Iran
Published: 08/05/2022, updated on: 30/09/2025
What is “Seyed”?
If you’ve met an Iranian with a two-part name like “Seyed Pooyan,” you may have wondered: what does that first part mean? “Seyed” (or Seyyed) is not a name but a title. If it exists in the family line, Iran’s civil registry does not allow you to remove it. Today, more than 6 million Iranians carry the title 1.
What many don’t realize is that even most Iranians assume “Seyed” is just Arabic and stop there. That is why some dislike it, because it reminds them of the Arab invasions of Persia. The word is Arabic, yes, but its role in Iran is tied to Persian and Iranian history. It is not the name, it’s a title. The actual name is what comes after it. Since Iran never developed a title system like “Mr.” or “Sir,” it ended up inside IDs as if it were part of the first name.
For women the pattern is different. Instead of “Seyed” at the beginning, the word “Sadat” is added at the end of the first name. So Maryam becomes Maryam Sadat in official documents.
Iranian, not Arabic
While “Seyed” literally means “Sir” in Arabic, its political and cultural use is distinctly Iranian. The Safavids (1501–1736) made Shia Islam the official religion and gave Seyyeds, descendants of the Prophet, positions in their court and clergy to legitimize their rule [2]3.
Shah Abbas I (1588–1629) tried to strengthen the empire against both Ottoman Turks and the rising power of Arabia. He rebuilt Isfahan as a new capital, moved people across regions, and brought Armenians from the north into a new district called Jolfa [4]5. His policy was not always kind. Armenians were uprooted in forced migration known as the Great Surgun, but once in Isfahan they were allowed to keep their religion and culture. (This was what he wanted the most, to mix Iranians and reduce the influence of Arab invasion.) They held onto traditions with deep Iranian roots, like the festival of Vardavar, a celebration that goes back to Mithraism and Zoroastrian rituals long before Christianity 7. These layers of culture, preserved by Armenians, became part of the Persian story once more.
Seyed as resistance
The title “Seyed” also became a way of remembering resistance. Shia Islam itself was born from defiance. Imam Hossein stood against Yazid, the king of the Arabian tribes who ruled as part of the Abbasid dynasty. Hossein’s stand at Karbala, where he was killed, became the ultimate example of refusing tyranny. For Shia, Hossein is not just a martyr but the eternal symbol of justice against authoritarian kings.
Persia’s weakness made this story powerful. Long before Arabia’s tribes swept through, Iran had been exhausted by endless wars with Byzantium. Once allies, the two empires turned on each other after a court murder. Retaliation turned into decades of war. Armies drained, treasuries emptied, and ordinary people carried the weight. Corruption among kings and Zoroastrian priests made things worse. Many Persians lost faith and even sided with outsiders, thinking salvation might come from them, much like today when some believe promises of the United States or Israel about “freedom.” Into that chaos came the tribes of Arabia, who made life even harsher than before.
But “Arabs” here means specifically the tribes of Arabia, what is now Saudi Arabia. The people of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Egypt carried Iranian and Assyrian heritage. That is exactly why Saudi rulers and Israel dislike those nations today, because they are tied to civilizations that resisted domination.
In Egypt, the Fatimid dynasty (969–1171) ruled with Shia identity and built schools and institutions in Cairo that carried heavy Iranian influence 9. This kept alive traditions that were more than tribal Islam, and later inspired the Safavid project in Iran. When the Safavids made Shia the state religion, they were not simply importing Arab Islam, they were reshaping it into something Iranian, a continuation of resistance to foreign domination.
A family thread from Lebanon
My father’s side is rooted in Isfahan, but my grandfather used to tell us that our family had migrated from Lebanon a few centuries ago. Years later, I searched online and found people with our family name still living there. I connected with one woman on Instagram. She looked strikingly like one of my aunts on my father’s side, and she told me the same story, that some of their family had moved to Iran centuries earlier.
