List of geographic names of Iranian origin
This is a list of geographic names of Iranian origin. This list also includes geographic names which are in part derived from Iranian languages.
Countries that have English names, and settlement names, of Iranian origin
Countries that have settlements with names of Iranian origin
Countries that may have an Iranian root for their name
Africa
Cities and Regions
Tanzania
Caucasus
- Arran
- Caucasus
- Kura River
- The name Kura is taken from the name Kurosh which is the Persian pronunciation of the name of the Persian king Cyrus the Great.
Armenia
- The exonym Armenia is attested in the Old Persian Behistun inscription as Armina, and introduced into Greek by Herodotus as Ἀρμένιοι "Armenians", who in his review of the troops opposing the Greeks wrote that "the Armenians were armed like the Phrygians, being Phrygian colonists.".[4] Armenia Ἀρμενία as the name for the country of the Armenians is in use since Strabo. The ultimate origin of the exonym is also uncertain, but it may well be connected to an Assyrian toponym Armanî or Armânum, first recorded by Naram-Sin in the 23rd century BC as the name of an Akkadian colony in the Diyarbakır region.
Cities and regions
- Dvin
- The word is of Persian origin, and means hill.[5]
- Hrazdan
- The name Hrazdan is derived from the Middle-Persian name Frazdan. Farzdan is connected to the Zoroastrian mythology.
- Sardarabad
- Spitak
- Zangezur
Azerbaijan
- The Republic of Azerbaijan gets its name from the Iranian region known as Azerbaijan. The name Azerbaijan is thought to be derived from Atropates,[6] the Satrap (governor) of Media in the Achaemenid empire, who ruled a region found in modern Iranian Azarbaijan called Atropatene.[7] Atropates name is believed to be derived from the Old Persian roots meaning "protected by fire."[8] The name is also mentioned in the Avestan Frawardin Yasht: âterepâtahe ashaonô fravashîm ýazamaide which translates literally to: We worship the Fravashi of the holy Atare-pata.[9]
Cities and regions
- Absheron Rayon
- Astara and Astara (rayon)
- There are two main theories for the etymology of the city's name. One is that it is derived from the Persian or Talysh word آهسته رو (Aste-ro or Aheste-ro), meaning "the place where the travel gets slower" (given the marshlands that surrounded the region before). . The oldest theory comes from Vedic songs and writings which explains Astara as a place where the rays of lights shine from behind to light the pathways ahead.
- Babək rayon
- Named after the Iranian hero Babak Khorramdin
- Baku
- The name Baku is widely believed to be derived from the old Persian names of the city Bad-kube, meaning "city where the wind blows", or Baghkuh, meaning "Mount of God". Arabic sources refer the city as Baku, Bakukh, Bakuya, and Bakuye, all of which seem to come from the original Persian name. Other theories suggest that the name dates back to Zoroastrianism and comes from the word Baga meaning "the god" in Avestan and Sanskrit.[10][11]
- Barda
- The name of the town derives from Old Armenian Partaw (Պարտաւ),[12] itself from Iranian *pari-tāva- 'rampart', from *pari- 'around' and *tā̆v- 'to throw; to heap up'.[13]
- Beylagan
- The 5th century Armenian historian Moses of Chorene states that this name is from the Persian name Payda-gharan (پایداقاران), that its meaning is not clear, but that "-an" in the last section means "place of" in Persian.
- Bilasuvar
- It has been said that the ancient name was Pileh-Swar that in Persian means "the elephant-riding person ", named after one of the Buyid dynasty amirs.
- Ganja
- The name comes from the New Persian ganj (گنج: "treasure, treasury"), which itself is from the Middle Persian Ganjak of the same meaning.
- Kalbajar
- Karabakh
- The word "Karabakh" originated from Turkic and Persian, literally meaning "black garden."[14][15] The name first appears in Georgian and Persian sources in the 13th and 14th centuries.[15] The term Nagorno-Karabakh is a derivative that refers to the mountainous part of Karabakh (the Russian word нагорный - nagorny means "mountainous", "upland").
- Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and Nakhchivan City
- According to some, the name Nakhchivan derived from the Persian Nagsh-e-Jahan ("Image of the World"), a reference to the beauty of the area.[16][17]
- Nardaran
- from the Persian Nar (Pomegranate)نار + Daran (trees) داران "Place with Pomegranate trees".
