Rostam

Syllable breakdown

Name meaning and origin

Origin

Persian/Farsi (Iran)

Meaning

the name of the greatest hero in Persian mythology and literature — Rostam son of Zal — whose exploits are narrated in the Shahnameh (Book of Kings) of Ferdowsi, the tenth-century Persian national epic; Rostam is the champion of Iran across multiple kings' reigns, the slayer of the white demon, the rescuer of the legendary king Kay Kavus from the Demon King of Mazandaran, and the tragic killer of his own unrecognised son Sohrab in the most famous episode of Persian epic literature; the name carries the meanings of strong, stout, or great in old Iranian, and Rostam embodies the ideal of the Persian epic hero: physically invincible, morally loyal, and ultimately subject to tragic fate; bearing the name Rostam in Iran is an act of identification with the epic heroic tradition that Ferdowsi's Shahnameh preserved during centuries of Arab and later Mongol dominance, and which has been a cornerstone of Iranian cultural identity

Gender

male

Also spelled

Rustam, Rustem