I asked her, “If I’m Seyyed, are you also Seyyed and Muslim?” She laughed and said, “No, we’re Christian and always have been.” Then she explained that just as Shia Muslims believe they are descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, in her community, they believe that they are descendants of Jesus, and that families in Lebanon still trace their lineage this way.
That made me wonder: if Shia, branded today as “Muslim,” also carry roots connected to Jesus and even older Iranian traditions, is that why the same forces that crucified Jesus, and their inheritors through history, hate us, whether Shia, Mithraic Iranians, or Christians who preserve that lineage?
Who are we today?
Modern Iran, Armenia, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and even Azerbaijan are not single-blood nations. We are the result of centuries of mixture: Persians, Assyrians, Armenians, Turks and Mongols, Arabs, and others. Geography shaped how traditions survived or blended. Some regions kept stronger Persian or Assyrian roots, others carry more Turkic or Arab influences. But all of us are shades of the same story.
Colonial powers have always tried to weaponize these differences. They spread lies: Persians against Arabs, Turks against Armenians, Sunnis against Shias. Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon are not “pure Arabs” at all, they are heirs of ancient Assyrian and Persian civilizations. Even Azerbaijan, which today claims superiority over Armenians, is itself a blend of Iranian Armenians and Turkic Mongols who settled around the Caspian and Ararat mountains before coming under Russian influence. Those same steppe tribes that reached Europe only became culturally strong after absorbing Persian knowledge and traditions.
Those who believe that one group is inherently better than another miss the deeper truth: we are all connected. Our strength has always come from learning from one another while resisting outsiders who seek to divide us. The title “Seyed” is one reminder of that connection. It ties together Persia, Assyria, Mithra, Zoroaster, Jesus, and Muhammad. That is why the aggressors fear it. This is why the United States and Israeli Zionists, together with the rulers of Saudi Arabia, support movements against Shia. The same satanic cult that once crucified Jesus, together with its puppets, now seeks to erase the hope of God and the spirit of resistance.
Why is it enforced?
Iran’s theocratic system enforces titles like “Seyed” because it wants symbols of loyalty to its ideology built directly into people’s names. On paper, this is about religion. But in reality, it is about politics. If millions of citizens are registered as “descendants of the Prophet,” then the state can claim legitimacy from their existence.
Yet this enforcement backfires. Instead of pride, many Iranians feel resentment. What could have been a cultural bridge became another reminder of control. People often reject the title outright, without realizing the deep cultural history behind it.
A real story in Denmark
I once had an Iranian friend in Denmark. He and his wife spent months finding a Persian name for their son that Danes could pronounce easily. When they went to register it at the Iranian embassy, the officials told them the given name had to begin with “Seyed,” because of his family lineage. They were frustrated, but there was nothing they could do. Even outside Iran, the rule follows you.
What it reminds us
At the end of the day, this is what “Seyed” represents. Not just a title, not just a law in passports, but a living thread of memory. It ties us back to Persia, to Assyria, to Armenians who kept ancient rituals, to Zoroaster and Mithra, to Jesus and Muhammad, to Hossein who stood against tyranny. That is why it is feared. Because as long as we remember, colonial powers, Zionists, and Saudi-backed rulers cannot erase us. Our identity is not theirs to control. It is ours to carry.
References
1 Wikipedia – Sayyid: Iran section (~6 million people, Safavid role)
2 Encyclopædia Iranica – Jabal ‘Amil scholars in Safavid Iran
3 Abisaab, R. J. (JSTOR) – The Ulama of Jabal ‘Amil in Safavid Iran
4 Encyclopædia Iranica – Isfahan in the Safavid period
5 Wikipedia – Great Surgun (1604–1605): Armenian deportations
6 Encyclopædia Iranica – ‘Abbas II and minority policies
7 Wikipedia – Vardavar: Armenian festival with pre-Christian roots
8 Encyclopædia Iranica – Shi‘ism in Iran since the Safavids
9 Wikipedia – Fatimid dynasty in Egypt (969–1171)