- Ordubad
- Sadarak
- Shaki and Shaki (rayon)
- According to the Azerbaijan Development Gateway, the name of the town goes back to the ethnonym of the Sakas, who reached the territory of modern-day Azerbaijan in the 7th century B.C. and populated it for several centuries. In the medieval sources, the name of the town is found in various forms such as Sheke, Sheki, Shaka, Shakki, Shakne, Shaken, Shakkan, Shekin.
- Shirvan
- Literally meaning "Land of the Lions" in Persian.
- Siazan
- The word Siyazan derives from the Tat words siya ("black") and zan ("woman").
- Surakhani
- Xirdalan
- Zangilan
- Zardab
- Zardab is a Persian word (زردآب Zardab) meaning "yellow water".
- Zərgəran
- Zərnava
Geographic features
Georgia
Central Asia
- Amudarya
- Syrdarya
- Khwarezm
- Pamir Mountains
- Turkistan
- Formed with the Persian suffix -istan, literally meaning "land of the Turks" in Persian.
Afghanistan
- Formed with the Old Persian suffix -stan, cognate with sthāna from Sanskrit, meaning 'land', it literally means "Land of Afghans".
Cities
Kazakhstan
Formed with the Persian suffix -istan, literally meaning "land of the Kazakh or Ghazagh" in Persian.
Kyrgyzstan
Formed with the Persian suffix -istan.
Tajikistan
- Tajikistan
- Tajik combined with Persian suffix -stan.[20] Literally meaning "Land of Tajiks" in Persian.
Cities and regions
- Dushanbe
- The name is derived from the Persian word for "Monday" (du two + shamba or shanbe day, lit. "day two") and refers to the fact that it was a popular Monday marketplace.
- Garm
- The name is derived from the Gharmi people, and Iranian people.
- Kofarnihon
- The name comes from the Persian کافر نهان, literally meaning "place where unbelievers hide".
- Murghab
- Derived from the Persian word مرغاب meaning "river of the birds".
- Panjakent
- Persian پنجکند which means Five Cities. Its older name was Panj-deh (Five Villages). Kent or Kand is Iranian city or fortress. like Samarkand and Tashkand.
- Qurghonteppa
- Derived from the Persian word گرگان تپه meaning "Hills of Gurgan".
Turkmenistan
- Ashgabat
- The name is believed to derive from the Persian Ashk-ābād meaning "the City of Arsaces." Another explanation is that the name comes from the Arabic عشق (ishq, meaning "love") and the Persian آباد (ābād meaning "cultivated place" or "city"), and hence loosely translates as "the city of love."
Cities
Uzbekistan
- Uzbekistan
- Uzbek combined with Persian suffix -stan, originally from Sanskrit 'sthan' meaning 'land'.[20] Literally meaning "Land of Uzbeks" in Persian.
Cities and regions
- Afrasiab
- Derived from the Persian afrāsiyāb (Persian: افراسياب; Avestan: Fraŋrasyan; Pahlavi: Frāsiyāv, Frāsiyāk and Freangrāsyāk), the name of the mythical King and hero of Turan and an archenemy of Iran.
- Bukhara
- Encyclopædia Iranica mentions that the name Bukhara is possibly derived from the Soghdian βuxārak.[21] Another possible source of the name Bukhara may be from "a Turkic (Uighur) transfer of the Sanskrit word 'Vihara'"[22] (monastery), and may be linked to the pre-Islamic presence of Buddhism (especially strong at the time of the Kushan empire) originating from the Indian sub-continent, and to the presence of some Turkish rulers in the 6th Century.
- Dehkanabad
- Formed with Persian suffix -abad.
- Guliston
- Formed with the Persian suffix -istan.
- Jizzakh
- The name "Jizzahk", derives from the Sogdian word for "small fort" and the present city is built of the site of the Sogdian town of Usrushana.
- Karakalpakstan
- Formed with the Persian suffix -istan.
- Namangan and Namangan Province
- Derived from the local salt mines (in Persian: نمککان namak kan).
- Panjakent
- In Sogdian, the native local Iranian language in pre-Islamic times, kanθ means town, which is derived from Old Persian kanda, meaning a town or a region. In this case, Khanda has been manipulated into "kent".
