Last updated: March 2026

Character Name

Rostam

Meaning — 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.·Persian origin·Male·ros-TAM

Rostam Rostam is the archetypal epic hero — immense in strength, almost invulnerable, yet undone by the very human failure of not knowing his own son. Characters named Rostam carry an immense, almost mythic presence, but the best portrayals give them a tragic blind spot that brings the heroic scale crashing into devastating intimacy.

Best genres for Rostam

MythologyHistorical FictionFantasyAdventure

Famous characters named Rostam

Rostam

Shahnameh (Book of Kings) Ferdowsi

The supreme Persian hero, champion of Iran through countless battles, whose greatest tragedy is unknowingly killing his own son Sohrab in single combat.


Variations & nicknames

RostamRustamRustem

Pairs well with

Rostam ShiraziRostam TehraniRostam EsfahaniRostam RashidianRostam MoradiRostam Hosseini

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Related names

Sohrab

Persian · “From Old Persian or Middle Persian, possibly meaning "red water" or "brilliant red" (from "sūr" meaning red/brilliant and "āb" meaning water). Sohrab is the tragic son of Rostam in the Shahnameh — a young hero of extraordinary bravery who travels to find his father, only to meet him in single combat, where neither recognizes the other until Sohrab is mortally wounded.

Kaveh

Persian · “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.

Tahmineh

Persian · “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.

Zal

Persian · “From the Persian "Zāl", meaning the white-haired or albino one — Zal was born with snow-white hair, considered an ill omen in ancient Iran, which caused his father Sam to abandon him on a mountaintop, where the mythical bird Simurgh raised him. Zal becomes a great hero and the father of the legendary Rostam, his unusual appearance a marker of the extraordinary destiny that sets him apart from ordinary men.


More Persian names

Kaveh

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.

Parisa

From Persian "parī" (fairy, supernatural being of great beauty) and the suffix "-sā" (like, resembling), meaning "like a fairy" or "fairy-faced". The "pari" in Persian mythology is an angelic being of luminous beauty, distinct from the mischievous spirits of Western folklore — they are creatures of light, grace, and divine favor.

Kamran

From Persian "kāmrān" meaning successful, fortunate, or one whose wishes have been fulfilled, derived from "kām" (wish, desire) and "rān" (possessing, ruling). The name conveys the Persian ideal of a man blessed by fortune who achieves the goals he sets for himself.

Sohrab

From Old Persian or Middle Persian, possibly meaning "red water" or "brilliant red" (from "sūr" meaning red/brilliant and "āb" meaning water). Sohrab is the tragic son of Rostam in the Shahnameh — a young hero of extraordinary bravery who travels to find his father, only to meet him in single combat, where neither recognizes the other until Sohrab is mortally wounded.

Golnaz

From Persian "gol" (flower, rose) and "nāz" (coquetry, grace, pride, affectation), meaning "the grace of the flower" or "the coquetry of the rose". In Persian, "nāz" carries a positive connotation of the endearing affectation and playful coyness of a beloved — an untranslatable quality of graceful pride that makes someone irresistible.

Bahar

Directly from the Persian word "bahār" meaning spring — the season of renewal, blossoming flowers, and returning life after winter. Spring is the most celebrated season in Persian poetry and culture, associated with Nowruz (Persian New Year), youth, beauty, and the short-lived intensity of bloom before the heat of summer.


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