Entry № 4909 · Persian origin

Roxana Roxana — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ rok-SAN-ah /
Gender
Girl
Origin
Persian
Meaning
"Bright, luminous"
Syllables
3
Rank · US 2025
№ 824
First recorded
Ancient (Persian)

A name that means "bright, luminous".

Roxana comes from the Old Persian Raoxshna, meaning "luminous" or "shining one" — from the same Indo-European root that gives English the word "radiance." The name was made famous by Roxana of Bactria (4th century BCE), the wife of Alexander the Great.

Roxana has been continuously used in Persian-speaking countries for two and a half millennia. In the West, Daniel Defoe's 1724 novel Roxana brought it briefly into English usage. Today the name sits in the U.S. top 800 and is rising — particularly in the Iranian diaspora.

Luminous. The same name carried by Alexander's queen, twenty-three centuries old.

The name in its native script.

رخشانه
Transliteration
Roxshāna
Pronunciation
/ ɾɔxˈsaː.na /
Root
Grammatical form

Where Roxana stands.

Current rank · 2025
№ 824 in the U.S.
All-time peak
№ 824 in 2025
Babies named Roxana · last year
312 in the U.S.
First entered SSA top-1000
1996
Rank, 1995–2025 Lower = more popular
№25 №75 №150 №250 1995 2005 2015 2020 2025 PEAK · №824 NOW · №824

Roxanas before her.

Real people
Roxana of Bactria
Wife of Alexander the Great. Mother of Alexander IV of Macedon.
c. 340 – 310 BCE
In fiction
Roxane
Heroine of Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac.
1897 play
Roxana
Title heroine of Daniel Defoe's Roxana.
1724 novel

Names connected to Roxana.

The number behind Roxana.

6

The Nurturer

Roxana reduces to six — the number of warmth and quiet beauty.

Why families chose this name.

"Our family is Iranian. Roxana is the name of one of our queens."
Soraya · Mother of one · Los Angeles