How to Write Your Name in Persian (with 200+ English Names)

To write your name in Persian, spell it by sound, not by English letters. Break the name into sounds, give each consonant its Persian letter, write long vowels with ا, و or ی, and usually leave short vowels unwritten. Michael becomes مایکل (mâykel), Sarah سارا (sârâ), David دیوید (deyvid) and John جان (jân).

There is no translation involved: a name is transliterated, written in Persian letters the way it sounds. Iranian newspapers, TV subtitles and books follow fairly settled conventions for common English names, and those are what this guide teaches. Type your name in the converter below, then read on to understand why it is spelled that way, see more than 200 common names, and learn to check a spelling yourself.

You can also use the full-page write your name in Persian tool. If your name is already Persian, such as Darius or Roxana, see Persian names and meanings instead.

How Persian spells foreign names: five rules

1. Spell the sound, not the English letters

Silent letters disappear and double letters are written once. Hannah is هانا (hânâ): the final h is silent in English, so it is not written. Jessica is جسیکا, with one s. The ch in Michael sounds like k, so it is مایکل. This is why two names that sound the same get the same spelling: Steven and Stephen are both استیون (estiven), and Katherine and Catherine are both کاترین.

2. Long vowels are written, short vowels usually are not

Persian has three long vowels, written with letters, and three short vowels that are normally left out. This matters most for English names, which are full of vowels.

Because short vowels are invisible, a few short names can look ambiguous: سم could be read several ways. Iranians reading a foreign name rely on context, and that is normal. If you want to make sure people read your name right, you can add the vowel mark once when you first write it, but everyday spelling does not use vowel marks.

3. A vowel at the start needs a carrier letter

Persian words cannot begin with a bare vowel sign, so a name that starts with a vowel begins with ا. Long â gets آ: Adam آدام, Amanda آماندا. Short e or o gets a plain ا: Emma اما, Oscar اسکار, Oliver الیور. An i or ee sound at the start is written ای: Ian ایان, Ethan ایتن.

4. Starting with s + consonant? Add a vowel

Persian words do not begin with two consonants, so speakers add a short e before an initial s-cluster, and spelling shows it with ا: Steven استیون (estiven), Scott اسکات (eskât), Stella استلا (estelâ), Stanley استنلی. Other clusters such as br, fr, cl and gr are usually written without the extra letter, even though speakers slip in a short e when they say them: Brian برایان (berâyan), Frank فرانک (ferânk), Grace گریس (gereys).

5. Use the plain letter when Persian has several for one sound

Persian has four letters for z, three for s, two for t and two for h, inherited from Arabic words. Foreign names almost always use the most common one: ت for t, س for s, ز for z, ه for h. So Thomas is توماس, never with ط; Susan is سوزان.

English sounds that Persian writes differently

Some English sounds do not exist in Persian. Here is how Persian handles them, with the usual spelling.

Learn how each Persian letter sounds in the Persian alphabet guide, and see how letters join in the Farsi alphabet lessons.

Step by step: writing a name yourself

Let’s spell Jennifer, then Oliver, the way a Persian speaker would.

1. Say it slowly and split it into sounds. Jennifer: j – e – n – i – f – e – r.
2. Write a letter for each consonant. j = ج, n = ن, f = ف, r = ر.
3. Add long vowels, skip short ones. The i in the middle is long, so it gets ی; the two short e sounds are not written.
4. Join the letters right to left. جنیفر (jenifer) Listen.

Oliver: the name starts with a vowel, so it begins with ا; then l = ل, the i is long = ی, v = و, r = ر, giving الیور (oliver) Listen. Notice that و and ر do not join to the letter after them; that is a feature of the alphabet, not a gap in the name.

Finally, check your result against a list like the one below or ask an Iranian friend. Conventions win over rules: Michael is written مایکل Listen, as it is said in English, even though some other languages say it differently.

Common English names in Persian

These are the spellings you will see in Iranian media and books. The full list of 245 names is built into the converter above.

Men’s names

Women’s names

A few spellings that surprise learners: Kate and Keith are both کیت, and only context tells them apart; Lily, لیلی, is spelled exactly like the Persian name Leyli but read lili; and Tom is تام with a long â, because the English o in Tom sounds like Persian â.

Saying your name in Persian

Once you can write your name, you will want to say it. These are the phrases for introductions:

Listen: اسم من سارا است Listen اسمت چیه؟ Listen

Practice the whole introduction in the Day 6 lesson on “What is your name?”, and learn the word itself in esm, the Persian word for name.

Listen to two more: ویلیام Listen استیون Listen

Common questions

How do you write your name in Farsi?

Spell it by sound: split the name into sounds, give each consonant its Persian letter, write long vowels with ا, و or ی, skip most short vowels, and start with ا if the name begins with a vowel. Or type it into the converter at the top of this page.

Can my English name be translated into Persian?

Names are not translated, only written in Persian letters. Some Biblical names have older traditional forms in religious texts, but for a living person’s name Iranians use the sound-based spelling: John is جان, Mary is مری.

Is there one correct spelling for my name?

For common names, there is a usual spelling, like the ones in the tables above. For rarer names you may see two or three versions, mostly differing in which vowels are written. Choose one and use it consistently.

How do I write my name in Persian for a tattoo or gift?

Use a standard spelling from a reliable list, and have a native speaker check it before anything permanent. Make sure the letters are joined correctly and not reversed: Persian runs right to left, and some design programs break the joins or flip the order.

How do I type my name in Persian?

Use the online Persian keyboard or add a Persian keyboard to your device. If you know the sounds but not the letters, the Finglish to Persian converter can help.

Writing your name is a great first step into the script. The workbook below takes you through every letter and its forms in seven short lessons, so you can read and write much more than names.

Related guides: English letters in Persian · Persian tattoo words and the mistakes to avoid · Iranian last names and their meanings

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