Reza
Reza is a name of differing origins, mainly Persian, but also Spanish.
- The Islamic concept Reza ([ɾeˈzɒː], also transliterated as Raza, Reda, Redha, Rida, Ridha [rɪˈdˤɑ], Rizah, Rıza [ɾɯˈzɑ], Ridho, Ridlo or Roda; Arabic: رضا, Riḍā) is a male given name common among Muslims, and especially Persian-speakers. It comes from Arabic and means contentment.
- The Spanish surname Reza ([/rɛˈθa/]), has a literal translation of, "he prays," or "she prays."
Arabic etymology
Rida (Reza) is an Islamic concept rooted in the Qur'an and the practices. This idea of contentment is expressed in two Qur'anic verses which discuss the contentment of Allah with believers and, conversely, of believers with Allah:
Muslims believe that Allah's pleasure with the servant is expressed through His gifts both material and spiritual and the servant's pleasure with Allah is the name of his obedience to Allah's commands and submission to his will. Rida on the part of the human also includes his determination to accept Allah's decree irrespective of whether it is favourable or unfavourable.
Because the Arabic ض sound does not exist in the Persian language, Persian-speakers replace the sound with a z. This pronunciation was also adopted by other languages influenced by Persian, most of all Turkish and Urdu. In the Maghreb region, the name is spelled Reda, due to the French influence during the colonial times.
Given name
Academics
- Reza Afshari, Iranian historian
- Reza Davari Ardakani, Iranian philosopher
- Reza Ghadiri, Iranian-American chemist
- Reza Iravani, Iranian academic
- Reza Malekzadeh, Iranian physician
- Reza Mansouri, Iranian physicist
- Reza Olfati-Saber, Iranian roboticist
- Rida Said, Syrian physician
- Rıza Tevfik Bölükbaşı, Turkish scientist
- Reza Aslan, Iranian-American scholar, author, and journalist
Arts
- Reza Abbasi (1565–1635), a Persian painter and calligrapher
- Reza Abdoh, Iranian-born American director
- Reza Abedini, Iranian designer
- Reza Allamehzadeh, Persian-born Dutch film-maker
- Reza Amirkhani, Persian novelist
- Reza Aslan, Iranian-American scholar, author, and journalist
- Reza Badiyi, American film director
- Reza Baraheni, Iranian novelist
- Reza Deghati, professionally known as Reza, an Iranian-born photojournalist
- Reza Fayazi, Iranian film director
- Reza Feiz Noroozi, Iranian actor
- Reza Kianian, Iranian actor
- Reza Naji, Iranian actor
- Reza Parsa, Swedish film director
- Reza Qolikhan Hedayat, Persian writer
- Reza Sadeghi, Iranian pop singer
- Reza Samani, Iranian musician
- Reza Shafiei Jam, Iranian actor
- Reza Shah-Kazemi, British author
- Reza Vohdani, Iranian musician
- Rida Al Abdullah, Iraqi singer
- Raza Murad, Indian actor
Criminals
- Redha al-Najar, Tunisian prisoner
- Reza Alinejad, Iranian juvenile offender
- Reza Khan, Afghan Islamist
- Reza Zarrab, Iranian businessman
Politics
- Reza Alamouti, Iranian political activist
- Reza Fallah (1909-1982); Iranian businessman and political advisor who shaped the Iranian oil policy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
- Reza Ghotbi, Iranian politician
- Reza Hosseini, Iranian humanitarian
- Reza Khelili Dylami, Swedish politician
- Reza Moridi, Canadian politician
- Reza Ostadi, Iranian politician
- Reza Pahlavi, last crown prince of the former Imperial State of Iran
- Reza Shah Pahlavi, Shah of Iran
- Reza Taslimi, Iranian intelligence officer
- Reza Zanjani, Iranian politician
- Reza Zarei, Iranian military commander
- Rida al-Rikabi, Syrian politician
- Rıza Nur, Turkish politician
- Rıza Türmen (born 1941), Turkish judge and politician
Sports
- Réda Johnson, French/Algerian/Beninese/English footballer
- Reda Acimi, Algerian footballer
- Reda El Amrani, Moroccan tennis player
- Reda El-Weshi, Egyptian footballer
- Redha Tukar, Saudi Arabian footballer
- Reza Ahadi, Iranian footballer
- Reza Chahkhandagh, Iranian judoka
- Reza Enayati, Iranian footballer
- Reza Ghoochannejhad, Iranian-Dutch footballer
- Reza Hassanzadeh, Iranian footballer
- Reza Jabbari, Iranian footballer
- Reza Khaleghifar, Iranian footballer
- Reza Niknazar, Iranian footballer
- Reza Sahebi, Iranian footballer
- Reza Soukhteh Saraei, Iranian wrestler
- Reza Shahroudi, Iranian footballer
- Reza Talabeh, Iranian footballer
- Reza Torabian, Iranian footballer
- Reza Vatankhah, Iranian footballer
- Reza Yazdani, Iranian wrestler
- Rida Lah Douliazale, Moroccan footballer
- Rıza Çalımbay, Turkish footballer
- Rıza Kayaalp (born 1989), Turkish wrestler
- Rıza Şen, Turkish footballer
- Rizah Mešković, Bosnian footballer
Derived names
Abdol Reza
Main article: Abdolreza
- People with the theophoric given name.
Ali Reza
Main article: Ali Reza
- People with the given name, after Ali Reza (765-818), Imam and seventh descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Gholam Reza
Main article: Gholam Reza
- People with the given name, meaning servant of the contented one
Mohammad Reza
Main article: Mohammad-Reza
- People with the given name, after Mohammad Reza (1919–1980), the last King of Iran.
Surname
- Ahmed Rıza, Turkish academic
- Farhad Reza (born 1986), Bangladeshi cricketer
- Fazlollah Reza (born 1915), an Iranian university professor
- Ghaleb Rida, Lebanese basketball player
- Hadem Rida, Palestinian politician
- Liudvikas Rėza (1776–1840), Prussian-Lithuanian author a.k.a. Ludwig Rhesa
- Maruf Reza (fl. 2000s), Bangladeshi cricketer
- Ömer Rıza, English footballer
- Rashid Rida, Syrian scholar
- Yasmina Reza (born 1959), an Iranian-French playwright
Spanish surname
- Itzel Reza, Mexican sprint canoer
- Lilia Merodio Reza (born 1978), Mexican politician
Fictional characters
- Reza, character in Gol & Gincu television series
- Reza Temiz, character in Dreamfall: The Longest Journey game