بهرام

Meaning: “war god, god of victory”

From Middle Iranian (see Parthian 𐭅𐭓𐭉𐭇𐭓𐭌 (wryḥrm /⁠Wahrām⁠/, “war god, god of victory”) and Middle Persian 𐭥𐭫𐭧𐭫𐭠𐭭 / 𐭥𐭠𐭧𐭫𐭠𐭬 (ʿlḥlʾn / ʿʾḥlʾm /⁠Wahrām⁠/)), from Avestan 𐬬𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬚𐬭𐬀𐬖𐬥𐬀 (vər^əθraγna, “smiting of resistance, victorious”), from Proto-Iranian *Wr̥tragnáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Wr̥tragʰnás. Related to Sanskrit वृत्रहन् (vṛtrá-hán, “smiter of vṛtra, i.e. smiting the cause of covering/hiding”). In pre-Islamic Iran mythologically conflated with the Persian Gulf narrows (which oral tradition considered to be a remnant of the "obstruction" that was overcome by Verethragna), hence in Iranian folk etymology incorrectly identified with the toponym "Bahrain."