Last updated: March 2026

Character Name

Sohrab

Meaning — 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.·Persian origin·Male·SOH-rahb

Sohrab Sohrab carries one of literature's most heartbreaking resonances — the young man of exceptional promise destroyed by the very blindness of the father he sought. Characters named Sohrab are often idealistic young heroes whose greatness is not in question, but whose tragedy lies in the structural forces they cannot overcome in time.

Best genres for Sohrab

MythologyHistorical FictionFantasyLiterary Fiction

Famous characters named Sohrab

Sohrab

Shahnameh (Book of Kings) Ferdowsi

The son of Rostam who journeys to find his famous father, tragically killed by him in single combat in one of world literature's most devastating recognitions.


Variations & nicknames

SohrabSuhrobSūhrāb

Pairs well with

Sohrab ShiraziSohrab TehraniSohrab EsfahaniSohrab HosseiniSohrab MoradiSohrab 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.

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.

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.

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

Shahram

From Old Persian and Middle Persian "shāh" (king) and "rām" (peaceful, tranquil, happy), meaning "peaceful king" or "king of peace". The name Rām is also associated with the Zoroastrian deity of joy and peace, giving the name a spiritual resonance in Persian tradition.

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.

Tara

In Persian, "tārā" means star — a luminous celestial body, used as a poetic and astronomical term across Persian and Urdu literary traditions. The star (setareh/tara) in Persian poetry is associated with beauty, fate, and the distant, guiding light that navigators and lovers alike follow across dark spaces.

Farrukh

From Old Persian and Avestan "farrux" meaning auspicious, fortunate, or of good omen — related to the Persian "farr" (divine glory, royal splendor, the sacred fire of kingship). The name conveys the blessing of divine fortune and a life lived under favorable celestial omens.

Zal

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.

Farhad

From Old Persian or Middle Persian, meaning "happy" or "joyful prosperity", related to Persian "farr" (divine glory or royal splendor). Farhad is the stonecutter who falls hopelessly in love with Shirin in the Persian epic Khosrow and Shirin by Nizami Ganjavi — his unrequited devotion, expressed through carving a milk canal through a mountain, became the archetype of self-destructive romantic obsession.


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