- Samarkand
- The name Samarkand is derived from the Sanskrit term Samara Khanda which literally means "region of war".[23] In Greek it was known as Marakanda. In Sogdian, the native local Iranian language in pre-Islamic times, kanθ means town, which is derived from Old Persian kanda, meaning a town or a region.
- Shahrisabz
- Its name (شهر سبز/Šahr e Sabz) means "green city" in Persian.
- Surxondaryo
- Tashkent
- In medieval times the town and the province were known as "Chach". Later, the town came to be known as Chachkand/Chashkand, meaning "Chach City." (Kand, qand, kent, kad, kath, kud—all meaning a city, are derived from the Old Iranian, kanda, meaning a town or a city.
- Xorazm
- Yarkand
- In Sogdian, the native local Iranian language in pre-Islamic times, kanθ means town, which is derived from Old Persian kanda, meaning a town or a region.
- Zeravshan
- From the Persian word زر افشان, meaning "the sprayer of Gold".
Geographical features
- Zeravshan mountains
- From the Persian word زر افشان, meaning "the sprayer of Gold".
East Asia
- China
- The English name of China comes from the Qin Dynasty, possibly in a Sanskrit form; the pronunciation "China" came to the western languages through the Persian word چین "Chin".
- Korea (both north and south)
- After the Goryeo Dynasty, the first Korean dynasty visited by Persian merchants who referred to Koryŏ (Goryeo) as Korea.
Brunei
Indonesia
- Banda Aceh
- The first part of its name comes from the Persian bandar (بندر) and means "port" or "haven". It is also proudly referred to as the "port to Meccah", as Islam first arrived in Aceh and spread throughout Southeast Asia.
- Bandar Lampung
- Bandar (in Persian بندر) is a Persian word meaning "port" and "haven". Etymologically it combines Persian بند Band (enclosed) and در dar (gate, door) meaning "an enclosed area" (i.e. protected from the sea). The word travelled with Persian sailors over a wide area leading to several coastal places in Iran and elsewhere having Bandar (haven) as part of their names.
Malaysia
- Bandar Sri Damansara
- Bandar Seri Putra
- Bandar Baru Bangi
- Bandar Samariang
Europe
- Caucasus
- Danube River
- Comes from the ancient Danuvius, Iranian *dānu, meaning "river" or "stream".
- Dnieper
- Sarmatian *danu apara "river to the rear"
- Dniester
- Sarmatian *danu nazdya "river to the front.
- Don River (Russia)
- Donetsk
- Dnipro
- Mount Elbrus
- a metathesis of Alborz
- Tiraspol
- from an ancient name of the river, Tyras, derived from Scythian *tūra
Russia
- Bashkortostan
- Formed with the Persian suffix -istan.
- Dagestan
- Formed with the Persian suffix -istan.
- Sakha Republic
- Named derived from the Saka, and Iranian people. Saka is the Persian term for Scythian.
- Tatarstan
- Formed with the Persian suffix -istan, literally meaning "Land of the Tartars" in Persian.
Cities
Bulgaria
- Razgrad Province[24]
- Pazardzhik Province
- Persian bāzār, "market" + the Turkic diminutive suffix -cık, "small".
- Varna
- possible Iranian etymology: var ("camp", "fortress")
Hungary
Serbia
- Novi Pazar
- Persian بازار (bāzār) 'market'
Middle East
- Persian Gulf
- Derived from Persia.
- Strait of Hormuz
- There are two opinions about the etymology of this name. In popular belief the derivation is from the name of the Persian God هرمز Hormoz (a variant of Ahura Mazda). Compare the Pillars of Hercules at the entrance to the Mediterranean. Scholars, historians and linguists derive the name "Ormuz" from the local Persian word هورمغ Hur-mogh meaning datepalm. In the local dialects of Hurmoz and Minab this strait is still called Hurmogh and has the aforemintioned meaning.
- Arvandrud
- The Iranian name of the Shatt al-Arab, from the Persian اروندرود, literally Arvand River.
