Iranian Arabs

[SinaG]

I have heard that people with the name Hejazi are of an Arab origin? At least it is an Arabic name. Don't think that it is common in Iran either.

Nasser Hejazi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

@Hussein should know more about this since he is an Iranian-Arab and past his 40 years if I remember. He should have a good knowledge about this topic.

Nasser Hejazi is a legend inside Iran. But he isn't Arab. He was born in Tehran, but I have heard various claims that he is Azeri or Kurdish origin. Wikipedia right now claims his father was Azeri. Anyway Arab surnames don't mean anything about descent. My surname is Arabic as well.

You have to remember that surnames in Iran are less then 100 years old, so don't usually mean much.

 

[al-Hasani]

I don't think they are of Arab origin, people with Hejazi as surname. Could have been given to point out to the places where the holy places are located.

Btw, is every Arab with Ajami as surname Persian originally?

Well, Hejazi is an Arabic surname and Nasser is pretty Arabic too. He was born during the Pahlavi era that propagandized Iranian/Persian nationalism. It says that his father's name was Ali Akhbar. To me it sounds pretty probable that he could be an Iranian Arab.

Ajam just means foreigners. You have many Afro-Arabs that don't know about their ancestry who are called Al-Ajami. Most people from Iran originally in the Arab world of which nearly most live on the Peninsula, are of Persian/Lur origins. They retain their ancestral names they are just Arabized.

I think you believe this is the case due to that half Persian and half Arab Lebanese author by this name. Can't remember his name but he is interesting.

 

[Doritos11]

@Doritos11

Don't you consider yourself to be an Arab?

Arab identity yes, though we have many idiots here that don’t know what this means.

 

[al-Hasani]

Nasser Hejazi is a legend inside Iran. But he isn't Arab. He was born in Tehran, but I have heard various claims that he is Azeri or Kurdish origin. Wikipedia right now claims his father was Azeri. Anyway Arab surnames don't mean anything about descent. My surname is Arabic as well.

You have to remember that surnames in Iran are less then 100 years old, so don't usually mean much.

Aha. His son could pass as an Arab though. So most people in Iran did not have surnames 100 years ago? Arabs always had surnames/names from what I recall. So that surprises me.

 

[SinaG]

Aha. His son could pass as an Arab though. So most people in Iran did not have surnames 100 years ago? Arabs always had surnames/names from what I recall. So that surprises me.

Iranians used to have titles. Like Mirza or Khan. Surnames where introduced during Reza Pahlavi reign in order to westernize the country.

 

[Surenas]

Well, Hejazi is an Arabic surname and Nasser is pretty Arabic too. He was born during the Pahlavi era that propagandized Iranian/Persian nationalism. It says that his father's name was Ali Akhbar. To me it sounds pretty probable that he could be an Iranian Arab.

He is Azeri apparantly. Many, probably most, have Arabic-sounding names in Iran. Although Persian names have become more popular this decade.

I think you believe this is the case due to that half Persian and half Arab Lebanese author by this name. Can't remember his name but he is interesting.

Fouad Ajami if I'm right.

 

[SinaG]

This Iraqi ministers name is very Persian sounding. Is he of Iranian origin? @Doritos11

Hussain al-Shahristani - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[al-Hasani]

Iranians used to have titles. Like Mirza or Khan. Surnames where introduced during Reza Pahlavi reign in order to westernize the country.

Khan is an Mongolian title origin if I recall. Mirza comes from Arabic. Does Mirza not derive from Amirzade? Amir in Arabic means prince. Don't know if there is a connection there but it is very probable.

But yes, surnames don't say that much indeed. But they can give an indication. It depends where in the world. Many Danes for instance took German names, especially those from the cities because it was considered prestigious but most of them don't actually have ties to Germany despite the name. But in Iran, which borders the Arab world and has been tied to it for nearly 1500 years and where Arabs form one of the biggest ethnic groups and where there have been a lot of migrations it is not that unusual if you have people being partially Arab. Especially in regions of Iran where Arabs are known to live.

Iranian Arabs - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This Wikipedia claims that those are Arabs (the avatars) but by their names one would never have guessed this. So I guess this goes both ways.

Where is your mother from in Iran if I may ask @SinaG ?

