colored gemstone.

34. Ganjoo

Ganjoo has Urdu, Persian, and Indian origins, and comes from the word Ganwar, meaning ‘a person in charge of a treasury in the King’s court’.

35. Gharagozlou

Ghara or Kara is Turkish for ‘black’, and Gyoz is Turkish for ‘eyes’. So, Gharagozlou means ‘black eyes’.

36. Ghorbani

Derived from the Arabic word ‘qurban’, Ghorbani means ‘sacrifice’. It refers to the Islamic practice of Qurbani, slaughtering a livestock animal for Eid al-adha.

37. Golbahar

Golbahar has Persian origins and means ‘spring rose’.

38. Golshan

Golshan has Persian origins and means ‘rose garden’.

39. Golzar

Golzar has Persian origins and means ‘rosy-cheeked’.

40. Guli

Derived from the Persian Gol, meaning ‘flower’ or ‘rose’, Guli has Kurdish, Uzbek, Urdu, Persian, Pashto, Albanian, and Persian origins.

41. Habib

Habib has Persian, Urdu, and Arabic origins and means ‘beloved’ or ‘darling’.

42. Haddad

Haddad has Persian and Arabic origins, and means ‘iron smith’ or ‘blacksmith’.

43. Hajizadeh

Hajizadeh has Persian origins and means ‘son of the pilgrim’.

44. Hamedani

Hamedani has Persian origins and indicates a ‘person from the city of Hamedan in Iran’. It comes from the Old Persian name Hagmatana, meaning ‘place of gathering’.

45. Hamid

This Arabic word means ‘praiseworthy’ and has a variant in Hamed, Haamed and Turkish Hamit.

46. Hassan

Hasan has Arabic origins and means ‘handsome’, ‘good’ or ‘benefactor’.

47. Hayat

Hayat has Arabic origins and means ‘life’.

48. Heydari

Derived from the Arabic word Heidar, meaning ‘lion’. Heydari refers to a ‘courageous’ or ‘brave’ person.

49. Husseini

Husseini is an Arabic surname that referring to the descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The common surnames found are El-Husseini, Al-Husaini and Al-Husseini, found in places like Iran, Iraq, Palestine, and South Asia.

50. Imam

Imam has Arabic origins, meaning ‘one who leads the way’, denoting a Muslim leader.

51. Irani

Irani is a Persian word that is commonly used within the ethnic Zoroastrian community in India.

52. Isa

Isa has Persian, Albanian, and Arabic origins, and commonly refers to Jesus.

53. Jafar

Jafar has Persian and Arabic origins, and means ‘stream’.

54. Jahan

Jahan has Persian and Arabic origins, and means ‘the world’.

55. Jahangir

This surname of Persian and Urdu origins means ‘world conqueror’.

56. Jalil

Jalil is an Arabic word meaning ‘the exalted’, ‘great’ or ‘attribute of Allah’.

57. Jamshid

Jamshid has origins in Uzbek and Persian mythology and refers to ‘shining Jam’, a mythological king of Persia.

58. Javid

Javid has Persian origins and means ‘eternal’. Other variants are Javed and Jawed.

59. Karim

Karim has Persian and Arabic origins, and means ‘noble’ or ‘generous’. Karim is also the name of a village in the western province of Iran.

60. Kermani

Kermani is a Persian word indicating a person from the city of Kerman in Iran.

61. Khademi

Khademi has Iranian origins, and means ‘he who serves and cares.’

62. Khairi

Khairi has an Arabic origin and means ‘beneficent’ or ‘good’.

63. Khan

Khan has a central and south Asian origin popularized by the Turkic dynasties in the medieval period. Originally, they were nomadic tribes who came from Central and Eastern Steppe during antiquity. It means ‘sovereign emperor’ or ‘prince’.

64. Khansari

Khansari has Persian origins, referring to the Iranian tribe, the Kurds.

65. Khatun

Khatun or Khatoon comes from the Turkish word hatun that means ‘woman’.

66. Mafi

Mafi has Arabic origins, and means ‘forgive’.

67. Mahmoud

Mahmoud has Arabic origins and means ‘praiseworthy’.

68. Majidi

Majidi has Iranian origins, and means ‘glorious’.

69. Maryam

Maryam is the Aramaic form of the biblical name Miriam. In Iran, it is also the name of a tuberose flower, which is named after the Virgin Mary.

70. Masoudi

This Iranian name means ‘happy, fortunate, prosperous’.