Iran
Cities
- Abadan
- An Iranian etymology of the name (from the Persian word "ab" (water) and the root "pā" (guard, watch) thus "coastguard station"), was suggested by B. Farahvashi. Supporting evidence is the name "Apphana" which Ptolemy applies to an island off the mouth of the Tigris. The Persian version of the name had begun to come into general use before it was adopted by official decree in 1935.[28] The geographer Marcian also renders the name "Apphadana" in his writings.[29]
- Ahvaz
- The word Ahvaz is a Persianized form of the local Arabic Ahwaz, which in turn itself is derived from a Persian word. The Dehkhoda Dictionary specifically defines the Arabic "Suq-al-Ahwaz" as "Market of the Khuzis", where "Suq" is Arabic for market, and "Ahwaz" is a plural (اسم جمع) of the form "af'āl" (افعال) of the word "Huz", or more precisely, the Arabic root "ha wa za" (ه و ز), which itself comes from the Persian Huz, from Achaemenid inscriptions from where the term first appears. Thus, "Ahwaz" in Arabic means "the Huz-i people", which refers to the non-Arabic original inhabitants of Khūzestān.
- Aligoodarz
- The city of Aligoodarz was once called Al-e Goodarz meaning "sons or tribe of Goodarz", a mythical Iranian hero from the Persian national epic Shahnameh.
- Amol
- Many scholars believe that the city's name is rooted in the word Amard (Amui in Pahlavi).
- Ardabil
- The name Ardabil comes from the Zoroastrian name of "Artavil" (mentioned in Avesta) which means a holy place.[30]
- Ardakan
- The word "Ardakan" in Persian means "holy place" or "clean place" (Modern Persian: ardak+an / Middle Persian: artak+an)
- Astara
- The city's name is derived from the Persian word آهستهرو (Aste-ro or Aheste-ro), meaning "the place where the travel gets slower" (given the marshlands that surrounded the region before). .
Islands
- Farsi Island
- Arabized name derived from Parsi (Persian).
- Greater and Lesser Tunbs
- The name of the islands comes from Persian tunb 'hilly place'.
- Hendurabi
- Derived from the Persian word اندرآبی Andar-abi meaning "Inside the waters".
- Hormuz Island
- Name of Shah Hormuz
- Shetor Island
- Shetor or Shotor (Persian: شتور) in Persian means Camel.
Iraq
- Iraq
- Possibly derived from the Middle Persian word Erak, meaning "lowlands". The natives of the southwestern part of today's Iran called their land the "Persian Iraq" (Iraq Ajami) for many centuries. Before the constitution of the state of Iraq, the term "Arab Iraq" (Iraq Arabi) referred to the region around Baghdad and Basra.
Cities and regions
Turkey
North America
- Persia, Iowa, Persia, New York, and Persia, California
- Persia derives from the ancient Greek name for Iran's maritime province, called Fars in the modern Persian language, Pars in Middle Persian and Pārsa (𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿) in Old Persian,[33] a word meaning "above reproach". Persis is the Hellenized form of Pars, and through the Latinized word Persia
Southern Asia
Afghanistan
- Afghanistan
- Formed with the Persian suffix -stan.
Bangladesh
India
- India
- The name India is derived from Indus, which is derived from the Old Persian word Hind. The name of Indus River in Old Persian. The word Hindu is also originated from Old Persian means people who live beyond the Indus River and it is originally referred to people not religion.[34]
Furthermore, the name "Hindustan", a name for historical India, is Persian derived.
Pakistan
- Pakistan
- Formed from the Persian meaning "Land of the Pure"; "Pāk-" meaning "pure" and the Persian suffix "-istān" meaning "land"
- Punjab
- formed from Persian meaning "land of the five streams"; "Panj-" meaning "five" and "-āb" meaning "waters"
Cities
- Keti Bandar
- town in Pakistan formed by Persian word "Bandar"
- Shamal Bandar
- town in Pakistan formed by Persian word "Bandar"
- Islamabad
- capital of Pakistan formed by Persian word "-abad" meaning "city of Islam"
- Peshawar
- city in Pakistan formed from Old Persian "Pārāshavār" meaning "forward city"
- Multan
- city in Pakistan formed from Old Persian "mulastāna" meaning "frontier land"
- Ziarat
- town in Pakistan formed by Persian word "Ziarat" meaning "pilgrimage"
- Hyderabad
- city in Pakistan formed from Persian meaning "Lion city" referring to Ali
- Muzaffarabad
- city in Pakistan formed by Persian words meaning "city of the Victorious"
- Bagh
- town in Pakistan formed by the Persian word meaning "garden"
- Mardan
- city in Pakistan derived from Persian meaning "city of Men"
- Khuzdar
- town in Pakistan derived from Persian
Various cities and towns of South Asia ending in the Persian suffix -ābād (آباد).
