I hope my needs aren’t too specific here. We’re not expecting any kids yet and DH doesn’t even want to talk about names but I have a list of names at the ready for girls. The thing is, they’re mostly English names. I just want to make sure the list includes a handful of Uzbek names since DH is Uzbek.
All I know from what he’s told me is that he has an Uzbek name in mind for at least a first son so I figure to give some sense of cohesion in our children’s names I want some Uzbek names for girls too. I know that many Uzbek names are very close if not the same as Arabic names so I already have a handful of Arabic names too. But I just want some names that are “specifically” Uzbek too so our kids have a connection to their cultural heritage.
I’m looking for someone who I can toss some “names” at who can tell me if they really are names or not. From what little I have gleaned of Uzbek names one cane take a word with a good meaning and use it as a name. For example, DH’s name literally means “loyal” (Sodiq - Also in Arabic) his mother’s name literally means “beloved” (Mahbuba) his grandmother’s name literally means “miracle” (Karomat) and his sister’s name literally means “happiness” (Saodat) So I’ve scoured my Uzbek-English dictionary for good words which aren’t too hard to pronounce and may or may not be names.
I’m sure once I’m pregnant and the topic of names comes up DH will inform me of the validity of my choices but I’m just itching to know now!
I’m not honestly very familiar with Uzbek names, but I did some Google searching (which I’m sure you’ve done as well) and here are a few that I found that I thought were interesting and workable …
[name]Shirin[/name] - sweet
[name]Lola[/name] - tulip
Nilufar - lotus (This one may seem a bit more out there than some of the others here, but it strikes me as seeming almost like a fresh alternative to [name]Jennifer[/name].)
Firuza - turquoise
[name]Zara[/name] - bright or flower blossom
[name]Amina[/name] - safe or truthful
There were definitely others that could work, but those were just a handful that stood out. As far as I can tell, there seems to be a lot of overlap with Uzbek names and Iranian/Persian names.
[name]Hi[/name]. I am the creator of legitbabenames.com and I couldn’t help myself but chime in when I saw your inquiry. In regards to most central [name]Asian[/name] names, the best luck you are going to have is use Russian google. Unfortunately, most of the sites are all in Russian, Cyrillic or Uzbek. There seems to be a lot of resources on [name]Tatar[/name] names (which, from what I understand is very similar to Uzbek), but not a whole on Uzbek Names. Here are a list of Uzbek names I personally find usable in English. The meanings and or its Arabic or English or Russian equivalents are in parenthesis:
Female
[name]Anora[/name] (pomegranate)
Chinara (sycamore tree)
Durdona (pearl)
Elnura (the light-derived from the Arabic [name]Al[/name]-Nour, cognate to the Russian [name]Svetlana[/name])
Guli (rose)
Guldasta (rose bouquet)
Gulnara (pomegranate-rose)
[name]Indira[/name] (a borrowing from the [name]Indian[/name], this is one of the most popular female names in Uzbekistan)
Nargiza (Uzbek form of Nargiz meaning “daffodil.”)
Olma (apple)
[name]Ona[/name] (mother)
Parizoda (Uzbek form of the Persian, Parisad meaning “fairy face.”
Shahlo (blue-dye)
Tahmina (an old Persian name, but used in Uzbekistan)
[name]Zarina[/name] (golden)
[name]Zeb[/name] (beauty)
I lived in Uzbekistan for a year and fell in love with Uzbek names. In fact, my husband and I gave our daughter an Uzbek middle name: [name]Margaret[/name] Umida. Umida means “hope.”
Some other names I like:
GIRLS
[name]Anora[/name]–“pomegranate”
Binafsha–“violet”
Fazilat–“worth, value”
Feruza–“turquoise”
Inoyat–“grace”
Nozanin–pronounced nose-ah-neen “beautiful”
Ozoda–“clean”
Sanobar–“juniper”
Shahnoza–I’m not sure what this means, but it was an extremely popular name. Pronounced roughly “shock-noza.”
Umida–“hope”
Yulduz–“star”
BOYS
Alisher–not sure what this means either, but it was another really popular name, pronounced “ali-share”
[name]Aziz[/name]–“beloved”
Umid–“hope”
Oh, this has been some help. Thank you! DH’s family gave me an “Uzbek name” since my American name is too difficult to pronounce and it’s [name]Anora[/name], just like one of the names you listed. And one of the “names” I had chosen that I was wondering if it is a name is Nozanin so at least I know one of the words I picked qualifies as a name.
It’s funny you say your DD’s name is [name]Margaret[/name] (pearl) because I was considering the “name” Marvarid, which is Uzbek for pearl. Clearly Marvarid and [name]Margaret[/name] share a common root. But I don’t know if this passes for a (girl’s) name or not.
My one big thing, while there are a handful I do like, I want to try to avoid a name that ends in A. Nothing against it. My name ends with an A. It’s just that it’s the common way to “feminize” a name and soooooooo many names end with A or [name]Ah[/name]. DH thinks a name isn’t feminine without the A and I guess it’s a little bit of wanting to go against that grain that’s motivating me too.
