On My Mind: 10-6-14

I've just seen "Chicken with Plums" I thought I would dedicate a post to some of the names in it. It is about an Iranian man named Nasser-Ali Khan who is a talented musician. After a fight with his wife, who breaks his violin, he decides to die. It is based on the graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, who co-directed the film with Vincent Paronnaud.

Parvine - I think this is a form of Parvin, which means "the Pleiades" in Persian. The Pleiades are a group of stars, closest to earth and most visible. They are named for seven sisters, companions to the Goddess Artemis, daughters of Atlas and Pleione.

Nasser - Naseer, a form of Nasir, means "helper" in Arabic. I especially like the female version, Nasira.

Irâne - This one was the most unusual to me. In the subtitles it is simply Iran, however she is credited as Irâne. I wonder if it is just the French version of Iran? If any one has any info, please let me know.

Cyrus - I've liked this name for quite a while, and was pleased when Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy chose it for their son. It is ascribed a few different meanings. It is believed to either come from the Persian Kūrush, which could mean "young" or "far-sighted", or the Greek kyrios, "lord".

Faringuisse - I love the look of this one. The closest I could find to this one was Farangis, who is a character in the epic "Shahnameh".

Azraël - A great sequence in the movie is when Nasser-Ali meets the Angel of Death, Azrael. Also known as Azriel, in mythology he will be the last to die, and records all the names of people, their births and deaths.