Scheherazade

shuh-HERR-ah-zahd

Persian

"noble lineage"

Scheherazade Origin and Meaning

The name Scheherazade is a girl's name of Arabic origin meaning "noble lineage".

Scheherazade -- or Sheherazade --is a legendary Persian queen immortalized as the narrator of all one thousand stories in the One Thousand and One Nights. Her story is even more remarkable than the tales she tells.

Each day the king marries a new woman and then beheads her in the morning. Scheherazade volunteers to marry the King. She relates a gripping story and times it so that as dawn approaches, the King is left with a cliffhanger. Eager to hear the end of the story, the King spares her life. The next night, Scheherazade finishes the tale and begins a new one, again ending the night with a cliffhanger. And so on. After 1001 nights (and 1000 stories) Scheherazade tells the King she has no more stories. However, by this time the King has fallen in love with Scheherazade and makes her his Queen.

Scheherazade is a long and weighty name, but on the right girl or woman it would be an unusual and wonderful choice. Another spelling is Sheherazade.

• 1651 Nameberry 2021