Maybe you could tell me how close to legit some of these choices are?
Usta - expert
Orzu - Wish
Inju - [name]Pearl[/name]
[name]Rozi[/name] - Pleased
Yaltira - Shine, glitter
La’l - [name]Ruby[/name]
Mehra - [name]Love[/name] (with an A added)
[name]Hadya[/name] - Gift
Ziyoli - Intelligent
Jonona - [name]Beloved[/name]
Tantana - Celebration
Vorisa - Heir (with an A added to make it Heiress, I guess)
Namunali - Exemplary
Zafara - [name]Victory[/name]
Andisha - [name]Wisdom[/name]
Samimiy - [name]Sincere[/name]
Himoya - Protection
Jilmay - Smile
Dilkash - [name]Eloquent[/name]
Out of the possible names that you listed, the ones I’ve heard before as actual names are Mehra (except with an I at the end: [name]Mehri[/name]), Jonona, Zafara, and Dilkash. Many names were combinations of the prefixes “gul” and “dil” with another word added on (such as Gulbahor, which means spring flower). I think that there were some popular names that came up a lot (i.e. Feruza, Shahnoza, Nafisa, Alisher, [name]Aziz[/name], Temur), but other than that there weren’t a lot of restrictions on using words as names. People often named their children words that described attributes they wanted their children to have. I did remember a few more names:
GIRLS
Shohruh
Ruhshana (the Uzbek version of [name]Roxanna[/name])
Farangiz
[name]Malika[/name]
Mehribon
Setora
Shahlo
Mavluda
BOYS
Shamshod
[name]Parviz[/name]
[name]Malik[/name]
OH! I love Mehribon. It’s one of the first “names” I latched on to when I started researching names for girls. I did manage to bring this one up to DH but he nixed it saying it’s more of a boy’s name! But I think his reasoning was still because “it doesn’t end in A.” That’s why I went with the root Mehr and added the A instead. Maybe when the time comes I can get him to reconsider since I REALLY like Mehribon.
I know Gul means flower but I kind of want to stay away from it so any girl I might have wouldn’t get teased with being called a “ghoul” (And as beautiful a meaning as Gulbahor is, it’s a big no no here since older kids might pick up on an even worse sound for name teasing.) Though I have been experimenting with Dil using it as a prefix or suffix.
Anyway, thanks for reassuring me I’m at least on the right track. I feel so much more sane now and thankfully slightly less obsessed. I’ll keep my list tucked away for now (probably adding and subtracting here and there) until the day it can actually be used.
[name]Hi[/name] there, I know this is an old thread, but I have to jump in. My hubby is also Uzbek, and names for our 3 kids were so hard, so many Uzbek names that just didn’t sound right in English speaking mouths. And even the names we chose, thinking them very easy, people in the US are very hesitant to say and consistently mispronounce. Our sons are Temur, Jasur and [name]Mansur[/name]. I know you mentioned that you don’t like a endings, so I wanted to add that [name]Anora[/name] is the name version of pomegranate, the actual word is Anor and this is also used as a name. Usta made me laugh, it is more like a repairman than an expert! I have heard many variants w/Mexri; 2 of our nieces are Mexhribon and Mexriniso. A name that I always loved is Laylaniso and other [name]Layla[/name] variants, but my relatives said it was old fashioned. [name]Shirin[/name] is nice for a girl (Sweet) and a couple others I like are Sevara, Sayora, Sevinch. ([name]Love[/name], Planet?, [name]Joy[/name]) Hilola is another name for girls that is so pretty, but ends in a. Boys names, I saw Alisher mentioned which is quite popular (the name of a famous Uzbek poet, it’s meaning has smthg to do w/“lion”) and Sherali is another variant of that. Good luck w/your naming!
I know this is such an old post but i really wanted to jump in . From the names you’ve mentioned very few of them are girls name, most of them are just regular uzbek words and noone uses it for a name. Dilkash is the only uzbek girls name i’ve heard as a uzbek girl myself. Since you don’t want names that end with an A someof the beatiful names fpr uzbek girls are
-sevinch - joy
-nilufar - type of flower
-dilbar ( my mothers name, i think it means heart stealer lol )
dilnoz
-gulbahor - summers flower
anzurat
dilrabo
guli
-surayyo
-muhayyo
-mehrangiz
Also, mehribon is no where close to boys name, even half of this name does not pass as boys name. If the beginning is Meh then its gonna be a girl name.
We’re not expecting any kids yet and DH doesn’t even want to talk about names but I have a list of names at the ready for girls. The thing is, they’re mostly English names. I just want to make sure the list includes a handful of Uzbek names since DH is Uzbek.
DH’s family gave me an “Uzbek name” since my American name is too difficult to pronounce and it’s [name]Anora[/name], just like one of the names you listed. And one of the “names” I had chosen that I was wondering if it is a name is Nozanin so at least I know