Last updated: March 2026

Character Name

Kaveh

Meaning — From Avestan "Kavi" or Old Persian "Kāva", relating to the ancient priestly-royal caste of seers in Iranian tradition. In the Shahnameh, Kaveh the Blacksmith is the heroic commoner who rises against the serpent tyrant Zahhak and whose leather apron, raised as a standard, becomes the legendary Derafsh Kaviani — the royal banner of Persia for over a thousand years.·Persian origin·Male·KAH-veh

Kaveh Kaveh represents the power of ordinary people who rise against tyranny through righteous indignation rather than political calculation — the craftsman who becomes a revolutionary because what is being asked is simply too unjust to endure. Characters named Kaveh often combine practical, working-class roots with an unexpected capacity for historic action.

Best genres for Kaveh

MythologyHistorical FictionFantasyAdventure

Famous characters named Kaveh

Kaveh the Blacksmith

Shahnameh (Book of Kings) Ferdowsi

The heroic blacksmith who leads a popular uprising against the serpent-shouldered tyrant Zahhak, his leather apron raised as the legendary royal standard of Persia.


Variations & nicknames

KavehKavehKave

Pairs well with

Kaveh ShiraziKaveh TehraniKaveh EsfahaniKaveh HosseiniKaveh MoradiKaveh Rashidian

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Related names

Rostam

Persian · “Derived from Old Iranian "Raodhastakhma" meaning "with a strong body" or "stout as a bull", rooted in Avestan words for strength and might. Rostam is the greatest hero of the Persian national epic, the Shahnameh (Book of Kings) by Ferdowsi, whose seven labors (Haft Khan) and tragic killing of his own son Sohrab are among the most dramatic episodes in world literature.

Bahram

Persian · “From Avestan "Verethragna", the Zoroastrian deity of victory and the personification of martial triumph, whose name passed through Middle Persian as "Wahram" and then "Bahram". Bahram is a name of kings and heroes in the Shahnameh, most notably Bahram Gur, the legendary Sassanid king celebrated for his hunting prowess and love of poetry.

Siavash

Persian · “From Avestan "Syāvarshān" or Middle Persian "Syāwaxsh", meaning "owner of the black stallion" or "black stallion" — combining "siyāh" (black) and "asp" (horse). Siavash is one of the most beloved and tragic figures in the Shahnameh: a prince of exceptional purity and beauty who is falsely accused by his stepmother and seeks exile, only to be murdered in a foreign land.

Fereydun

Persian · “From Old Iranian "Thraetaona" or Avestan "Θraētaona", a name of ancient mythological resonance connected to the concept of the threefold power of the universe. Fereydun is the heroic king of the Shahnameh who slays the serpent-tyrant Zahhak with the divine club (gorz), divides his kingdom between his three sons, and whose story echoes the most ancient Indo-Iranian mythological patterns.


More Persian names

Jasper

Jasper is a masculine given name of Persian origin, derived from the Old Persian yashp meaning "treasurer." It became widely used in medieval Europe through the tradition of naming one of the Three Wise Men Jasper (or Caspar). The name has no etymological connection to the gemstone jasper, which derives from a different root.

Rumi

A honorific epithet meaning "from Rum" (Anatolia/the Byzantine lands), referring to Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi, the 13th-century Persian Sufi poet and mystic who lived in Konya, Turkey. Rumi is one of the most celebrated poets in history, whose masterwork the Masnavi is called the "Quran in Persian".

Tahmineh

From Persian "Tahmineh", possibly derived from Middle Persian elements meaning "strong" or "the mighty one". In the Shahnameh, Tahmineh is the daughter of the King of Samangan who seeks out the hero Rostam to bear his child, and becomes the mother of the tragic Sohrab — a woman who acts with agency and desire in a world that rarely allows women either.

Leila

The Persian form of the Arabic Layla, from the root meaning night, conveying dark beauty, mystery, and longing. In Persian Sufi poetry, Leila represents the divine beloved — the soul's yearning for union with God is expressed as the madman Majnun's endless, hopeless love for Leila.

Pirouz

From Middle Persian "Pērōz" meaning victorious, triumphant, or successful — one of the most ancient and auspicious Persian names, borne by several Sassanid kings, including Peroz I. The name conveys the Persian ideal of military and personal triumph, the one who overcomes obstacles and emerges victorious from every trial.

Manijeh

From Middle Persian "Manizha" or "Manijeh", possibly meaning "shining" or "precious jewel" — a name associated with light and rare value. In the Shahnameh, Manijeh is the Turanian princess who falls in love with the Iranian hero Bijan, hides him in a pit to save his life, and endures great suffering to keep him alive — one of Ferdowsi's most moving portraits of female devotion.


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