71. Mirza

Mirza is a Persian surname used to identify patriarchal lineage. Derived from the historical noble title, it is commonly used to denote ‘a commander’, ‘royal prince’ or ‘scholar’.

72. Mohammadi

Derived from the name of the Muslim prophet Mohammad, Mohammadi is a common family name in Iran. Variations may include Mir-Mohammadi and Pour-Mohammadi.

73. Moradi

Moradi has Persian origins and means ‘wishful’.

74. Mousa

Mousa is the Arabic word for Moses and means “newborn, saved by the water”. Mousa was the prophet that could move the sea.

75. Mozhdeh

Mozhdeh has Persian origins and means ‘good news’.

76. Nasri

Derived from Arabic and Persian Nasr, Nasri means ‘triumph’ or ‘victory’.

77. Nazeri

Nazeri is a Persian word that comes from nazer meaning ‘watch, ‘observer’.

78. Nikbin

Originating from the Persian Nik meaning ‘good’ and bin means ‘seeing’, Nikbin means ‘optimistic’.

79. Norouzi

Derived from Persian Nowruz, Norouzi refers to the Iranian New Year, which is celebrated on the spring equinox.

80. Nur

A variant of Noor, Nour or Nor, Nur means ‘the divine light’ in Arabic. In Norse mythology, Nor was the founder king of Norway.

81. Pantea

In Iran, Pantea refers to ‘the most beautiful woman in Asia’. In Persian folklore, Pantea was captured by Cyrus the Great after defeating Pantea’s husband, The King of Susa.

82. Qasemi

Derived from Persian or Iranian “Ghasem” or “Ghassem”, this surname means ‘one who distributes’. Other variations include “Ghasemi” and “Qasemi”.

83. Rashidi

This Iranian surname means ‘rightly guided’.

84. Roshan

Roshan in Persian means ‘bright’ or ‘light’.

85. Rouhani

This Iranian surname means ‘spiritual’, ‘cleric’.

86. Rozhan

This Kurdish name means ‘days’ or ‘lifetime’.

87. Sadaat

Common among Middle Easterners and North Africans, Sadaat means ‘luck’ or ‘happiness’ in Arabic.

88. Safar

Safar is an occupational name that is derived from the Arabic ̣saffār, and refers to ‘worker in copper or brass’. It is also the name of the second month of the Islamic calendar.

89. Shahin

Originating from Persian, Shahin means ‘falcon’. Other variants include Shaheen, Shaahin, Sjahien. Other variant spellings include Chahine, Chagin, Shaahin and Shehin.

90. Tabatabaei

This surname of Persian origin refers to ‘descent from Ibrahim Tababa ibn Ismail, a descendant of Ali. He had gained the name as he had pronounced the Persian word qaba meaning ‘garment’ or ‘cloak’.

91. Taleb

This name of Arabic origin means ‘student’. This surname was originally borne by the people who tried to understand the religion and philosophy of Islam.

92. Usmani

This surname has Persian, Afghan, Bengali, Albanian, Arabic, Urdu, Kosovar, and Pashto origin.s It means ‘one and the same thing’ and is a common variant of Othmani or Uthmani.

93. Vida

Vida is a Persian surname that means ‘visible’.

94. Xatun

Xatun is an alternate transcription of Khatun, which is a Turkish word for ‘woman’. The female title khanum is also used as the feminine counterpart of khan.

95. Yusef

Derived from the given name Yusuf in Persian and Arabic, its Hebrew meaning is ‘God shall multiply’.

96. Zadeh

Zadeh is a common Persian suffix meaning ‘descendant of’ or ‘born of’ used in names mainly in Iran and Azerbaijan.

97. Zahiri

This surname is derived from the Arabic Zahir meaning ‘apparent’.

98. Zahra

This surname of Arabic origin comes from Zahrah, meaning ‘beautiful’, ‘brilliant’, or ‘bright’, which is used as an epithet for Fatima, daughter of Mohammad.

99. Zamani

Zamani is an Iranian name that means’ time’ or ‘era’.

100. Zargari

This surname of Persian origin is derived from the word zargar meaning ‘goldsmith’ as zar means ‘gold’ in Urdu.

When you dive into your ancestry, you learn more about yourself as you bond with your past and bring your family together. As rightly summed up by Marcus Garvey, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture are like a tree without roots.” This compilation of Iranian surnames can get you started in exploring your genealogy, or finding a suitable surname for your future generation.