August 16

Soraya is a Persian name made famous in the Western world by the one-time empress of Iran, who settled in Europe, primarily in France. Soraya is derived from Thurayya, the Arabic name of the Pleiades, a group of stars in the constellation Taurus.

The Arabic and Urdu form of the cheerful Isaac, itself derived from the Hebrew Ytizchak, Ishaq is familiar in the UK and in France and was a fast rising choice in 2023. In Islamic tradition, Ishaq is the name of a prophet and the son of Ibrahim and Sarah.