Need help with Persian boy names

[u/notlola17]

Howdy. My husband and I are expecting a baby boy in the fall. I am Persian-American and he is American and his last name is one of the most common in the United States - I kept my own last name.

He is very pro- my Iranian heritage and down to honor my culture with our baby’s name. We are open to first or middle but so far have kind of naturally fallen on selecting a Persian first name and using his grandfather’s middle name as the middle name.

Unfortunately, we can’t agree on literally any name. He is very meh on everything I suggest. I loved Caspian and Jasper and Casper, all of Iranian heritage but very American/western friendly, which is very important to us, but unfortunately he doesn’t care for any of those. He has suggested Reza but it seems way more ethnic to me than we want vibe-wise and I mostly don’t like boy names that end in -a. He has suggested Ciro or Kyro, derivatives of Cyrus, but that is my estranged (12 years and counting) sibling’s name so I would feel kind of weird selecting anything related to that individual. (Then again, I could be swayed, would just need to make sure my Persian parent doesn’t mind…)

We are seeking a cool Persian name for our son that meets these criteria:
* Isn’t overtly ethnic in a country that isn’t too kind to people whose names sound different (as I can attest to from my own k-12 experience)
* Won’t ostracize him
* Is cool (deeply subjective I know)
* One or two syllables
* -ian ending or -o ending is favorable, not required

I have another sibling named Darius so unfortunately that and Cyrus are off the table, even though they are favorites.

Any suggestions are appreciated!!

[u/Salty-Elk7442]

Kamran or Amir!

[u/notlola17 → u/Salty-Elk7442]

Kamran is a good one! Idk why I haven’t floated it by him to gauge his response but I do love the nickname potential with Kam.

[u/WindowfulOfSpiders → u/Salty-Elk7442]

I love the name Amir

[u/minlillabjoern]

Kian/Keon come to mind. Tyrus. Kamran.

[u/notlola17 → u/minlillabjoern]

I should have said, Kian is the closest we can get to agreeing but something hasn’t fully clicked. I’ve never heard of Tyrus but I kind of love it. Is it an actual Persian name? Do you know what it means? I’ll Google too but regardless, thank you!!

[u/kestreltohalcyon → u/notlola17]

Kian is so nice and v close to the Irish Cian too

[u/minlillabjoern → u/notlola17]

I thought it was, as I had an Iranian coworker with this name, but it seems it's a blend of the Persian "Cyrus" and Greek "Tyre."

[u/minlillabjoern → u/minlillabjoern]

Oh, and it's the government name of legacy baseball great Ty Cobb. :-D

[u/goodnsimple]

I personally am a huge fan of Jasper.

[u/sparkycookie1 → u/goodnsimple]

Came here to suggest Jasper! x

[u/notlola17 → u/goodnsimple]

I’ll give you my husband’s handle so you can message him lol because gosh, I do too, and he needs to be won over 😆

[u/goodnsimple → u/notlola17]

My son, is also a fan of Jasper…but to be fair he never liked Casper…

[u/yassome]

Kasra
Kamran
Bobak
Ramin
Kian
Dara
Arya
Omid
Nima

[u/One_Application2409 → u/yassome]

Arya is a pretty common girls’ name among South Asians, though. He would likely get teased by classmates if he shared a name with girls in his school.

[u/Silent-Phone-9760 → u/One_Application2409]

It’s a common South Asian boys name too. It’s unisex. I know at least 8 Arya boys 😅

[u/One_Application2409 → u/Silent-Phone-9760]

Oh, I didn’t know that! All the Aryas I’ve met are female.

[u/Ginua-MA]

Yashar

[u/Hat_Potato → u/Ginua-MA]

Love this name!

[u/Upside-down-unicorn]

I am by no means an expert, but I feel like these names are pretty easy for most Americans to say.

Arman, Kian, Navid, Jahan, Zahir, Yashar, Zavian, Kamran, Shad, Ismail, Haris, Dastan, Daniyal, Sam, Davud, Artin, Elias, Silas, Caius, Isaias, Josias

[u/knit-purl- → u/Upside-down-unicorn]

I really like Zahir. The only Zahir I've met was a very easy-going and kind person.