 

[Doritos11]

This Iraqi ministers name is very Persian sounding. Is he of Iranian origin? @Doritos11

Hussain al-Shahristani - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

He Persian Iraqi, like famous Khawrizmi

 

[al-Hasani]

This Iraqi ministers name is very Persian sounding. Is he of Iranian origin? @Doritos11

Hussain al-Shahristani - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

He is a Sayyid but the name is obviously Persian. His relative is married to another Iranian Sayyid (Al-Sistani). He is based in Najaf.
Many Hashemite families migrated to Iran due to persecution. Some returned to the Arab world while many stayed or moved further away. Those are attested lineages and ancient ones. Not some recent Joe that started to claim that. The Ottomans attempted to made a Middle Eastern equivalent to the Almanach de Gotha (basically a book for European royalty and nobility) just with the Hashemites. Many lineages were recored (thousands) but it was never fully finished. But the book can be found in the Topkapi Palace today.

But the presence of Hashemites in Iran is very well known and many are fairly new arrivals. Some are very old and predate the Safavid era by many centuries.

One should remember that nationalism is a new phenomenon in our region and basically the world when looking at the larger picture.

 

[Surenas]

Khan is an Mongolian title origin if I recall. Mirza comes from Arabic. Does Mirza not derive from Amirzade? Amir in Arabic means prince. Don't know if there is a connection there but it is very probable.

Mirza is an Iranian title, originated from the Arabic-Persian name Amirzade.

But yes, surnames don't say that much indeed. But they can give an indication. It depends where in the world. Many Danes for instance took German names, especially those from the cities because it was considered prestigious but most of them don't actually have ties to Germany despite the name. But in Iran, which borders the Arab world and has been tied to it for nearly 1500 years and where Arabs form one of the biggest ethnic groups and where there have been a lot of migrations it is not that unusual if you have people being partially Arab. Especially in regions of Iran where Arabs are known to live.

In Iran surnames don't mean anything. I'm Mansouri, but that of course doesn't mean that I am Arab.

 

[SinaG]

Khan is an Mongolian title origin if I recall. Mirza comes from Arabic. Does Mirza not derive from Amirzade? Amir in Arabic means prince. Don't know if there is a connection there but it is very probable.

But yes, surnames don't say that much indeed. But they can give an indication. It depends where in the world. Many Danes for instance took German names, especially those from the cities because it was considered prestigious but most of them don't actually have ties to Germany despite the name. But in Iran, which borders the Arab world and has been tied to it for nearly 1500 years and where Arabs form one of the biggest ethnic groups and where there have been a lot of migrations it is not that unusual if you have people being partially Arab. Especially in regions of Iran where Arabs are known to live.

Iranian Arabs - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This Wikipedia claims that those are Arabs (the avatars) but by their names one would never have guessed this. So I guess this goes both ways.

Where is your mother from in Iran if I may ask @SinaG ?

Indeed you are correct about Mirza. It comes from Amirzadeh. Amir is prince, and Zadeh means "born to". So it literally means born to a prince. I think it is usually used to denote when someone's mother is a Sayyida, and thus are not qualified to be Seyyed themselves. It also in the old days was used to denote somebody who could read and write, and thus was a title of honor back in the day.

Also what you said about Nasser Hejazi applies to most Persians. Names like Nasser, Mohammad, Reza, Ali, Hossein, Abdollah etc are very popular in Iran. So are Arab surnames. So somebody having both an Arab first name and surname does not indicate them being Arab in Iran.

My mother's family is Tehrani for centuries. Which is very rare as most people in Tehran are immigrants from other parts of the country.

 

[al-Hasani]

He Persian Iraqi, like famous Khawrizmi

How was he an Iraqi? He was born in modern-day Uzbekistan and was apparently of Persian origin. That he was based in Baghdad which was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate that ruled those parts of the world does not make him an "Iraqi". Just saying.

Baghdad likewise like any other Arab cities and the cities of Cordoba, Toledo in Al-Andalus attracted all kind of people. Arabs, Jews, Berbers etc.

 

[Doritos11]

How was he an Iraqi? He was born in modern-day Uzbekistan and was apparently of Persian origin. That he was based in Baghdad which was the capital of the Abbasid Empire that ruled those parts of the world does not make him an "Iraqi". Just saying.

I forgot, either him or someone else.

 

[Surenas]

I have family members, by marriage though, which I suspect are originally Iranian-Arabs, or at least partially. Purely based on appearance. They look quite atypical Persian to me.