See also
- List of country name etymologies
- List of English words of Persian origin
- List of Iranian dynasties and countries
- Iranian languages
- Iranian peoples
References
- "Location and origin of the name of Kairouan". Isesco.org. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
- "قيروان" Archived 1 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Dehkhoda Dictionary.
- «رابطه دو سویه زبان فارسی–عربی». ماهنامه کیهان فرهنگی. دی 1383، شماره 219. صص 73–77.
- Herodotus, History, 7.73: Ἀρμένιοι δὲ κατά περ Φρύγες ἐσεσάχατο, ἐόντες Φρυγῶν ἄποικοι.
- Chaumont 1986, pp. 418–438.
- Schippman, K. "Azerbaijan". Encyclopædia Iranica. Archived from the original on 2007-05-03. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
- Historical Dictionary of Azerbaijan by Tadeusz Swietochowski and Brian C. Collins, ISBN 0-8108-3550-9 (retrieved 7 June 2006).
- The Azerbaijani Turks: Power and Identity under Russian Rule by Audrey Altstadt, ISBN 0-8179-9182-4 (retrieved 7 June 2006).
- FRAWARDIN YASHT ("Hymn to the Guardian Angels"). Translated by James Darmesteter (From Sacred Books of the East, American Edition, 1898.).
- On the Etymology of the Name “Baku” Retrieved on July 8, 2006
- Baku (Baki) Retrieved on July 8, 2006
- Pourshariati, Parvaneh. Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: the Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran. London: I.B. Tauris, 2008, p. 116, note 613.
- (in Russian) Périkhanian, Anahit G. "Этимологические заметки" [Notes on Etymology]. Patma-Banasirakan Handes 1 (1982), 77-80.
- BBC News — Regions and territories: Nagorno-Karabakh
- (in Armenian) Ouloubabyan, B. Ղարաբաղ (Karabagh) Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia, vol. vii, Yerevan, Armenian SSR, 1981 p. 26
- (in Russian) Hamdollah Mostowfi. Nozhat al-Gholub
- (in Russian) Evliya Chelebi. Seyahatname
- Mikaberidze, Alexander (2015). Historical Dictionary of Georgia (2 ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 3. ISBN 978-1442241466.
- Hock, Hans Henrich; Zgusta, Ladislav (1997). Historical, Indo-European, and Lexicographical Studies. Walter de Gruyter. p. 211. ISBN 978-3110128840.
- "stan", originally Sanskrit 'sthan' meaning 'land'. OED
- Encyclopædia Iranica, Columbia University, p.512
- Shamsiddin Kamoliddin, 'On the origin of the place-name Buxārā', Transoxiana 12 (August 2007).
- ca:Maracanda
- Калоянов, Анчо (2002). "Названието на етнографската група хърцои и култа към бог Хърс". Старобългарското езичество (in Bulgarian). Варна: ЕИ "LiterNet". ISBN 954-304-009-5.
- Hazim Šabanović (1959). Bosanski pašaluk: postanak i upravna podjela (in Serbo-Croatian). Naučno društvo NR Bosne i Hercegovine. pp. 28–37. UDC 94(497.6)"14/17". Retrieved 11 September 2012.
- Ovid (1893) [c. 8 a.d.]. Sidney George Owen (ed.). Ovid: Tristia Book III (2nd, rev. ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 60.
- Abadan, in Encyclopædia Iranica, pp.51-52
- Geographia Marciani Heracleotae, ed. David Hoeschel, Augsburg 1600 p48
- Iranian Provinces: Ardabil
- "UAE Interact". Archived from the original on 2009-08-25. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
- "Dubai City Facts". Archived from the original on 2010-01-15. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
- Akbarzadeh, D.; A. Yahyanezhad (2006). The Behistun Inscriptions (Old Persian Texts) (in Persian). Khaneye-Farhikhtagan-e Honarhaye Sonati. p. 57. ISBN 964-8499-05-5.
- "India", Oxford English Dictionary, second edition, 2100a.d. Oxford University Press
Sources
- Chaumont, M. L. (1986). "ARMENIA AND IRAN ii. The pre-Islamic period". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 4. pp. 418–438.
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