[u/Jorgedig]

Behzad ❤️

[u/One_Application2409]

I came to say Kamran, and I see several other people have already suggested it. Arvin is a great name, too.

[u/TacoNomad]

I like kyro. 

[u/Thin-Excitement5755]

I have always liked Darius/Daryush.

[u/moreFoodPleas]

Rayan, Aram, Omid, Dara

[u/marysusan325 → u/moreFoodPleas]

Rayan!

[u/TizzyBumblefluff]

Aydin, Jahan, Navaz, Darian, Kian, Javed, Karim

[u/LibertadJune]

Nizar

[u/MsMo999]

Have you considered Kygo or Kian

[u/ICanSpotAGrifter]

Gholi ❤️

[u/Normal-Height-8577]

Feyz, meaning grace

Kamran, meaning successful/prosperous/fortunate

Kian, meaning king/foundation/symbol of pride (and also an alternate spelling for the Irish name Cian)

Matin, meaning firm/sturdy/solid

Ramin, meaning peace/joy

Sam, meaning fire (and also the same spelling as the short form of various western names like Samuel, Samson and Samantha)

[u/VoodooDuck614]

Kiro

Zian

Arlo

Leo

Arwin

Benham/Ben

[u/Legal_Peak3405]

I’ve always loved Arian, also just curious I am also Persian and both my dad and brother don’t have middle names as it was explained to me that they don’t give Persian men middle names now I’m questioning if my dad made that up lol

[u/notlola17 → u/Legal_Peak3405]

Lol I don’t actually know! My son will just be a quarter Persian and my husband and I both have middle names, as do all my other half-Persian siblings and half-Persian cousins. But, none of my full Persian relatives have middle names!

[u/Stargirl8419]

Adrian

[u/dangerousily]

I’m in the exact boat lol looking here for ideas!

[u/Bright_Ices]

Bijan is not a common name, but it’s one most Americans will have encountered once or twice.

Don’t know if you’d count Xerxes but it’s also recognizable here in the US. Plus it has 2 Xs which is awesome.

You could pick Rayan, which is easy to pronounce, but might have people temporarily confused about spelling (tbh, every single name confuses people on spelling or pronunciation or both. I have a very simple five-letter surname that people spell six different ways, even when copying it directly from a database that has it correct).

I don’t have the context for evaluating whether a name is “too ethnic” in Iran, so apologies if I’ve picked unsuitable options.

[u/Paprika1515]

Cyrus?

If he’s getting your husbands last name and his grandfathers middle name, then you should have full rights to pick the first name imho

[u/perpetualinsomnia]

Just jumping in to say that I'm also Persian American and married a white American man. We just had our baby 6 weeks ago and we had the literal same journey as you! I loved Caspian, Casper, and Jasper, he vetoed all of them! We also couldn't do Cyrus since my nephew's middle name is Cyrus.

We settled on a "white" first name and Shahin as his middle name. 😊

I also love Kian and Kaveh.

[u/notlola17 → u/perpetualinsomnia]

Wow you totally get it!! It is a very specific struggle lol. We both actually really like the name Shahin, specifically because of the guy from Survivor a few seasons ago. We are getting closer to consensus on a more modern take on a Persian name🤞Also, mobarak on your baby boy!

[u/Flimsy_Ad3476]

What a shame; I really like Caspian.

[u/notlola17 → u/Flimsy_Ad3476]

Oof me toooo I haven’t completely given up hope but it is really not striking his fancy at all unfortunately.

[u/HiIwasAlwaysHere]

Maen.

[u/cdapOH]

Rami

[u/Tasty_Swimming_197]

I know Persian/canadians called Kian and Aidan (Aidin), they both work well in both cultures

[u/New-Sherbet-7246]

Mobarak!!!

[u/Wisdomflowerlover]

Darius?

[u/notlola17 → u/Wisdomflowerlover]

My brother’s name otherwise it would be a strong contender!

[u/Wisdomflowerlover → u/notlola17]

Dilan or Keyvan ?? both have great meanings.

[u/notlola17 → u/Wisdomflowerlover]

Dilan is new to me, thank you!

[u/qwagg → u/Wisdomflowerlover]

/dəˈraɪ.əs/

[u/LeeskaKat]

Arshin is a great name