Rahnavard

Rahnavard is a Persian surname and, less commonly, a given name used in Iran and among Persian-speaking communities in the diaspora. In everyday usage, it appears primarily as a family name but can occasionally be found as a personal name within some families.

Etymology and usage: The name is of Persian origin and is typically transliterated as Rahnavard. It is commonly analyzed as a compound that evokes concepts related to guidance and direction, often interpreted along the lines of “guide of the path.” However, there is no universally accepted single meaning in standard dictionaries. As a surname, Rahnavard is distributed across Iran and among communities with Persian heritage, and transliteration variants may arise from different Romanization systems.

Notable people: The best-known bearer of the name is Zahra Rahnavard (born 1948), an Iranian academic, artist, and political figure. She has been associated with Iran’s reform movement and is widely recognized as the wife of former presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. Rahnavard has been active in education, women’s rights advocacy, and public intellectual life, and her public profile has been prominent in discussions of Iranian politics and culture.