What is the source of the name Iran?

Answer 1

The term Iran (ایران) in modern Persian derives from the Proto-Iranian term Aryānām first attested in Zoroastrianism's Avesta tradition. As in Zoroaster's lifetime, differing dates for Avestan have been proposed; scholarly consensus floats around 1000 BCE (roughly contemporary to the Brahmana period of Vedic Sanskrit). Ariya- and Airiia- are also attested as an ethnic designator in Achaemenid inscriptions. The term Ērān from Middle Persian Ērān, Pahlavi ʼyrʼn, is found at the inscription that accompanies the investiture relief of Ardashir I at Naqsh-e Rustam. In this inscription, the king's appellation in Middle Persian contains the term ērān, while in the Parthian language inscription that accompanies it, Iran is mentioned as aryān. In Ardashir's time ērān retained this meaning, denoting the peoplerather than the state. The former (and ancient) name of Iran was Persia.